Determining the source of human-system errors in manual order picking with respect to human factors

ABSTRACT

Order picking (OP) is a time- and labour-intensive operation in which human-system errors can lead to deficiencies in quality. This study aimed to identify human factors-related failure modes that cause human-system errors and quality deficits in OP. We conducted a systematic literature review and qualitative interviews with 38 order pickers employed by 14 different companies in four countries. The literature review found 46 papers that identified eight different failure modes related to OP system design: physical workload, physical fatigue, mental fatigue, complexity, memory demand, vision, hearing, and motivation. The interview results confirmed many of the same factors noted in the literature review but also identified communication and supervision failure modes that had not been addressed before. The results illustrate human factors-related failure modes linked to OP system design, operation, and management that ultimately increase quality deficits and pick errors. Further research on human factors and OP system design interaction is warranted, as no assessment tool has been found to support engineers and managers seeking to improve system designs to reduce pick errors.

KEYWORDS:

• Human system error
• order picking systems
• pick errors
• ergonomics
• quality
• qualitative interviews

Acknowledgements

Funding for this research was provided by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) RGPIN-2018-05956. The first author wishes to thank the very kind support provided to her, as a visiting researcher, by the Technical University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt Germany. This work was also supported by a fellowship within the Doctoral Programme of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).

Data availability statement

The authors confirm that the data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article; supplementary data are available from the authors upon reasonable request.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by German Academic Exchange Service [grant number 57314023] and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada [grant number RGPIN-2018-05956].

Notes on contributors

Azin Setayesh

Azin Setayesh, received her PhD in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering from Ryerson University; she has a Master of Manufacturing Industrial Engineering and Master of Business Administration (MBA). Also, she has professional work experiences in Canadian companies as a Manufacturing Industrial Engineer and Manufacturing Process Engineer.

Eric H. Grosse

Eric H. Grosse is a Junior Professor and the Head of the Juniorprofessorship of Digital Transformation in Operations Management at Saarland University, Germany. He is also Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Production and Supply Chain Management at Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany. His research interests include warehouse optimisation as well as sustainability and digitalisation in production and logistics.

Christoph H. Glock

Christoph H. Glock is a Full Professor and the Head of the Institute of Production and Supply Chain Management at Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany. His research interests include inventory management, supply chain management, warehousing, sustainable production, and human factors in logistics and inventory systems.

W. Patrick Neumann

W. Patrick Neumann is a Full Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering of Ryerson University, Canada. Current research, conducted at the Human Factors Engineering Lab, focuses on the design of work systems that are both effective and sustainable from human and technical perspectives. He is a Design Scientist and certified human factors professional (Eur. Erg.).