Sortation
Automated sortation devices are typically used in combination with conveyors. As products are selected in the warehouse and placed on a conveyor for movement to the shipping dock, they must be sorted into specific combinations. For example, inventory to satisfy multiple orders may be selected in batches, creating the need for sortation and sequencing into individual shipments. Most sortation controllers can be programmed to permit customized flow and decision logic to meet changing requirements.
Automated sortation provides two primary benefits. The first is a reduction in labor. The second is a significant increase in speed and accuracy of order selection. High-speed sortation systems, such as those used by United Parcel Service, can sort and align packages at rates exceeding one per second.
Robotics
The robot is a machine that can be programmed to perform one or a series of functions. The appeal of robotics lies in the ability to program functionality and decision logic to direct the handling process. The popularity of robotics resulted from its widespread adoption in the automotive industry during the early 1980s in an effort to automate select manual tasks. However, a warehouse provides a far different challenge. In warehousing, the goal is to efficiently accumulate the unique inventory requirements of a customer’s order. Thus, requirement can vary extensively from one order to the next, resulting in far less routine than is typical of manufacturing.
A successful application of robotics in warehousing is to build and break down unit loads. In the breakdown process, the robot is programmed to recognize product stacking patterns in unitized loads and place products in a predetermined position on a conveyor belt. The use of robots to build unit loads is essentially the reverse of breakdown. Another use of robotics in warehousing occurs in environments where it is different for humans to function. Examples include materials handling in high-noise areas, hazardous materials, and extreme temperature operations, such as frozen foods or heat treatment areas.
Significant potential exists to integrate robots in mechanized warehouses to perform select functions. The capability to incorporate program logic, in addition to robots speed, dependability, and accuracy, makes robotics an attractive alternative to traditional manual handling in situations that are highly repetitive or unfriendly to humans.
Live Racks
A device commonly used to reduce manual labor in warehouses is storage rack design in which product automatically flows to the desired selection position. The typical live rack contains roller conveyors and is constructed for rear loading. The rear of the rack is elevated higher than the front, causing a gravity flow toward the front. When cartons or unit loads are removed from the front, all other cartons or loads in that specific rack flow forward.
The use of the live rack reduces the need to use lift trucks to transfer unit loads. A significant advantage of live rack storage is the potential for automatic rotation of product as a result of rear loading. Rear loading facilitates first-in, first-out (FIFO) inventory management. Applications of gravity flow racks are varied. For example, live racks are utilized to sequence palletized fresh bread for shipping from bakeries.
Automated Systems
For several decades the concept of automated handling has offered great potential and limited accomplishment. Initial automated handling efforts focused on master carton order selection systems. Recently, emphasis has shifted to automated high-rise storage and retrieval systems. While the basic concepts of automation remain valid, the primary barriers are high capital investment and low degree of flexibility.
Potential to Automate
The appeal of automation is that it substitutes capital equipment for labor. In addition to requiring less direct labor, an automated system has the potential to operate faster and more accurately than its mechanized counterpart.
To date, most automated systems have been designed and constructed for specific applications. The guidelines previously noted for selection of mechanized handling systems (Table 11.2) are not applicable to automated systems. For example, storage equipment in an automated system is an integral part of the handling capability and can represent as much as 50 percent of the total investment. The ratio of dead weight to payload has little relevance when handling is automated.
Although information technology plays an important part in all handling systems, it is essential in automated systems. Information technology controls the automated selection equipment and interfaces with the WMS. A major disadvantage of automation is its dependency on proprietary information technology networks. To reduce such dependency, newer automated systems are being linked to the Internet and use standard browsers as the network for controlling warehouse operations. Automated warehouses require integration between the WMS and the material handling operating systems.
Order Selection
Initially, automation was applied to master carton selection or order assembly in the warehouse. Because of high labor intensity in order selection, the basic objective was to integrate mechanized, semi-automated, and automated handling into a system that offers the advantages of high productivity and accuracy while using minimal labor,
The general process begins with an automated order selection device preloaded with product. The device itself consists of series of flow racks stacked vertically. Merchandise is loaded from the rear and permitted to flow forward in the live rack on gravity conveyors until stopped by a rack door, Between or down the middle of the racks, power conveyors create a merchandise flow line, with several flow lines positioned vertical to each other, one to service each level or height of rack doors.
Upon receipt of an order, the warehouse control system generates sequenced instructions to trip the rack doors and allow merchandise, as required to flow forward onto the powered conveyors. The conveyors in turn transport merchandise to an order packing area for placement in shipment containers or unitization prior to transfer of products to the shipment staging area. Product is, ideally, selected and loaded sequentially so it can be unloaded in the sequence desired by the customer.
When compared to modern automation, these initial attempts at automated package handling were highly inefficient. A great deal of labor was required to perform merchandise pre-selection loading into the racks, and the automated selection equipment used was expensive. Early applications were limited to merchandise of extremely high value, with common or standardized master carton size, or situations where working conditions justify such investment. For example, these initial systems were widely tested for frozen food order selection.
