Vocollect intros vehicle mount Talkman

PITTSBURGH & SAN DIEGO, USA: Vocollect Inc., a leader in voice-centric solutions for mobile workers, announced the availability of its newest offering, the Vehicle Mount Talkman solution, designed to help companies accelerate productivity and accuracy, improve ergonomics, and reduce operational costs with vehicle-based workflows in the distribution center (DC)/warehouse.

The uniqueness of this solution lies in directing the work of eyes-busy/hands-busy vehicle-mounted workers via voice, eliminating the need for paper, screens and keyboards. With traditional scanner- and paper-based vehicle mount terminal (VMT) solutions, workers must take time to look at and touch a keyboard, or read a display or paper in unfavorable lighting, which is both inefficient and distracting.

Further, handheld devices used in a vehicle-based workflow can be lost or damaged, as workers transition from driving the vehicle to performing a task. As a voice-centric solution, Vocollect’s Vehicle Mount Talkman voice solution eliminates the need for workers to continually look away from their vehicles’ paths to pause a workflow in order to receive assignments, to send data, or to manage a handheld, thus boosting overall productivity and accuracy.

Typical vehicle-based workflows that may benefit from this voice-centric solution include put-away, replenishment, loading and selection.

Vocollect’s Vehicle Mount Talkman solution is based on its industry-leading Vocollect Voice software, a Talkman T5 voice appliance, vehicle mounting hardware, power adapters and an SRX wireless headset. With the Talkman mounted to and powered from the vehicle, users can move freely within a 20- to 30-foot radius of the vehicle to perform their tasks, communicating with the Talkman via the wireless SRX headset.

“We have been using Vocollect for our distribution operations for eight years. Through the use of a wireless headset and having the mobile device mounted on the truck, Vocollect’s new vehicle mount solution offers greater freedom, which in turn will result in significant gains in worker mobility,” according to Gabe Ibanez, Distribution Systems Manager at Nature’s Best, Brea, Calif., the largest privately owned US wholesaler-distributor of health and natural food products.

For companies with existing Vocollect Voice solutions for picking, the Vehicle Mount Talkman further leverages their voice investment by extending voice to vehicle-based workflows for put-away, replenishment, loading and receiving.

It is ideal for companies looking to increase the flexibility and utilization of vehicles per shift, potentially reducing the number of vehicles required to support a site’s material-handling needs. It also lowers asset management costs and loss/damage risks associated with portable tools and handheld devices.

Once installed, any Talkman T5 unit can move between a vehicle-mounted configuration and a Vehicle Mount Talkman or wearable, body-worn T5 device configuration with no tools or specialized training required.

Joe Pajer, president and CEO, Vocollect, said: “The introduction of a third solution this year is the next step in turning our vision of the voice-enabled warehouse into reality. It immediately follows our earlier introduction of our light industrial solution and enhancements to our current industrial wearable solution.

“This latest Vocollect offering provides a cost-effective and more ergonomic alternative to traditional VMT computing solutions. As part of the voice-centric warehouse, it is designed specifically to help companies compete more effectively in a competitive global market by increasing worker productivity, accuracy and vehicle utilization rates.”