Dublin-based IT company Heavey RF has installed a voice-picking system worth almost €300,000 for food sales and distribution company Shamrock Foods.
The new system includes handheld and forklift-mounted computers and replaces Shamrock Foods’ old radio frequency (RF) system.
The system was installed in the company’s 225,000sq ft Ballymount facility in Dublin, where more than 70 members of staff are now using the new technology. Shamrock Foods expects improvements in its pick rate and accuracy as a result of this investment.
Heavey RF provided Vocollect T5 wearable voice computers with wireless SRX Bluetooth headsets, mobile handheld computers as well as vehicle-mounted mobile computers.
The new system provides picking instructions to warehouse operatives via a ‘text to speech’ engine through their individual headset. The user then speaks back confirmation to the system using Vocollect’s industry-leading voice recogniser. Information is passed to and from the users via the wireless local area network (WLAN).
“Voice-directed logistics has really transformed how products are moved in the supply chain,” stated Ronan Clinton, managing director, Heavey RF. “The use of the natural voice to carry out and confirm tasks accurately and promptly permits a much more seamless operation for Shamrock Foods.”
By Niall Byrne
