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Month: February 2022

Cognex presents new compact barcode reader

Posted on by David Priestman

Cognex Corporation has introduced the DataMan 280 series of fixed-mount barcode readers, engineered to solve a broad range of ID applications, including tough 1D, 2D, and Direct Part Mark (DPM) code applications in manufacturing and logistics.

“Cognex specialises in decoding the most difficult to read barcodes at the highest speed and accuracy, said Carl Gerst, Cognex’s Executive Vice President of Products and Platforms. “Optimised with our latest patented decoding algorithms, the DataMan 280 combines advanced technology from Cognex’s premium ID platforms into a compact and cost-effective housing.”

A powerful and operator-friendly reader to speed up production and throughput The DataMan 280 features a high-resolution sensor combined with a dynamic image formation system to improve code handling and coverage. This technology, along with connectivity options for today’s Industry 4.0 manufacturing needs, allows users to read complex barcodes reliably while improving overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) and throughput.

Combined with Cognex Edge Intelligence (EI), DataMan 280 provides advanced Industry 4.0 features like easy web browser connectivity, device management, performance monitoring and fast image offload. It allows users to configure multiple devices at once and begin trending important system performance metrics in minutes. Facility managers can identify trends and intervene quickly when dips in performance are spotted.

The modular hardware including field-interchangeable lights and lenses and latest software algorithms can be configured to solve any barcode reading challenge. DataMan 280 can be configured straight or in right angle for tight spaces and is compatible with most accessories of the DataMan 260 series for easy upgrading. For applications with increased field of view and multi-side scanning at high speeds, multiple readers can be deployed together.

The DataMan 280’s modular hardware and software make it ideal for label-based and DPM code reading applications in a wide range of industrial environments. Examples include decoding difficult DPM codes on challenging surfaces of automotive parts, reading and tracking small DPM codes on medical devices or reliably reading barcodes on high-speed packaging lines. Other typical tasks of the DataMan 280 include simultaneous reading of multiple codes, presentation scanning and label-based 1D and 2D code reading on pallets behind reflective foil.

 

Cognex presents new compact barcode reader

Posted on by David Priestman

Cognex Corporation has introduced the DataMan 280 series of fixed-mount barcode readers, engineered to solve a broad range of ID applications, including tough 1D, 2D, and Direct Part Mark (DPM) code applications in manufacturing and logistics.

“Cognex specialises in decoding the most difficult to read barcodes at the highest speed and accuracy, said Carl Gerst, Cognex’s Executive Vice President of Products and Platforms. “Optimised with our latest patented decoding algorithms, the DataMan 280 combines advanced technology from Cognex’s premium ID platforms into a compact and cost-effective housing.”

A powerful and operator-friendly reader to speed up production and throughput The DataMan 280 features a high-resolution sensor combined with a dynamic image formation system to improve code handling and coverage. This technology, along with connectivity options for today’s Industry 4.0 manufacturing needs, allows users to read complex barcodes reliably while improving overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) and throughput.

Combined with Cognex Edge Intelligence (EI), DataMan 280 provides advanced Industry 4.0 features like easy web browser connectivity, device management, performance monitoring and fast image offload. It allows users to configure multiple devices at once and begin trending important system performance metrics in minutes. Facility managers can identify trends and intervene quickly when dips in performance are spotted.

The modular hardware including field-interchangeable lights and lenses and latest software algorithms can be configured to solve any barcode reading challenge. DataMan 280 can be configured straight or in right angle for tight spaces and is compatible with most accessories of the DataMan 260 series for easy upgrading. For applications with increased field of view and multi-side scanning at high speeds, multiple readers can be deployed together.

The DataMan 280’s modular hardware and software make it ideal for label-based and DPM code reading applications in a wide range of industrial environments. Examples include decoding difficult DPM codes on challenging surfaces of automotive parts, reading and tracking small DPM codes on medical devices or reliably reading barcodes on high-speed packaging lines. Other typical tasks of the DataMan 280 include simultaneous reading of multiple codes, presentation scanning and label-based 1D and 2D code reading on pallets behind reflective foil.