SortationAutomated sortation devices are typically used in combination with conveyors. As products are selected in the warehouse and placed on a conveyor for movement to the shipping dock, they must be sorted into specific combinations. For example, inventory to satisfy multiple orders may be selected in batches, creating the need for sortation and sequencing into individual shipments. Most sortation controllers can be programmed to permit customized flow and decision logic to meet changing requirements.Automated sortation provides two primary benefits. The first is a reduction in labor. The second is a significant increase in speed and accuracy of order selection. High-speed sortation systems, such as those used by United Parcel Service, can sort and align packages at rates exceeding one per second.RoboticsThe robot is a machine that can be programmed to perform one or a series of functions. The appeal of robotics lies in the ability to program functionality and decision logic to direct the handling process. The popularity of robotics resulted from its widespread adoption in the automotive industry during the early 1980s in an effort to automate select manual tasks. However, a warehouse provides a far different challenge. In warehousing, the goal is to efficiently accumulate the unique inventory requirements of a customer’s order. Thus, requirement can vary extensively from one order to the next, resulting in far less routine than is typical of manufacturing.A successful application of robotics in warehousing is to build and break down unit loads. In the breakdown process, the robot is programmed to recognize product stacking patterns in unitized loads and place products in a predetermined position on a conveyor belt. The use of robots to build unit loads is essentially the reverse of breakdown. Another use of robotics in warehousing occurs in environments where it is different for humans to function. Examples include materials handling in high-noise areas, hazardous materials, and extreme temperature operations, such as frozen foods or heat treatment areas.
Significant potential exists to integrate robots in mechanized warehouses to perform select functions. The capability to incorporate program logic, in addition to robots speed, dependability, and accuracy, makes robotics an attractive alternative to traditional manual handling in situations that are highly repetitive or unfriendly to humans.
Live Racks
A device commonly used to reduce manual labor in warehouses is storage rack design in which product automatically flows to the desired selection position. The typical live rack contains roller conveyors and is constructed for rear loading. The rear of the rack is elevated higher than the front, causing a gravity flow toward the front. When cartons or unit loads are removed from the front, all other cartons or loads in that specific rack flow forward.
The use of the live rack reduces the need to use lift trucks to transfer unit loads. A significant advantage of live rack storage is the potential for automatic rotation of product as a result of rear loading. Rear loading facilitates first-in, first-out (FIFO) inventory management. Applications of gravity flow racks are varied. For example, live racks are utilized to sequence palletized fresh bread for shipping from bakeries.
Automated Systems
For several decades the concept of automated handling has offered great potential and limited accomplishment. Initial automated handling efforts focused on master carton order selection systems. Recently, emphasis has shifted to automated high-rise storage and retrieval systems. While the basic concepts of automation remain valid, the primary barriers are high capital investment and low degree of flexibility.
Potential to Automate
The appeal of automation is that it substitutes capital equipment for labor. In addition to requiring less direct labor, an automated system has the potential to operate faster and more accurately than its mechanized counterpart.
To date, most automated systems have been designed and constructed for specific applications. The guidelines previously noted for selection of mechanized handling systems (Table 11.2) are not applicable to automated systems. For example, storage equipment in an automated system is an integral part of the handling capability and can represent as much as 50 percent of the total investment. The ratio of dead weight to payload has little relevance when handling is automated.
Although information technology plays an important part in all handling systems, it is essential in automated systems. Information technology controls the automated selection equipment and interfaces with the WMS. A major disadvantage of automation is its dependency on proprietary information technology networks. To reduce such dependency, newer automated systems are being linked to the Internet and use standard browsers as the network for controlling warehouse operations. Automated warehouses require integration between the WMS and the material handling operating systems.
Order Selection
Initially, automation was applied to master carton selection or order assembly in the warehouse. Because of high labor intensity in order selection, the basic objective was to integrate mechanized, semi-automated, and automated handling into a system that offers the advantages of high productivity and accuracy while using minimal labor,
The general process begins with an automated order selection device preloaded with product. The device itself consists of series of flow racks stacked vertically. Merchandise is loaded from the rear and permitted to flow forward in the live rack on gravity conveyors until stopped by a rack door, Between or down the middle of the racks, power conveyors create a merchandise flow line, with several flow lines positioned vertical to each other, one to service each level or height of rack doors.
Upon receipt of an order, the warehouse control system generates sequenced instructions to trip the rack doors and allow merchandise, as required to flow forward onto the powered conveyors. The conveyors in turn transport merchandise to an order packing area for placement in shipment containers or unitization prior to transfer of products to the shipment staging area. Product is, ideally, selected and loaded sequentially so it can be unloaded in the sequence desired by the customer.
When compared to modern automation, these initial attempts at automated package handling were highly inefficient. A great deal of labor was required to perform merchandise pre-selection loading into the racks, and the automated selection equipment used was expensive. Early applications were limited to merchandise of extremely high value, with common or standardized master carton size, or situations where working conditions justify such investment. For example, these initial systems were widely tested for frozen food order selection.
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