The design of bar code scanners has steadily improved scanning performances over the past twenty years. Changes in scan patterns, improvements in decode algorithms, and design features of the hardware user interface have resulted in scanners that are ergonomically superior both in biomechanics and overall performance. This study reviewed scanner performance and technological developments, and compare these to changes in packaging designs. The results showed that future innovations in scanner design will have minimal impact on improving throughput and the accuracy of data captured because of package design and bar code placement.
A man-machine systems simulation model was developed as a cost-effective marketing tool for systems design in the retail sales environment. SAINT (Systems Analysis Integrated Network of Tasks) modeling technique was chosen because of its capabilities to simulate complex human engineering system performances. Tasks performed at the workstations ranged from an automated real-time inventory control device requiring a high degree of man-machine interactivity to social interactions between the operator and customer. Network parameters were defined from performances observed both in laboratory and field tests. The model included the capability to mix and simulate multiple workstations within a given environment. Work surface dimensions, operator ability levels, and processing strategies were manipulated to maximize productivity. This approach to workstation design proved to be an effective method of systematically reducing the number of alternative configurations. It also reduces the requirement of elaborate time-consuming laboratory experiments to verify a proposed design concept. A conversational interface was developed to encourage its utilization by the untrained user.
Research studies were conducted in three types of retail stores: supermarkets, discount stores, and department stores. The purpose of these studies was to determine how cashiers and associates spend their time servicing customers, the inter-relationships between physical and cognitive workloads, and how these affect system performance. A detailed task analysis of the cashier's activities comparing performances in these stores was completed. Commonalties and differences in task performances were identified and measured. Task performances were grouped into one of three types: physical, POS, and management. The results showed that physical tasks were performed 39% of the total hour in a supermarket, 57% in the discount store, and 25% in the department store. Physical tasks are those most often identified in ergonomic research. Management tasks were more frequent in the department store; these tasks captured redundant information, i.e. tender approval identification that was already available in system files. These results provide a map for identifying and applying macroergonomic research techniques to integrate POS systems with new features into the retail industry.
This panel is composed of researchers from private industry, academia and NIOSH, who are currently involved with ergonomics research in the supermarket industry. Presenters summarize their research efforts and discuss key ergonomics challenges present in the supermarket industry today.
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