 

STILL participates in autonomous driving research project

Posted on by David Priestman

The vision of autonomously driving transport vehicles in production halls or warehouses is to come within reach thanks to the European research project IMOCO (Intelligent Motion Control). On the German side, the project is led by the Hamburg-based intralogistics specialist STILL, a subsidiary of the KION Group. The project is scheduled to end in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Transport vehicles that navigate truly autonomously through warehouses and production facilities, learning to analyse and “understand” their surroundings, reliably recognising obstacles and people, avoiding them and all the while transporting goods quickly and reliably from one place to another – that still sounds like science fiction. However, according to the initiators of the European research project IMOCO, this vision is soon to become reality.

For this purpose, four scenarios were defined within the research project that are characterised by digital twins and AI principles (machine learning/deep learning): Intelligent navigation, picking up the goods, their transport and eventual drop off at the destination.

“Such processes place very high demands on the processes and also on the vehicle,” describes Ansgar Bergmann, responsible for the IMOCO project at STILL. “With our OPX iGo neo, we have therefore sent an order picker into the project that already comes very close to the idea of this autonomously driving vehicle due to its ‘intelligent’ equipment and the resulting capabilities.”

Highly sensitive sensor technology

Current automated guided vehicles still have their limits when it comes to operating completely autonomously in warehouses or production facilities. Although they recognise obstacles and brake independently, they cannot yet avoid obstacles, intelligently search for the most efficient routes and analyse the environment. For this, they need highly sensitive sensor technology in the form of laser scanners, cameras or radar to detect spatial objects such as shelves or even signs, markings and displays.

In addition, they must “understand” their environment, register changes and be able to respond to them. Only this will allow these vehicles to navigate independently to their destination, recognise and handle loads, avoid obstacles or find logical storage locations for the transported goods.

The OPX iGo neo already operates autonomously in the aisle, detects and understands its environment and derives appropriate actions from it. However, leaving the shelf aisle fully autonomously and navigating through the customer’s halls, and also planning optimal paths for this, for example, is not yet part of the product. But precisely because it is already equipped with the corresponding environmental sensors, the OPX iGo neo is the ideal starting point for the desired further developments of this project.

“For the OPX iGo neo, the goal of the project is to further increase the level of understanding of the environment and the decision-making capabilities in order to continuously increase the autonomous capabilities, the intelligence of the robot, and to allow it to act autonomously in the warehouse beyond the shelf aisle,” explains Bergmann. “Machine and deep learning approaches play a very important role here.”

Detect obstacles in real-time

IMOCO has set itself the goal of creating the prerequisites for this challenging application of mobile robotic systems in dynamic intralogistics environments. Autonomously executed and situation-based modifications to the planning of a route, including the consideration of moving objects such as people or vehicles, should then be possible throughout the entire warehouse.

Bergmann says: “The research project wants to further develop the conventional triad of recognition, analysis and action by means of artificial intelligence – to perceive, understand and solve.” Within the research project, the vehicles are to be enabled to perceive the spatial environment through different sensor systems and not only recognise trained objects, but also to estimate their movements. “This detection of obstacles has to be done in real time for smooth operation.”

Hamburg as “research centre”

At the STILL headquarters in Hamburg, a demonstrator is being set up where all the project partners’ work will be brought together. In addition to STILL as a representative of the KION Group, the Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics (IML), Hahn Schickard, IMST GmbH, Nuromedia and Digital Twin Technology are also participating in the project on the German side.

IMOCO is funded by the European Union through the research organisation “Electronic Components and Systems for European Leadership” (ECSEL) and by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

 

STILL participates in autonomous driving research project

Posted on by David Priestman

The vision of autonomously driving transport vehicles in production halls or warehouses is to come within reach thanks to the European research project IMOCO (Intelligent Motion Control). On the German side, the project is led by the Hamburg-based intralogistics specialist STILL, a subsidiary of the KION Group. The project is scheduled to end in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Transport vehicles that navigate truly autonomously through warehouses and production facilities, learning to analyse and “understand” their surroundings, reliably recognising obstacles and people, avoiding them and all the while transporting goods quickly and reliably from one place to another – that still sounds like science fiction. However, according to the initiators of the European research project IMOCO, this vision is soon to become reality.

For this purpose, four scenarios were defined within the research project that are characterised by digital twins and AI principles (machine learning/deep learning): Intelligent navigation, picking up the goods, their transport and eventual drop off at the destination.

