Following Amazon’s Lead with Robots
If ever there was a benchmark for efficiency, Amazon wins. According to CNN Tech, Amazon’s human employees spend less than one minute handling an order – the rest is done by robots and automation.
With the addition of robots, Amazon added more merchandise space into each automated fulfillment center by 50%. The old practice forced workers to traipse the aisles in search of an item, but now, a robot picks up an entire bookshelf, positions it before the worker and even tells him where on the shelf the product is. Emblazoned with bar codes, the storage units travel along eight miles of conveyor belts to their packing destination.
Once arriving at the packing station, the automated system directs the worker on which size box to use and even then, the packer only needs 15 seconds to complete the boxing and barcoding. Addressing is automated with scanners and more conveyor belts equipped with chutes to sort the packages appropriately. After sorting, an Amazon employee handles the package one final time to put it on the truck.
As ambitious Amazon is with reaching the pinnacle of productivity by nearly fully automating its fulfillment centers, some human workers are still required to make it all come together.
Photo Credit: nooga.com
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