How to quantify the potential utilization of equipment?

Pocketlab Voyager to track movement

In one of the previous blogs, there was some discussion on the determination of the utilization of the MHE in the warehouse.

MHE – Tracking of Idle Time – Pocketlab Voyager

How do you exactly measure the usage of the equipment?

Below is the kit which I have purchased a while ago through Kickstarter. If you are interested, you can purchase the Pocketlab Voyager kit here.

pocketvoyager

Below are some findings after using the device.

  1. There is an on-board memory which can store the recordings even if the bluetooth connection with the pc or mobile phone is disabled.
  2. The device is a sturdy piece of equipment, small and yet durable. You can add the rubber protector to further protect the device.
  3. Charging of the device can be via any usb connection.
  4. Overall, a very good equipment.

Factors that can be further enhanced in the next version.

  1. The battery life can last approximately 10 to 12 hours. To resolve this at the moment, you can attach a powerbank to it during the usage.
  2. Once the battery is flat, all the records in the on-board memory will be gone as well. Try to ensure there is sufficient power to last till you download all the collected data.

Experiment

I have not been to the warehouse these few weeks.

However, to check the feasibility of using the Pocketlab Voyager for the experiment, I have attached it to my bag while commuting to work.

The graph below shows the recording extracted from the on-board memory (the recording are done at 1 recorded point every second).

You will notice that there were instances where a lot of vibrations occurred. These wee times where I was walking, thus the vibrations.

There were also period of times where the device was relatively stable. The magnitude of the vibrations were comparatively lower. These are times where I was sitting down on a public transport.

accelerations

Calculations and Analysis

Adding up all the timings of the vibrations equate to 33.11 minutes of the total 62.9 minutes.

This is 53% of the total time.

This implies that the device was in motion for approximately half the time.

For the other half of the time, the device was no moving.

If you are talking about the MHE (e.g. forklift) in the warehouse only being utilized for 53% of the time, this is definitely a signal for better utilization of the equipment.