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

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.