Case Study
Inclusion at Schmaus GmbH

The family business Schmaus GmbH is a specialist trading company for office supplies with its own logistics centre and employs around 50 people. The company places particular emphasis on the competence of people with disabilities. This is also reflected in the use of employees with disabilities and specifically employees with a hearing impairment. The company's commitment to job participation and inclusion has already received several awards, including the Inclusion Award for Business and the Inclusion Award of the Saxony Municipal Social Association.
As part of the Work-by-Inclusion project, the work process for people with hearing impairments was adapted for inclusion at the company by means of modern work aids and further digitalised.

Comment from the company on inclusion:
We had already successfully employed people with disabilities in cooperation with the local integration service before the project began. Since noise distracts hearing employees during certain activities, we came up with the idea of employing employees with a disability there as a special skill. So we hired more people with hearing disabilities because they are less influenced and distracted by background noise and are therefore particularly suited for use in order picking - where accuracy and concentration are required to avoid errors. Due to their good experience and strengths, we are also increasingly using our employees with hearing impairments in other departments in the logistics area.
Of course, it is not easy to get good people due to the shortage of skilled workers. So it is an advantage for us that we have the experience and prerequisites to also employ employees with handicaps.

In order to speed up processes and increase efficiency, logistics is increasingly using technologies in which picking is carried out according to voice announcements, the so-called pick-by-voice principle. Pick-by-voice is not suitable for employees with hearing loss or deafness, as they are only able to perceive acoustic information, such as spoken language or signals, to a limited extent or not at all. Depending on the degree of hearing impairment and the type of environmental influences, audible information must therefore be acoustically amplified or modified in such a way that it can be perceived visually or tactilely. Therefore, a solution was sought at Schmaus GmbH through the use of pick-by-vision technology.

The new system for digitally supported picking in the warehouse is based on data glasses for the visual display of information in the employee's field of vision. The data glasses consist of a frame with a built-in or frame-mounted computer, a battery for power supply and a screen that can be placed directly in front of the eye via an articulated arm. To avoid a one-sided load due to the weight of the technology (battery, display, computer), the battery is placed on the other side of the spectacle frame, thus balancing the load of the computer and display. The glasses still weigh about 100 g and can therefore be worn well for longer periods of time. Since the battery of the data glasses is not satisfactory for a working day of eight hours, the employees carry a power bank with them, which can additionally supply the glasses with power. The data glasses are connected via Bluetooth to a hand-held scanner, which is attached to the employees' belts with an elastic band. Via a WLAN network set up in the warehouse, the data glasses receive information from the central computer on the picking of new orders. The employee is always shown as little information as possible on the display of the glasses. Pictograms are usually used to avoid text. Text can be processed more difficult by employees with deafness, because the grammar of spoken language and sign language are fundamentally different. Pictograms convey a one-to-one command and can be understood equally by all employees without and with a hearing impairment.
At the beginning of the picking of an order, the location of the item is shown to the employees via a numbering system in the display of the glasses. Based on the number and the layout of the warehouse, the employee knows the exact location of the items. As soon as he or she arrives at the corresponding position, they scan a code on the shelf with the hand scanner, which determines the current position. Based on the code, the system checks whether the employee is at the correct item. If an incorrect code is scanned, an error message appears on the screen, informing the picker of the error. Only when the employees are at the correct position and they have also acknowledged this, the quantity of articles to be collected is shown on the display. Another scan with the hand scanner confirms the correct quantity of goods removed. Now the picker brings the articles to the appropriate picking tote, which is assigned to the order. The totes move automatically through the warehouse via a rail-like roller system and are located a maximum of eight meters away from the employees in order to avoid long walking distances. Employees scan the code on the bin to confirm that they have placed the item in the correct bin. If the system does not detect any errors and the order is complete, a new order is shown on the display of the glasses.

With the help of the data glasses, order pickers can work more efficiently, as they do not have to carry and check off any more slips of paper, but receive all the important information on the display of the data glasses. Due to the simple operation, the data glasses can be used equally by all employees for picking.
In addition, the data glasses improve communication between employees. Short messages can be sent via the buttons on the glasses frame or the scanner. For example, employees with a hearing impairment also receive all information about social and internal events in the company.

Every permanently employed person who is frequently deployed in order picking has a data glasses frame that is adapted to them. In this context, the company works with an optician who determines the optical characteristics such as dioptres or eye dominance of the employees. Based on the results, the data glasses are individually adapted. This is important in order to be able to work with the glasses for longer periods at a time without putting too much strain on the eyes. Due to the special adaptations, however, a pair of glasses cannot be passed on directly to another person, for example when changing shifts.
For trainees or employees who rarely work in picking, the company has universal models of glasses. These consist only of a wire frame that can be worn over regular glasses or without lenses at all. However, these models are less suitable for employees who wear their own glasses, especially when working long hours.
Important appointments, such as training courses or process changes, are accompanied by a sign language interpreter in order to optimally integrate employees with deafness. They can be requested from the relevant integration specialist service up to 24 hours before the planned appointment. When more and more people with hearing impairments were employed, the company also supported the State Interpreter Centre with a so-called colleague seminar on site. During the seminar, the employees were informed about sign language and forms of communication, among other things. In addition, mixed groups worked together for several days. This enabled the hearing people to better develop an understanding for colleagues with a hearing impairment - some even learned a few signs.
The specialist integration service also supported the employees in taking an active part in the development process of the project and in making suggestions for improvements.

In an emergency, such as a fire, an appropriate alarm or emergency signal is shown on the display of the data glasses. Employees who are hard of hearing or deaf thus receive the necessary information for evacuation. Since technical errors cannot be ruled out in such cases, those affected also have an assigned evacuation assistant.

The research project Work-by-Inclusion was funded by the Ausgleichsfonds für überregionalale Vorhaben zur Teilhabe von Menschen mit Schwerbehinderung am Arbeitsleben (Compensation Fund for Supraregional Projects for the Participation of People with Severe Disabilities in Working Life) of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. The project participants were the Chair of Materials Handling, Material Flow and Logistics (fml) of the Technical University of Munich, the software company CIM GmbH and, as initiator, Schmaus GmbH. The placement and counselling of the employees was carried out by the Integrationsfachdienst Chemnitz, whereby the company received an integration grant from the employment agency for the hiring and training of the employees with hearing impairments.