“Such processes place very high demands on the processes and also on the vehicle,” describes Ansgar Bergmann, responsible for the IMOCO project at STILL. “With our OPX iGo neo, we have therefore sent an order picker into the project that already comes very close to the idea of this autonomously driving vehicle due to its ‘intelligent’ equipment and the resulting capabilities.”

Highly sensitive sensor technology

Current automated guided vehicles still have their limits when it comes to operating completely autonomously in warehouses or production facilities. Although they recognise obstacles and brake independently, they cannot yet avoid obstacles, intelligently search for the most efficient routes and analyse the environment. For this, they need highly sensitive sensor technology in the form of laser scanners, cameras or radar to detect spatial objects such as shelves or even signs, markings and displays.

In addition, they must “understand” their environment, register changes and be able to respond to them. Only this will allow these vehicles to navigate independently to their destination, recognise and handle loads, avoid obstacles or find logical storage locations for the transported goods.

The OPX iGo neo already operates autonomously in the aisle, detects and understands its environment and derives appropriate actions from it. However, leaving the shelf aisle fully autonomously and navigating through the customer’s halls, and also planning optimal paths for this, for example, is not yet part of the product. But precisely because it is already equipped with the corresponding environmental sensors, the OPX iGo neo is the ideal starting point for the desired further developments of this project.

“For the OPX iGo neo, the goal of the project is to further increase the level of understanding of the environment and the decision-making capabilities in order to continuously increase the autonomous capabilities, the intelligence of the robot, and to allow it to act autonomously in the warehouse beyond the shelf aisle,” explains Bergmann. “Machine and deep learning approaches play a very important role here.”

Detect obstacles in real-time

IMOCO has set itself the goal of creating the prerequisites for this challenging application of mobile robotic systems in dynamic intralogistics environments. Autonomously executed and situation-based modifications to the planning of a route, including the consideration of moving objects such as people or vehicles, should then be possible throughout the entire warehouse.

Bergmann says: “The research project wants to further develop the conventional triad of recognition, analysis and action by means of artificial intelligence – to perceive, understand and solve.” Within the research project, the vehicles are to be enabled to perceive the spatial environment through different sensor systems and not only recognise trained objects, but also to estimate their movements. “This detection of obstacles has to be done in real time for smooth operation.”

Hamburg as “research centre”

At the STILL headquarters in Hamburg, a demonstrator is being set up where all the project partners’ work will be brought together. In addition to STILL as a representative of the KION Group, the Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics (IML), Hahn Schickard, IMST GmbH, Nuromedia and Digital Twin Technology are also participating in the project on the German side.

IMOCO is funded by the European Union through the research organisation “Electronic Components and Systems for European Leadership” (ECSEL) and by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

 

Improved fashion packaging for Oh Polly

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Oh Polly specialises in glamorous, celebrity-inspired fashion. Its brand focused mainly on party attire and swimwear – but when the pandemic hit, it was able to pivot to highlight its loungewear lines as nights out and holidays were no longer an option.

Loungewear saw astonishing growth during 2020 – the category grew by 143% comparing March to April. Consequently, Oh Polly faced stiff competition and so was keen to make sure its customer experience was flawless.

Whilst that was all going on, the Oh Polly team was also working on a new project – one that it hoped would improve retention rates and customer satisfaction: its packaging.

As a pure-play online retailer, Oh Polly’s packaging is a crucial part of its eCommerce strategy. Back in February 2020, it had its first meeting with the Smurfit Kappa team.

An aesthetic issue

Oh Polly was coming up against several issues with its current packaging. The first was that it had noticed that the print quality varied greatly – meaning that the boxes arrived showing different shades of its core brand pantone colour. It was keen to ensure that the packaging was uniform, as it showcases brand continuity.

Additionally, Oh Polly’s success is in part due to its brand appeal and customer retention. This is aided by the fact it boasts industry-leading Facebook and Instagram accounts and has seen great results using influencer and affiliate marketing.

Image is clearly a key facet of the Oh Polly customer experience, extending from first brand interaction to unboxing of millennial-pink packaging. Luckily, the Smurfit Kappa Experience Centre team’s expertise spans from sustainability to aesthetics, and they quickly set to work.

Smurfit Kappa’s high-quality flexographic printing equipment guarantees quality, with the assurance that the colour of the boxes would always be the one that the brand expected.

