Parcel Growth Challenges Met with Combined Workstation and Scanner

Wanzl Logistics + Industry has come up with what it calls a smart solution to meet the challenge of the enormous growth of parcel shipping – a combined workstation and advanced wearable scanner, known as MARK2.

The concept of the mobile table trolley was born out of an everyday challenge in distribution centres: time is money, whether for incoming goods inspections, warehouse bookkeeping, labelling or inventory. Manual processing often involves long walking distances back to the office. With four castors and a height-adjustable tabletop, Wanzl’s trolley becomes a mobile desk that’s always precisely where you need it, eliminating unnecessary trips and saving time,according to the company.

Whether laptops, scanners or label printers, the on-the-move office has enough space for the required technology, as well as the optional extra of a mobile power supply provided by means of Wanzl’s portable lithium-ion battery, It can be attached to the side or the middle shelf by means of an adapter plate. A voltage converter with integrated socket can be connected to the battery. If the battery is mounted on the side, the fixed middle shelf below the table top serves as a storage area for accessories and office supplies. As an option, an additional shelf can be added to the table trolley. Essential cables are stored unobtrusively in a conduit at the rear of the table top – to keep things neat and tidy at the workplace.

This trolley is not only mobile, but also flexible. Thanks to its height-adjustable table top, it can be adapted to individual requirements such as body size. It can be adjusted in 25 mm increments using a metal bracket, making it ergonomic and suitable for a wide range of users. A recess in the front of the trolley provides additional legroom when the trolley is pushed. Two brakes ensure solid positioning. If an additional work surface is required, the table top can be upgraded at a later date.

Combined with the mobile table trolley, the MARK2 dynamises manual work steps and allows the worker’s capacity to connect with industry 4.0. As a further development of the MARK One S, it weighs only 40 g and is currently the smallest and lightest wearable with integrated barcode scanner on the market. The smart optimisation of the conventional pistol or ring scanner enables hands-free scanning, saving up to four seconds per scan and efficiently minimising errors through improved optical, haptic and acoustic feedback functions. An LED signal on the back of the scanner provides the user with clearly visible feedback on the current process step, while any process specifications are automatically fed back to the end device in order to detect any errors early on and avoid them in advance. The feedback of different signal tones and vibrations also contributes to process optimisation and error analysis.