Reducing Warehouse Employee Errors Using Voice-Assisted Technology That Provided Immediate Feedback

Abstract

A foodservice distributor in the southeastern United States implemented a voice assisted selecting tool to reduce selector errors by providing immediate feedback when errors occurred. An AB design with a nonequivalent comparison group was used to examine the effects of the voice technology on 132 selectors whose mispicks and shorts were collected over 6 weeks of baseline and 8 weeks of the intervention phase. Selector errors were reduced from 2.44 errors per 1,000 cases picked to 0.94 errors per 1,000 cases when voice technology was implemented. Further analysis indicated that the immediate feedback provided by voice had a greater impact on employees who were making the most errors during baseline.

Application of Modern Warehouse Technology in the Slovenian Automotive Industry

“…An analysis of the results of the first hypothesis shows that basic warehouse equipment is reliable and often used by suppliers in the automotive industry. The results therefore do not corroborate previous findings (Berger, Ludwig 2007;Rich- Agree to lower extent 1 (7.1) 8 8014.54 (1) <0.001 Agree to higher extent 13 (92.9) 2 (20)…”

“…The introduction of technology in warehouse and distribution management has effectively changed how many employees conduct their jobs. Owing to the high-degree of automation, many information collection and distri-bution tasks that were once necessary were now under total automation of the Warehouse Management System (WMS) and other contemporary warehousing solutions (Berger, Ludwig 2007). Automation in warehouses refers to both material handling solutions and ICT-based devices.…”

Approaching Error-Free Customer Satisfaction Through Process Change and Feedback Systems

“…This study allowed employee teams to receive performance feedback that was proximal to the performance behaviors. The immediate feedback allowed employee teams to receive feedback on behaviors they performed most recently, rather than behaviors they had performed long ago, and allowed them to adjust behaviors as the tasks continued to be performed (see also, Berger & Ludwig, 2007;Codding et al, 2005;. With the aid of this feedback, employee teams were better able to reduce the number of errors committed.…”

“…Finally, immediate feedback allows performers to correct any performance errors while the outcome is still under their control. In a series of studies (Berger & Ludwig, 2007;, human performance technology was implemented at product distribution warehouses to provide employees with immediate feedback at the time they engaged in the targeted behaviors. The immediate feedback provided through these different technologies was associated with substantial increases in both productivity and quality.…”

The Publication History of theJournal of Organizational Behavior Management: An Objective Review and Analysis: 1998–2009

“…This lack of collaboration between corporations and academic institutions could promote intellectual isolation and prevent researchers from addressing organizationally relevant problems. There were certainly examples of published articles where the societal or economic implications were of obvious importance (e.g., Berger & Ludwig, 2007;Berglund & Ludwig, 2009;Ludwig & Geller, 1999), but it was speculative whether many of the problems addressed in this decade were of organizational concern.…”