The Oh Polly team was also concerned about the packaging for its sub-brand, Bo+Tee. Designed to plumb into the ongoing fitness craze, Bo+Tee shared Oh Polly’s chic style, though with a different image.

The Bo+Tee packaging is striking, a bold black emblazoned with a holographic print. The Experience Centre team suggested using lithographic printing to deliver the sleek effect desired, maintaining the brand’s quality whilst allowing Bo+Tee to stand out.

Lithographic printing provides excellent image quality as well as great value for money, so was a clear choice for the striking Bo+Tee packaging.

Flexible and fast

That initial order was rather hurried: Back in March 2020, Oh Polly’s previous packaging supplier had required a six-week lead time to provide it with the boxes. With spiking demand due to the UK going into the first national lockdown, Oh Polly was in need of an urgent solution.

Once the request for immediate supply was delivered by Oh Polly, the Smurfit Kappa Experience Centre team made sure that the order was designed, colours and artwork approved and a full truck produced and supplied into Oh Polly’s warehouse within eight days of the request being acknowledged.

Subsequent orders were a little less rushed: they have a two-week lead time. This was a vast improvement on the previous six, and Smurfit Kappa’s flexibility allows room to react to unexpected events and pressures.

Of course, the fact that Smurfit Kappa can design and produce packaging all within the UK is also a key factor: it reduces shipping times hugely.

Labour cost and efficiency

There was another issue troubling the Oh Polly team: that its original packaging was arriving un-palletised, meaning that it had to have employees manually off-loading packaging from containers and transported across several warehouses in order to be utilised for packaging orders.

This was not only leading to damaged boxes during transit from Asia to Europe, but was hugely time-inefficient.

A simple but highly impactful solution put in place by Smurfit Kappa was to ensure all packaging is delivered safely on pallets, with strapping and topboard to ensure a quick and smooth delivery and unloading process.

Manually assembling boxes was also identified by Oh Polly and Smurfit Kappa as an area where further efficiencies could be gained.

The Smurfit Kappa Experience Centre team suggested that Oh Polly explores its machine systems product offering. Through the purchase and implantation of a box assembly machine, Oh Polly is able to significantly reduce assembly time. The Smurfit Kappa machine can assemble two different sizes of box without damaging or scuffing the paper – and can get through 24 boxes per minute.

In fact, the cost of labour for at least two employees to manually assemble the boxes would be recouped within just one year.

Joe Henderson, Oh Polly’s Head of Operations, was delighted with this suggestion: “Smurfit Kappa have saved us so much time and money with their expertise – we can’t thank the Experience Centre team enough.”

Sustainability

The convenience of shipping isn’t the only benefit of having a local packaging supplier. Reduced carbon emissions mean that Oh Polly is now more eco-friendly, just by changing suppliers.

Meanwhile, Smurfit Kappa’s Experience Centre team are sustainability experts and were keen to work on Oh Polly’s environmental impact further. All Smurfit Kappa UK production plants are FSC certified and as a vertically integrated manufacturer, it was able to provide full traceability of its packaging supply chain.

The materials used in the new packaging design are 100% recyclable – allowing customers to safely and conscientiously dispose of the boxes using kerbside recycling services.

Quality paper packaging

Because Smurfit Kappa manufactures the vast majority of the paper used to produce boxes, it is guaranteed to have stock – even when there’s a shortage. Brands won’t be waiting for their orders due to unforeseen world events.

It also means it can offer even more flexibility to clients and don’t require minimum order quantities.

Besides this, the pro-active and consumer centric approach from Smurfit Kappa, coupled with its scale, means that it is well placed to keep up with Oh Polly’s rapid growth and ambitious future plans.

Smurfit Kappa’s eCommerce Director, Hamed Ahmed, looks forward to working with Oh Polly further: “We have built a strong and transparent partnership over the last 18 months. The Experience Centre team look forward to supporting Oh Polly’s brands further as they grow and strive in this competitive market.”

Improved fashion packaging for Oh Polly

Posted on by David Priestman

Oh Polly specialises in glamorous, celebrity-inspired fashion. Its brand focused mainly on party attire and swimwear – but when the pandemic hit, it was able to pivot to highlight its loungewear lines as nights out and holidays were no longer an option.

Loungewear saw astonishing growth during 2020 – the category grew by 143% comparing March to April. Consequently, Oh Polly faced stiff competition and so was keen to make sure its customer experience was flawless.

Whilst that was all going on, the Oh Polly team was also working on a new project – one that it hoped would improve retention rates and customer satisfaction: its packaging.

As a pure-play online retailer, Oh Polly’s packaging is a crucial part of its eCommerce strategy. Back in February 2020, it had its first meeting with the Smurfit Kappa team.

An aesthetic issue

Oh Polly was coming up against several issues with its current packaging. The first was that it had noticed that the print quality varied greatly – meaning that the boxes arrived showing different shades of its core brand pantone colour. It was keen to ensure that the packaging was uniform, as it showcases brand continuity.

Additionally, Oh Polly’s success is in part due to its brand appeal and customer retention. This is aided by the fact it boasts industry-leading Facebook and Instagram accounts and has seen great results using influencer and affiliate marketing.

Image is clearly a key facet of the Oh Polly customer experience, extending from first brand interaction to unboxing of millennial-pink packaging. Luckily, the Smurfit Kappa Experience Centre team’s expertise spans from sustainability to aesthetics, and they quickly set to work.

Smurfit Kappa’s high-quality flexographic printing equipment guarantees quality, with the assurance that the colour of the boxes would always be the one that the brand expected.

The Oh Polly team was also concerned about the packaging for its sub-brand, Bo+Tee. Designed to plumb into the ongoing fitness craze, Bo+Tee shared Oh Polly’s chic style, though with a different image.

The Bo+Tee packaging is striking, a bold black emblazoned with a holographic print. The Experience Centre team suggested using lithographic printing to deliver the sleek effect desired, maintaining the brand’s quality whilst allowing Bo+Tee to stand out.

Lithographic printing provides excellent image quality as well as great value for money, so was a clear choice for the striking Bo+Tee packaging.

Flexible and fast

That initial order was rather hurried: Back in March 2020, Oh Polly’s previous packaging supplier had required a six-week lead time to provide it with the boxes. With spiking demand due to the UK going into the first national lockdown, Oh Polly was in need of an urgent solution.

Once the request for immediate supply was delivered by Oh Polly, the Smurfit Kappa Experience Centre team made sure that the order was designed, colours and artwork approved and a full truck produced and supplied into Oh Polly’s warehouse within eight days of the request being acknowledged.

Subsequent orders were a little less rushed: they have a two-week lead time. This was a vast improvement on the previous six, and Smurfit Kappa’s flexibility allows room to react to unexpected events and pressures.

Of course, the fact that Smurfit Kappa can design and produce packaging all within the UK is also a key factor: it reduces shipping times hugely.

Labour cost and efficiency

There was another issue troubling the Oh Polly team: that its original packaging was arriving un-palletised, meaning that it had to have employees manually off-loading packaging from containers and transported across several warehouses in order to be utilised for packaging orders.

This was not only leading to damaged boxes during transit from Asia to Europe, but was hugely time-inefficient.

A simple but highly impactful solution put in place by Smurfit Kappa was to ensure all packaging is delivered safely on pallets, with strapping and topboard to ensure a quick and smooth delivery and unloading process.

Manually assembling boxes was also identified by Oh Polly and Smurfit Kappa as an area where further efficiencies could be gained.

The Smurfit Kappa Experience Centre team suggested that Oh Polly explores its machine systems product offering. Through the purchase and implantation of a box assembly machine, Oh Polly is able to significantly reduce assembly time. The Smurfit Kappa machine can assemble two different sizes of box without damaging or scuffing the paper – and can get through 24 boxes per minute.

In fact, the cost of labour for at least two employees to manually assemble the boxes would be recouped within just one year.

Joe Henderson, Oh Polly’s Head of Operations, was delighted with this suggestion: “Smurfit Kappa have saved us so much time and money with their expertise – we can’t thank the Experience Centre team enough.”

Sustainability

The convenience of shipping isn’t the only benefit of having a local packaging supplier. Reduced carbon emissions mean that Oh Polly is now more eco-friendly, just by changing suppliers.

Meanwhile, Smurfit Kappa’s Experience Centre team are sustainability experts and were keen to work on Oh Polly’s environmental impact further. All Smurfit Kappa UK production plants are FSC certified and as a vertically integrated manufacturer, it was able to provide full traceability of its packaging supply chain.

