We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
  • INDUSTRY PRESS ROOM
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • MEDIA FILE
  • Create Account
  • Sign In
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Free Newsletters
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC
    • Podcast
    • Webcasts
    • Blogs
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Global Logistics and Risk
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • Parcel Forum 2022
    • MODEX 2022
    • Upload Your Video
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC
    • Podcast
    • Webcasts
    • Blogs
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Global Logistics and Risk
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • Parcel Forum 2022
    • MODEX 2022
    • Upload Your Video
Home » Doing good, and getting great results
outbound

Doing good, and getting great results

November 18, 2019
Mitch Mac Donald
No Comments

At first glance, the warehouse run by North Central Sight Services (NCSS) in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, looks like any other fulfillment operation. Workers there carry out the same kinds of tasks performed by their counterparts at third-party fulfillment centers everywhere—in this case, counting, packaging, and shipping office supplies, flash drives, labels, and CD/DVD packs for their client, the U.S. AbilityOne Commission. But there's one important difference in this operation: The 29 workers at the site are all visually impaired.

The facility in question is a collaborative venture between NCSS, a not-for-profit agency that provides services and employment to individuals who are blind or visually impaired, and the U.S. AbilityOne Commission, a federal agency that provides employment opportunities for people who are blind or have significant disabilities in the manufacture and delivery of products and services to the government.

What brought the site to our attention was an announcement highlighting the results of its recent warehouse modernization program. In late September, NCSS, in collaboration with Zebra Technologies and CSSI Technologies, completely overhauled the operation, introducing automated systems and processes. As part of the initiative, NCSS equipped its workers with customized mobile computers (Zebra's MC3300 models) that feature large characters, color coding, and voice-directed picking capabilities and run on a customized warehouse management system developed by CSSI.

A driving force in the design process was James Morley-Smith, global director of user experience design at Zebra. "Zebra is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities, " he said in a statement. "[We] design products with an 'accessible-first' approach," Morley-Smith added. "This allows us to provide an improved user experience for all end users—from those with disabilities like complete loss of sight to those with situational impairments like bulky work gloves."

Morley-Smith's interest in adaptive technologies is both personal and professional. His son, Fintan, lost his sight to cancer at an early age. "By watching how Fintan adapted to his environment without his sight, I realized that warehouse workers might face similar challenges—dimly lit conditions and protective goggles that impair their vision while they work," he wrote in a blog post on Zebra's website. "Recently, my team and I drew on this experience in designing tools for these front-line workers, developing larger buttons and other design modifications that ... help the users perform their jobs better and with fewer risks for error." (Editor's note: You can learn more about his work and inspiration in his TED Talk, "How your impairments can be an advantage," here.)

As for the project's outcome, the results speak for themselves. "The solution has helped us modernize our warehouse from a manual-based process to an automated one that has increased worker productivity and picking accuracy, which has led to the near elimination of returns," said Terri Kio, industry operations manager at NCSS, in the statement.

There's a broader lesson in this story than just the benefits of automation or the rewards of helping others. It also holds an important message for an industry that's chronically strapped for labor. Though it wasn't designed as a recruitment initiative, the NCSS project nonetheless illustrates how fresh thinking and the innovative application of logistics technology can open up career opportunities to a previously overlooked pool of candidates and, at the same time, help DCs ease their staffing woes.

Creating work environments that allow people with disabilities to not only work, but thrive, is one way to take the edge off the labor crunch. More than that, it enables companies to do well while doing good.

Supply Chain Services Automatic Data Capture Mobile Computer Systems Scanners Voice Business Management & Finance
KEYWORDS Ability One Commission CSSI Technologies North Central Sight Services Zebra Technologies
  • Related Articles

    good practice makes good business

    tell me again why we're doing this

    Getting better all the time: Saddle Creek’s continuous upgrades

Mitchmacdonald
Mitch Mac Donald has more than 30 years of experience in both the newspaper and magazine businesses. He has covered the logistics and supply chain fields since 1988. Twice named one of the Top 10 Business Journalists in the U.S., he has served in a multitude of editorial and publishing roles. The leading force behind the launch of Supply Chain Management Review, he was that brand's founding publisher and editorial director from 1997 to 2000. Additionally, he has served as news editor, chief editor, publisher and editorial director of Logistics Management, as well as publisher of Modern Materials Handling. Mitch is also the president and CEO of Agile Business Media, LLC, the parent company of DC VELOCITY and CSCMP's Supply Chain Quarterly.

Recent Articles by Mitch Mac Donald

20 years later, the question remains the same: Are you up to SPEED?

Hail and farewell: interview with Gail Rutkowski

Thought I’d something more to say …

You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Most Popular Articles

  • Schneider welcomes first battery-electric truck

  • Fred Smith is not worried about Amazon

  • RJW LOGISTICS GROUP EXPANDS RETAIL LOGISTICS OPERATION TO DALLAS

  • Researchers: Ships can look to Mother Nature for energy-saving ideas

  • Maersk deploys indoor drones for warehouse inventory counts

Now Playing on DCV-TV

C8c3bc6b a91d 4181 a18f 35f288257630

ACPaQ: Fast and reliable automated mixed case palletizer

DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
Fully Automated Mixed Case Palletizing ACPaQ is a universally applicable solution for fully automated order picking of mixed case pallets based on customers‘ requirements. Its software allows you to customize the palletizing order to increase efficiency during in-store replenishment. The mixed case palletizer...

FEATURED WHITE PAPERS

  • The five best applications for robotic lift trucks in warehouse environments

  • Fulfillment Facility Improved Efficiencies by 4x

  • 3PLs: Complete Orders Faster with Flexible Automation

  • Reusable Packaging for the New Wave of Supply Chain Automation

View More

Subscribe to DC Velocity Magazine

GET YOUR FREE SUBSCRIPTION
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • NEWSLETTERS
  • ADVERTISING
  • CUSTOMER CARE
  • CONTACT
  • ABOUT
  • STAFF
  • PRIVACY POLICY

Copyright ©2023. All Rights ReservedDesign, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing