What is a pick-by-light picking zone?
How do I plan a picking zone?
Can multiple employees work in one picking zone?
How flexible is the system?
... and much more.
In this article, we explain the function and structure of a picking zone equipped with a pick-by-light system. We also show you how several pickers can work simultaneously in such a picking zone.
What is a pick-by-light picking zone?
A pick-by-light picking zone defines a specific number of storage locations that are accessed simultaneously during picking. One or more pickers work in a picking zone.
How do I plan a picking zone?
The size of the picking zone depends on many factors, which is why only a thorough analysis can provide the correct answer. The most important thing is that employees maintain very good orientation. Access to the goods should be quick and targeted. At the same time, the quality of picking must be as high as possible.
The system must provide optimal support for employees!
In a semi-automatic picking system with conveyor technology, pick-by-light, and flow racks, the picking zones are approximately 6-8 m long. The conveyor technology also serves as a buffer here, with the correct distribution of goods in the zone being achieved through A/B/C analysis. It is very important that the employee keeps a close eye on all pick-by-light compartment displays and has the shortest possible walking distances.
In completely manual systems with picking carts, the size of the picking zone varies greatly. Sometimes the zones are very long and are even served by several employees at the same time. You will find out how this works in a moment...
Quick navigation
A single picking zone can also have several hundred displays. Sometimes the picker has to stand with their back to the pick-by-light (B or C items). Special displays are used for quick navigation to keep track of the storage compartments. At a glance, the picker can see where the active storage compartments are located (bottom left, top right, center, or behind). This means that each storage compartment is assigned a segment of the navigation display. After each confirmation, the control system automatically updates the navigation display.
In addition to the graphical representation of active orders, the navigation display shows the number of open withdrawals. Experience shows that using navigation makes the picker's work much more relaxed and faster. This results in an overall performance increase of approximately 5-7%. The low cost of the function justifies the investment .
Can multiple employees work in one picking zone?
Yes! The answer is clear, provided that the LUCA-Server is LUCA-Server . With our system, multiple employees can work in one picking zone. We have multicolored LEDs available on the displays. Each employee and their order is assigned a separate color. The problem of simultaneous access to the compartments is complex, but we have solved it very well. A special procedure for synchronizing output and access to the same compartments LUCA-Server developed in the LUCA-Server for this purpose.
This procedure enables correct coordination between the individual processes for multiple employees and orders. Each employee works with their own data. However, each process in the picking zone does not send the telegrams directly to Pick-by-Light, but to a synchronization module. The module is then responsible for the correct coordination of access to the shared storage compartments.
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How flexible is a picking zone?
The function is not entirely straightforward, but it is possible. The challenge affects not only pick-by-light itself, but also warehouse management (WMS). We are still unable to give a clear "yes" as to whether the dynamic division of picking zones is truly practicable. We always examine these requirements very thoroughly and precisely before such systems are created. We have already developed many variants of the solution, but almost every solution was very customer-specific. We will present some examples of these in our future blog articles.
Conclusion
It is essential to divide a pick-by-light system into several picking zones. This allows several pickers to process different orders at the same time. The division and size must always be determined individually. In the LUCA system, several employees can even pick orders simultaneously and efficiently.