The materials used in the new packaging design are 100% recyclable – allowing customers to safely and conscientiously dispose of the boxes using kerbside recycling services.

Quality paper packaging

Because Smurfit Kappa manufactures the vast majority of the paper used to produce boxes, it is guaranteed to have stock – even when there’s a shortage. Brands won’t be waiting for their orders due to unforeseen world events.

It also means it can offer even more flexibility to clients and don’t require minimum order quantities.

Besides this, the pro-active and consumer centric approach from Smurfit Kappa, coupled with its scale, means that it is well placed to keep up with Oh Polly’s rapid growth and ambitious future plans.

Smurfit Kappa’s eCommerce Director, Hamed Ahmed, looks forward to working with Oh Polly further: “We have built a strong and transparent partnership over the last 18 months. The Experience Centre team look forward to supporting Oh Polly’s brands further as they grow and strive in this competitive market.”

GKN chooses AR Racking for Spanish plant

Posted on by Keith McKinley

GKN Ayra Servicio, belonging to the global leader in propulsion systems GKN Automotive, has chosen the storage systems specialist AR Racking as the industrial racking supplier for the warehouse at its plant in Carcastillo (Navarre, Spain).

With its headquarters in Birmingham (England), the multinational GKN has made a strategic investment in its factory in Navarre to become a leading plant in spare parts for automotive transmission systems in Europe, and to triple its sales in the short term. GKN therefore turned to AR Racking to install industrial racking to achieve a logistics operation that would maximise warehouse efficiency.

AR Racking has installed a combination of several storage systems adapted to the different volumes and rotation of products that GKN works with at the Carcastillo plant.

The pallet load will be stored on very narrow aisle (VNA) racking, with a storage capacity of up to 5,696 pallets. This system is an adaptation of the adjustable pallet racking system, but compacted by the narrowing of the work aisles, which creates a high-density storage system that helps to increase the warehouse capacity but without expanding the space.

For the manual storage of GKN’s smaller spare parts and for their handling using picking solutions, AR Racking has installed 2164.5 linear metres of longspan shelving. It is very versatile racking that adapts to all types of unit loads and that facilitates access to products stored directly and immediately. In addition, for long and higher volume loads, AR Racking has implemented a solution with cantilever racking that covers a total of 166.5 linear metres. It is a system that offers excellent goods handling mobility.

AR Racking has also installed a mezzanine floor on two levels for a light shelving warehouse. The mezzanine floor covers a total of 1,809 sq m and is a storage solution that helps increase useful area at height.

“AR Racking’s storage systems meet the strictest European quality standards. What’s more, equipping the warehouse just as we had planned proved to be an agile and smooth process”, stated Pablo Hernando, GKN Project Manager.

For Xabier Rica, AR Racking Sales Representative and project manager, “we are convinced that GKN will be able to achieve greater competitiveness with the industrial racking installed and therefore improve its logistics operations”.

CLICK HERE to watch a video

GKN chooses AR Racking for Spanish plant

Posted on by David Priestman

GKN Ayra Servicio, belonging to the global leader in propulsion systems GKN Automotive, has chosen the storage systems specialist AR Racking as the industrial racking supplier for the warehouse at its plant in Carcastillo (Navarre, Spain).

With its headquarters in Birmingham (England), the multinational GKN has made a strategic investment in its factory in Navarre to become a leading plant in spare parts for automotive transmission systems in Europe, and to triple its sales in the short term. GKN therefore turned to AR Racking to install industrial racking to achieve a logistics operation that would maximise warehouse efficiency.

AR Racking has installed a combination of several storage systems adapted to the different volumes and rotation of products that GKN works with at the Carcastillo plant.

The pallet load will be stored on very narrow aisle (VNA) racking, with a storage capacity of up to 5,696 pallets. This system is an adaptation of the adjustable pallet racking system, but compacted by the narrowing of the work aisles, which creates a high-density storage system that helps to increase the warehouse capacity but without expanding the space.

For the manual storage of GKN’s smaller spare parts and for their handling using picking solutions, AR Racking has installed 2164.5 linear metres of longspan shelving. It is very versatile racking that adapts to all types of unit loads and that facilitates access to products stored directly and immediately. In addition, for long and higher volume loads, AR Racking has implemented a solution with cantilever racking that covers a total of 166.5 linear metres. It is a system that offers excellent goods handling mobility.

