Warehouse Mobile Workstation MAX US

Permanent, fixed workstations can interfere with efficiency in the workplace. Employees must arrange their workflow to ensure that they are in specific places at specific times, which imposes a burden in terms of time management and unnecessary physical labor. This concern is especially pronounced in expansive workspaces such as factories and warehouses, which demand a lot of walking from employees under the best of circumstances.In these cases, immobile workstations lead to inefficiencies and decreased morale, reducing worker efficiency and creating a negative employee experience at businesses in many sectors that already struggle to retain talent. Mobile warehouse computer workstations are a common, flexible solution that enables immediate access to necessary equipment with minimal interruption. ACD Group offers specialized mobile workstation solutions to provide maximum benefits to our industrial clients. ACD MAX Mobile Workstations are battery-powered, modular carts that free employees from reliance on power outlets or cumbersome power cords. What's more, key elements of our workstations, from height to storage components, are configurable to your specifications. For clients who need long-lasting, highly individualized solutions to workspace management, no competing product offers a better ROI. At the ACD Group, we've applied our award-winning design sensibilities to craft the most customizable line of mobile powered workstations with rechargeable batteries on the market. We understand that different logistics applications have vastly different needs, and we've taken that into account in our modular designs. Various combinations of shelving, drawers, cords, and charging stations are available, as are additional accessories. While the exact details vary, all of our MAX Mobile Workstations boast the following features:

• Flexible modular systems with many configuration options
• Adjustable, ergonomic height
• Proven battery management system capable of lasting through multiple shifts
• Simple and fast battery changing with the ACD Powerstation, which simplifies the battery change process
• Country-specific design with all EU approvals and CSA/U.S. approval
• Residual-current circuit breaker (RCD) with or without a bypass circuit
• Easy-running industrial castors

Each model offers additional time- and cost-saving features which are outlined above to help you determine which model best suits your operation.

While the above benefits theoretically apply to any battery-powered mobile workstation, there are compelling reasons to choose a rechargeable unit over other options.

• Cutting cords. Extension cords are not only unsightly, but also inconvenient, potentially dangerous, and in many instances are not OSHA compliant or insurable. Rechargeable workstations use replaceable battery packs to eliminate reliance on extension cords that can easily become tangled, unwieldy, and dangerous.
• Decreased charge time. Battery packs also tend to decrease overall charge time and therefore downtime. By allowing some packs to charge while others are in use, there is always a replacement handy without turning to cords.

Our rolling workstations offer advanced battery management to facilitate the switch from wired to wireless. <Learn more about the benefits of mobile workstations in warehouses.>

Industries Served by Mobile Workstations

Common industrial environments that can benefit from rechargeable mobile workstations include:

Warehousing and Distribution

When integrated into industrial environments such as warehouses and distribution centers, the MAX line of mobile workstations provide a number of benefits that improve profitability, including:

• Increased productivity. Mobile workstations allow employees to take their workstation with them throughout the facility, providing constant access to necessary supplies and information. As such, employees are afforded more time to work as they spend less time traveling to and from stationary workstations.
• Simplified docking and shipping operations. Docking and shipping are much easier when shipping, receiving, and documentation can all be done in one place. Mobile workstations ensure that functions such as printing of bills of lading, receipt of cargo, inventory adjustments, and more right at the dock door or anywhere else convenient.
• Reduced potential for error. With pertinent data immediately available, workers are less likely to overlook, forget, or misinterpret information. Facilitating convenient access allows facilities to drastically decrease error rates, resulting in cost savings as lost time incidents decrease in frequency.

Grocery and Retail

For grocery and retail operations, mobile workstations make the daily working routine easier, especially when coupled with handheld data terminals that allow for quick and intuitive data entry and tracking. The MAX line of mobile workstations offers solutions that will tolerate a variety of adverse conditions, including climate-controlled areas such as freezers. Additional industries that can benefit from mobile workstations include the following:

• Food and beverage
• Healthcare/medical
• Engineering
• Automotive
• Military and defense
• Food processing
• Manufacturing

In general, any industry in which employees are mobile throughout the day can benefit from implementing mobile workstations.

How Do Mobile Workstations Improve Efficiency in Warehouses?

Using mobile computer stations in warehouses provides efficiency benefits across a range of tasks. When employees can move freely and complete necessary steps as they go, warehouses and distribution centers will experience the following:

• Optimized order picking
• Optimized order receiving
• Increased employee productivity
• Streamlined returns

Warehouse computer stations can be customized for specific processes, and utilizing them produces a clear ROI. In the following paragraphs, take a closer look at the many benefits of using mobile workstations in warehouses.

