Automotive Cores Receiving System

General Application Summary:

• Core check-in / Cores Receiving is a time-consuming, labor intensive task. It involves picking up a "core," identifying it, checking for damage and sorting it with like parts. The parts are dirty, greasy, and thus so are the core check-in person's hands.
• There is usually 1 check-in person and 1 tally person who simply records what the check-in person receives.
• Done manually, the data then needs to be key entered into a payment system for payment to suppliers.
• Using voice, the check-in person wearing a headset and portable data collection terminal "speaks-in" the core part number, condition and any damages.
• More specific information can be collected, allowing more favorable core valuation.
• Data is validated instantly, rather than waiting until key entry time.
• Key entry errors are eliminated.
• The tally person and key entry labor can be reassigned to more productive activities
• Data can be available real-time for creating supplier purchase orders or updating inventory
• Typical system payback periods range from 6 months to 2 years, depending on application parameters.
• Speech Interface Design has worked on systems for a half dozen Remanufactures and Core Suppliers

Selected Customer Profile The customer profiled herein is a large remanufacture of a variety of automotive parts such as starters, alternators, water pumps, A/C compressors, etc. Companies in this industry buy broken auto parts, called "cores," from a variety of dealers or retail stores, and then "re-manufacture" these parts to meet or exceed original equipment standards. This customer is located in the Midwest, employs several hundred people, and has earned the right to be a Ford Motor Company Quality Remanufacture in their FQR program. Customer chose Speech Interface Design based on our expertise and experience in this area. Work Process

• Loads of cores arrive altogether in large pallet-sized shipping containers at the core check-in area.
• They are dirty, greasy and arrive in different conditions and with different defects.
• Each part needs to be evaluated so that our customer knows what to pay their supplier for these cores.
• The evaluation involves identifying the part and part number, determining the part's condition, and looking for other damage which might detract from its value.
• This is done piece by piece.
• After each piece is evaluated, it is placed in a group of like-parts.
• At the end of the load, the core check-in person (or the dedicated tally person) tallies up the parts and submits it to accounting.

Prior to Voice:

• Before we installed their Voice Cores Receiving System, this customer had a person dedicated to tallying parts.
• The core check-in person read off part numbers, conditions and any damage to the tally person who marked the results.
• The cores receiving supervisor totaled the tallies and submitted the results to the office staff for entry into their computerized payment system.
• Cores receipt information was available several days after the cores were checked-in at the earliest.
• Cores information had errors which could not be easily be traced since the parts had been moved and consolidated.

Objectives Specified for the Voice System:

• Free up some core check-in labor for re-assignment to other areas.
• Reduce the Cores Supervisor's tally burden.
• Eliminate the key-punch labor required under the paper system.
• Speed up the core check-in process so that data is available sooner.

Development and Installation of the Voice System:

• Speech Interface Design developed the system in-house with input from key customer personnel.
• We developed the voice dialog in a manner which mirrors their process, with some changes to speed data entry.
• We developed a specific interface to convert spoken data to meet the customer's computer system's input requirements.
• The system included the following hardware: 3 portable, RF-enabled Portable Voice Terminals, 2 Radio Access Points, terminal cradles, headsets, and accessories.
• The system included pre-written software tools for application development (which we used to develop the specific voice dialog) and for administering the voice terminals.
• The system was developed and installed in 16 weeks, approximately 4 weeks longer than usual for this type of system, the delay being due to additional data processing requirements.
• We installed the system and training the core check-in personnel in March, 1998 and operation began in April, 1998.

Results:

• The voice system has reduced the core check-in process from a 2 person job to a 1 person job.
• The system has achieved full payback of the initial investment.
• Our customer was extremely satisfied with the quality of service he received from Speech Interface Design.
• Our customer is now investigating the use of this system in other types of cores receiving.
• The system has been a major selling point for our customer's selling to their customers.