AR Racking has also installed a mezzanine floor on two levels for a light shelving warehouse. The mezzanine floor covers a total of 1,809 sq m and is a storage solution that helps increase useful area at height.

“AR Racking’s storage systems meet the strictest European quality standards. What’s more, equipping the warehouse just as we had planned proved to be an agile and smooth process”, stated Pablo Hernando, GKN Project Manager.

For Xabier Rica, AR Racking Sales Representative and project manager, “we are convinced that GKN will be able to achieve greater competitiveness with the industrial racking installed and therefore improve its logistics operations”.

CLICK HERE to watch a video

Driverless forklifts can solve recruitment issues

Posted on by David Priestman

A growing number of European warehouse and distribution centre operators see driverless forklift truck technology as the optimum solution to the staff recruitment and employment cost challenges they are facing, writes Jason Zhang, VisionNav Robotics’ Head of Sales – Europe.

Across the Eurozone, a shrinking labour pool is hitting the logistics sector hard. And with HGV drivers, warehouse order pickers and forklift operators all in short supply, supply chain disruption has become a serious issue for many organisations.

While Covid and the economic and social upheaval that has followed in its wake is partly responsible for the current workforce crisis. Other factors – including a falling population of ‘prime age’ workers – suggest that the problem isn’t simply a ‘bump in the road’ but something with which the logistics industry will have to learn to contend in the long term.

In Germany – Europe’s largest economy – the ageing population combined with low birth rates recently prompted the Federal Labor Agency to warn that the country must attract at least 400,000 skilled immigrants every year.

“The fact is Germany is running out of workers,” said Federal Labor Agency Chairman Detlef Scheele. “From nurses to logistics personnel there will be a shortage of workers everywhere.”

Even in countries with high levels of unemployment such as Spain – where the unemployment rate is currently hovering at around 14 per cent – warehouse staff and forklift operators are in high demand due to the low supply of qualified personnel to do the jobs.

And in the UK 13% of respondents to a recent survey undertaken by the leading trade association, Logistics UK, reported severe warehouse staff shortages, with a substantial decline in the availability of forklift drivers cited as a major problem.

Of course, fewer staff in any traditional warehouse where manual picking and packing are core activities, puts significant strain on the existing employees and makes an already taxing job even less appealing to potential new recruits – so its easy to see how the logistics industry’s worker shortage problem is likely to become worse before (if ever) it improves.

Throughout Europe the lack of workers means warehouse operators have to offer increased wages to attract the quantity and quality of the personnel they need. In the UK, for example, in November 2020 the average forklift driver’s salary advertised on online job-search engine Adzuna was £21,972 while warehouse staff positions typically paid £19,995 per annum. By November 2021 the remuneration for both forklift drivers and order pickers was up 8% year-on-year. Over the same period, vacancies for forklift drivers had surged 169% while other warehouse job postings were up 143%.

Given that human labour is already one of the most significant costs associated with running a warehouse the handsome financial packages that are now required to tempt forklift operators or other warehouse staff are prompting more and more logistics companies to seek new ways of providing the same service levels with less staff.

For many, this means switching to automation and, unsurprisingly, a growing number of Europe’s warehouse and distribution centre operators consider driverless forklift truck technology represents the optimum solution to the recruitment and employment cost challenges they are facing.

Driverless forklifts undertake every type of task that would be expected of a traditional manually-operated forklift – including vehicle loading and unloading, pallet put-away and retrieval in both standard and very narrow aisle racking configurations, as well as pallet and stillage movements throughout the warehouse.

In addition to the obvious savings in labour costs that driverless forklifts bring, other benefits include: reduced damage to goods, racking and trucks; greater picking accuracy; and more efficient use of the available storage space.

Worldwide, Nestle, DHL and Walmart are among the high profile businesses to have already adopted the VisionNav driverless truck system, while countless small and medium sized forklift users are also benefiting from the solution.

In simple terms, the ‘vision-based’ navigation technology at the heart of VisionNav’s operator-free forklifts uses a vehicle-mounted camera to sense the environment in which the vehicle is operating. Information concerning the structural design and storage system lay-out of the facility where trucks are deployed is stored as off-line maps which the visual navigation system matches with real time images received from the camera to navigate the forklifts efficiently and safely around the store. With multiple vehicles controlled by the system, the trucks are directed to their next location via the shortest, fastest and safest route for optimum throughput performance.

