Industrial wearables manufacturer ProGlove has expanded its analysis platform “ProGlove Insight” to include new functions in the area of ​​“Process Analytics” for optimizing work processes and protecting employees.

ProGlove Insight is an API-first platform offering services to improve Device Lifecycle Management, process understanding and let you easily act on dynamic events. By leveraging state-of-the-art sensors deeply embedded in ProGlove devices, you’re able to understand your processes like never before through completely new data points.

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Capitalizing on Data Improving the Warehouse Process

ProGlove Insight draws on the unique capability of ProGlove's MARK barcode scanners to not only capture barcode data but also seize metadata and information collected via the numerous sensors the devices feature. This data contextualizes barcode symbologies, device configurations, time stamps, temperature readings, battery health and other raw data to pave the way for actionable insights. ProGlove Insight eliminates the restrictions of workstation silos because it picks up data from the shop floor and drives it bottom up to the management level. This allows for an overview of a business's entire warehouse process and thus supports data-driven decision-making, according to a press release.

"Parcel logistics is a low-margin game that comes with a lot of manual work," said Ville Heimgartner, Smart Urban Logistics Consultant at DPD. "Therefore, efficiency and worker well-being is key, especially since the workload in our business is volatile. We need to make sure we have the right amount of people available at the right time and at the right spots in our depots. The number of scans, where we make them, and how fast they can be processed are key indicators that determine our business efficiency and productivity. ProGlove Insight gives us the means to best support our workers, make arrangements accordingly, and allow for sustainable growth."

Some of ProGlove Insight's key functionalities include:

• Safeguarding frontline workers: Allow for time-motion studies and measure the effort to complete assigned jobs. The number of scans can be correlated with a worker's step count to determine the workload on each worker. This way, organizations can assess whether the number of assigned workers per workstation needs adjustments to respond to peaks. Determine the time needed to process scans and identify recurring errors because of poor barcode quality to reduce the stress level for workers on site. Additionally, push audio, visual and haptic alerts on the deployed devices to provide guidance with all senses and help shop floor staff avoid accidents and injuries. At the same time, it enacts non-intrusive social distancing.
• Comprehensive Layout & Levels capabilities: Visualize shop floor activities and drill down to individual workstations and devices to compare processes. This lets businesses redesign workstations or other infrastructure components when necessary.
• Superior Insight Analytics: Monitor all scans and refine the collected information with relevant metadata to understand jobs, processes, and workloads to compare them to previous jobs and tailor your setup accordingly. This puts a magnifying glass on running jobs, allowing you to precisely measure ROI on new initiatives.
• Effortless device management with the ability to deploy zero-touch updates: Push firmware and configuration updates from one central point to your entire device fleet and know when to swap devices before they run out of charge to allow for undisrupted operations.

Related Gartner Names ProGlove Cool Vendor In May 2020 Manufacturing Industry Solutions Report

The value of the shop floor

"It is safe to assume that 70 percent of the added value on the shop floor is created by the hands of human frontline workers," said Andreas Koenig, CEO at ProGlove. "That's why we need means to optimize processes while strengthening the role of the human worker. ProGlove Insight is an amalgam of device management, advanced analytics, and the Human Digital Twin that strikes the right balance between business needs and worker wellbeing. We look upon this as a responsibility we have to pioneer a pathway to a future that comes with opportunities for everyone. ProGlove Insight is our contribution in that regard."

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