Picqer in the classroom
ROC Het Perron in Veenendaal has been using Picqer for 2.5 years to give Logistics and Transport students a realistic view of logistics processes and to prepare them for the professional field. At their ‘Het Laadperron’ location, the school has set up an 800 m² warehouse for practical training, alongside classrooms and offices.
Mark van Ravenhorst has been teaching transport and logistics subjects for three years. After years of experience as a transport planner and logistics manager, he wanted to pass on his knowledge to the next generation. That’s how he became a teacher at Het Perron.
Searching for easy-to-use WMS software
To give students better insight into logistics, Mark started looking for warehouse software for the training environment. He needed something simple and accessible. “Many systems are extremely complex. These are already difficult for experienced workers, let alone for students. By the time they understand the WMS, the school year is already over. That’s why we chose Picqer. We only need to explain a process once, and they immediately understand how it works and can get started right away. Picqer is exactly what we were looking for in our practical setting.”
Logistics from A to Z
ROC Het Perron aims to use Picqer as broadly as possible.
“What we want to teach is the full picture of the logistics process, and to give students the confidence that they can perform these tasks independently. From incoming to outgoing goods flow. We want to simulate this as realistically as possible. So we don’t want students using pen and paper. That’s not how it works in real-life operations,” Mark explains.
For VMBO level 3 and 4 students in the transport module, Picqer is used to gain experience in picking orders. For MBO students in the Logistics Employee and Logistics Team Leader programs, it goes a step further. Picqer helps them master the complete logistics process.
They simulate a warehouse by forming a team of 5 to 10 students. Each lesson, one student is assigned as the warehouse manager. This student makes sure everyone receives the correct picklists and operates the WMS system. The rest of the students handle the warehouse tasks.
In addition to using Picqer, MBO students gain experience with all aspects of logistics, from route planning and loading/unloading goods to pallet stacking and operating forklifts.
Gaining an edge with hands-on experience
“With theory alone, you miss out on a lot of experience. Most of our students learn better by doing than from textbooks. The gap between theory and practice is big. Once you’ve mastered a process in practice, it’s easier to respond to unexpected situations. For example, when a student receives an incomplete booking, they might initially think, ‘too bad, let’s move on.’ But by letting them experience the issues that arise later in the process, they understand why it’s so important to solve mistakes early. The next time it happens, they know exactly what the consequences are if they ignore it. That gives them a real advantage over students who haven’t encountered these situations before.”
Expanding the curriculum
Soon, Het Perron will experiment with the Picqer app to work paperlessly. They’ll also give each student their own account so they can track every step. This way, any mistakes can be traced back to a specific student, allowing them to offer support where needed.
Mark hopes they can expand their use of Picqer even further in the future. With a new training instructor on board, they now have more time to explore which features they can add to the curriculum.
This interview took place on March 4, 2021.
