By: Thomas R. Cutler
The effectiveness of voice picking to handle a recall is quite distinct from a pick to light solution. When food items are sent to hundreds of different restaurants, the food distribution center or manufacturing plant must be able to quickly and accurately identify which lots each location receives. Lot traceability is mandated by the Bioterrorism Act rules; it is further detailed in the new Food Safety Modernization Act. Additionally HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points) procedures may require that voice picking will enter a lot number at the time of the pick. Voice picking solutions address all three of these compliance statutes, and are frequently being used by food organizations as part of the ISO 22000 documentation of quality processes and procedures to manage a recall.
“It's not just about the quality of the food product picked,” asserts Jeff Slevin, COO of Lucas Systems (www.lucasware.com), makers of Jennifer VoicePlus. “The product traceability initiatives in grocery and food service must be able to track the date an item is produced for expiration when shipped from a distribution center.” While some customers will accept a product within thirty days of expiration, others might only accept within sixty days of expiration date. Because of this critically important variability, capturing date information when picking with a voice system as compared to light – is often preferred. Pick to light solutions may utilize an RF bar code scanner, however employees must then enter data using a keypad, which is far more prone to error. Similarly, with a paper-based system, a food distribution center employee writes the data on a log sheet, which must then be key entered, introducing two places for data error and compromising the quality. Pick to light generally is not used in grocery, foodservice, and other major food distribution centers – which are generally case-picking processes. The main alternative to voice in these segments is paper or label-based picking or RF/barcode scanning. In label-based picking; the selector grabs a roll of pre-printed labels that tell which items to pick (in order), and a label is applied to each case as it is picked. Many foodservice companies continue to apply labels to cases, even as they pick the item with voice – the label is used on delivery at the customer location.
The advantage of voice systems is that they combine the advantages of voice and RF in a single, seamless process. Slevin insists, “In a voice system food distribution companies capture the date code, an employee with a headset simply goes to the location, say picking item, and the solution, such as Jennifer, says enter date; the person reads in date, and captures that information at the point of pick.“ Date tracking is less of a regulatory mandate than a customer mandate because some customers will not take a product within thirty days of expiration.
Ironically, the grocery companies were the earliest to invest in voice picking solutions because they had the lowest margins and realized even a twenty percent (20%) reduction in picking errors would quickly pay for the system solution.
C&S Wholesale Grocers and Kraft Nabisco have opted for voice picking solutions to greatly improve worker productivity and accuracy. Voice picking solutions create a conversation with warehouse workers that frees their hands and eyes to focus on the job being performed. The voice solution provides quality managers and supervisors with reporting and management tools to ensure lean and continued process improvement of food distribution operations.
Thomas R. Cutler is the President & CEO of Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based, TRCutler, Inc, (www.trcutlerinc.com). Cutler is the founder of the Manufacturing Media Consortium of nearly four thousand journalists and editors writing about trends in manufacturing. Cutler is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists, Online News Association, American Society of Business Publication Editors, Committee of Concerned Journalists, as well as author of more than 500 feature articles annually regarding the manufacturing sector. Cutler can becontacted at trcutler@trcutlerinc.com or 888-902-0300.
