How to plan a pick-by-light system

This article provides detailed information on planning a pick-by-light system. We explain which criteria play an important role and which data you need for your planning. Detailed information on the system itself can be found in the main article Pick-by-Light / Pick-to-Light.

Define your goals

The first step in any planning process is to define the goal. No one builds a pick-by-light system without first considering the advantages. It is essential to take economic factors into account. The requirements vary greatly in this regard. Many details must be considered.

Performance or quality?

Improving performance and quality at the same time is no easy task. You have probably heard sales or marketing slogans such as "This system will improve your performance and quality by xyz%." But what does that really mean?

Increasing performance and quality are contradictory. The more performance you expect, the less quality you will get. Quality requires care and time. Performance requires speed. These two factors are therefore not entirely compatible. We will explain exactly how a pick-by-light system influences these two factors in a moment.

Question 1: How do you intend to improve performance or quality?

Stationary or mobile?

A pick-by-light solution can be installed permanently on shelves or mounted on mobile picking trolleys or other structures. Both solutions use the same displays and only differ in terms of their power and data supply.

In a stationary installation, the permanently installed controllers, which are connected to 230V and Ethernet, provide the power supply and data. The controllers supply the displays via 4-wire cables. In the mobile solution, the displays communicate with the higher-level system via WLAN and are powered by replaceable batteries. Thanks to the use of the central LUCA server, the batteries can even be replaced during operation. A combination of the two requirements is of course also possible.

Question 2: Do you have shelves or order picking trolleys that you want to equip with pick-by-light?

The changing staff

It is becoming increasingly difficult to find the right personnel. Experienced, long-term employees usually know their tasks so well that a glance at the picking list or assembly sheet is enough to complete the task quickly and to a high standard. But what about changing or rotating personnel?

Changing or rotating personnel often face a major challenge in quickly and correctly finding the right storage compartments and completing the picking process. This is one of the most important factors when planning picking or assembly.

Question 3: How often do your employees change workstations?

Multi-Order-Picking order picking?

When picking using a picking list, the picker can usually only pick one order at a time. Their performance is not particularly high. Although the picking lists are often route-optimized, their travel time through the warehouse is not optimal.

The Multi-Order-Picking can be a great help here. To achieve the best possible result, the same items should appear in several orders. With this method, the picker picks one item and immediately distributes it across several orders.

Question 4: Is your order structure Multi-Order-Picking for Multi-Order-Picking ?

Are you performing assembly work at a workstation?

Assembly tasks involving pick-by-light often involve a variety of additional tasks that need to be completed. If the assembly process is simple and self-explanatory, the employee only needs information about which parts are required for each assembly step. A pick-by-light system on a shelf can fulfill this requirement perfectly.

If assembly is very complex and requires additional information, drawings, images, explanatory videos, additional measuring devices, etc., then a worker guidance system with additional screens and devices must be set up at the workstation.

Question 5: How complex is your work at the assembly stations?

Determine the need

There are many different types of pick-by-light/pick-to-light displays. In order to determine exactly which displays are needed, the requirements must first be roughly defined.

• If you are sequencing individual parts in an automotive project, you probably do not need quantities on the displays (always 1 piece). A display with an LED and button is sufficient here.
• When it comes to an e-commerce project, the withdrawal quantities are very relevant. The pick-by-light displays need a quantity display.
• If you require a system for high-performance, high-quality mounting, the displays should also be equipped with access sensors.

So define your requirements and select the appropriate displays. You can find a list of all available displays under Pick-by-Light Hardware.

Question 6: Define the process flow and determine the types of pick-by-light displays.

Define the quantities

If you already know which types of pick-by-light displays your process requires, then define the following quantity entries:

1. Number of displays per display type.
2. Length and number of sub-profiles for installing the displays.
3. For complex systems, draw a layout to determine the cable routes and number of controllers.

Question 7: How many pick-by-light displays and sub-profiles do you need?

We will help you plan a pick-by-light system and clarify these questions together with you.