Optimizing Order Picking

Even if a warehouse is organized with high-demand products easily accessible, you'll lose time if employees have to return to a stationary distribution workstation to print labels every time they pick an item. Whether you use wave, cluster, batch, or any other order picking method, it can be optimized using a mobile workstation. With greater mobility, employees will spend less time walking back and forth through the warehouse and more time fulfilling orders. Less walking doesn't just save time on an individual scale—it also means there will be less foot traffic overall in your entire facility, reducing risk. This can help avoid accidental run-ins, slowdowns, and overcrowding, allowing employees to move faster and operate more efficiently.

Optimizing Order Receiving

When an employee has to print a large batch of labels at a workstation and then bring them to the processing area, they’re more likely to mislabel products, containers, and packaging. At a mobile workstation, however, they can print labels as they go, one at a time, which means they’ll be faster and more accurate. From there, items can go directly to the shelf, ready to be sold. With a warehouse mobile workstation, your products will spend less time sitting on the dock before reaching the sales floor. Since mobile workstations are battery-powered, you don't have to worry about creating a safety hazard with long power cords. A quality workstation will be equipped will be equipped with battery packs, and some versions have swappable packs for 24/7 operation. Power strips attached to the workstation allow multiple devices to charge and operate simultaneously.

Employee Productivity

The most significant factor for determining the return on any investment is its effect on productivity. Mobile warehouse computer stations are simple but pack substantial productivity gains. With a mobile workstation, employees take fewer steps. Not only does this save time, it reduces how much physical labor is needed, thereby creating a better work experience and allowing employees to improve productivity. For example, at Simplehuman®, the MAX Mobile Workstation saved the company 20% in administrative and processing time on outbound items. These results prove mobile workstations boost productivity and improve the bottom line for warehouses and distributions centers.

Streamlining Returns

“Reverse Logistics” describes the process when returns to stock change the flow of product. Warehouse Mobile Workstations help to streamline this process by allowing the employee quick access to the product information, original order, and inventory status, all at the location of the return. Improving this process saves time, and money. When a customer returns one of your products, an employee has to consider the product type and supplier, match the item to the particular customer, take stock of the product's condition, and then issue an exchange or refund. Even if every step in this process goes right, returns interrupt your distribution pipeline—and those complications can slow your entire operation. At a mobile workstation, an employee has access to the inventory database and all the information they need about the original order, allowing them to perform all these processes in one location. Depending on the employee’s credentials, they can also process the exchange or refund, and then the system will be updated right away, thereby improving the customer experience and reducing the risk of an inventory error.

Contact ACD Group for Mobile Workstation Solutions

Adding mobile workstations to your operation is a simple choice, not only because of the clear benefits, but because they're easy to implement. A workstation doesn't require any special installation process or training. Your employees can follow the same processes they’ve always used—just without having to walk back and forth. ACD Group offers a variety of warehouse mobile computer workstations, so you can choose the one that best suits your needs and environment. The MAX BWS-R US, for example, can last for three shifts in a 24/7 operation using easily swappable batteries. The MAX TK US can be used in freezers and other cold environments at a temperature of up to -18.4°F. You can even customize your workstation with various unique features to match your specific operation. When you're ready to add mobile workstations to your organization, contact ACD Group. We're happy to answer any questions you may have and help you get started on the road to greater warehouse efficiency.

Get Moving With ACD Mobile Workstations

Mobile workstations promise to improve efficiency across industries and rechargeable units offer the maximum benefit. The ACD Group's line of MAX Mobile Workstations are modular and customizable to fit your individual needs. We also offer additional products to complement your mobile workstations and further optimize efficiency. These include:

• Handheld data terminals. Highly customizable with intuitive interfaces, handheld data terminals make it easy for employees to log inventory or perform similar barcode/RFID scanning and tracking tasks no matter where they are in your facility.
• Vehicle-mount terminals. Like handheld data terminals, our vehicle mount terminals provide critical data exactly where and when it's needed. Vehicle mount systems simplify stocking and picking so that employees always have up-to-date data about your most important logistical processes.
• Voice computer Voxter®. Our Voxter voice interface represents the latest in paperless picking, allowing for intuitive voice control of data access and entry.

If you have any questions about how to combine these technologies to best effect within your facility, we encourage you to contact us.