Visual navigation technology is not only highly efficient, it is quick and easy to install and brings a rapid return on investment. The highly flexible technology allows driverless industrial trucks to be adopted with minimal disruption to a site’s existing intralogistics process and, typically, ROI is achieved after a period of 18-24 months.

The overwhelming majority of warehouse and distribution centre operations rely on forklift trucks for the efficient running of their intralogistics processes and when it comes to running a lift truck fleet, the forklift driver is often the biggest cost.

Salaries, bonuses, training and myriad other expenses combined with hidden extras such as the damage to goods or a building’s infrastructure caused by a carelessly driven truck or, worse still, injuries to personnel, all add up to a considerable sum.

When the cost savings they bring are added to the fact that driverless lift trucks eliminate the staffing issues created by the shortage of qualified forklift drivers, it is not surprising that more and more companies are adopting automated lift truck technology to optimise the efficiency of their warehouse intralogistics processes.

Established in 2016, VisionNav Robotics is among the fastest-growing operator-free industrial vehicle manufacturers in the world. The company’s range of fully automated, vision-guided forklift trucks is now available across Europe and includes driverless counterbalanced trucks, reach trucks, stackers and tow tractors.

 

Driverless forklifts can solve recruitment issues

Posted on by David Priestman

A growing number of European warehouse and distribution centre operators see driverless forklift truck technology as the optimum solution to the staff recruitment and employment cost challenges they are facing, writes Jason Zhang, VisionNav Robotics’ Head of Sales – Europe.

Across the Eurozone, a shrinking labour pool is hitting the logistics sector hard. And with HGV drivers, warehouse order pickers and forklift operators all in short supply, supply chain disruption has become a serious issue for many organisations.

While Covid and the economic and social upheaval that has followed in its wake is partly responsible for the current workforce crisis. Other factors – including a falling population of ‘prime age’ workers – suggest that the problem isn’t simply a ‘bump in the road’ but something with which the logistics industry will have to learn to contend in the long term.

In Germany – Europe’s largest economy – the ageing population combined with low birth rates recently prompted the Federal Labor Agency to warn that the country must attract at least 400,000 skilled immigrants every year.

“The fact is Germany is running out of workers,” said Federal Labor Agency Chairman Detlef Scheele. “From nurses to logistics personnel there will be a shortage of workers everywhere.”

Even in countries with high levels of unemployment such as Spain – where the unemployment rate is currently hovering at around 14 per cent – warehouse staff and forklift operators are in high demand due to the low supply of qualified personnel to do the jobs.

And in the UK 13% of respondents to a recent survey undertaken by the leading trade association, Logistics UK, reported severe warehouse staff shortages, with a substantial decline in the availability of forklift drivers cited as a major problem.

Of course, fewer staff in any traditional warehouse where manual picking and packing are core activities, puts significant strain on the existing employees and makes an already taxing job even less appealing to potential new recruits – so its easy to see how the logistics industry’s worker shortage problem is likely to become worse before (if ever) it improves.

Throughout Europe the lack of workers means warehouse operators have to offer increased wages to attract the quantity and quality of the personnel they need. In the UK, for example, in November 2020 the average forklift driver’s salary advertised on online job-search engine Adzuna was £21,972 while warehouse staff positions typically paid £19,995 per annum. By November 2021 the remuneration for both forklift drivers and order pickers was up 8% year-on-year. Over the same period, vacancies for forklift drivers had surged 169% while other warehouse job postings were up 143%.

Given that human labour is already one of the most significant costs associated with running a warehouse the handsome financial packages that are now required to tempt forklift operators or other warehouse staff are prompting more and more logistics companies to seek new ways of providing the same service levels with less staff.

For many, this means switching to automation and, unsurprisingly, a growing number of Europe’s warehouse and distribution centre operators consider driverless forklift truck technology represents the optimum solution to the recruitment and employment cost challenges they are facing.

Driverless forklifts undertake every type of task that would be expected of a traditional manually-operated forklift – including vehicle loading and unloading, pallet put-away and retrieval in both standard and very narrow aisle racking configurations, as well as pallet and stillage movements throughout the warehouse.

In addition to the obvious savings in labour costs that driverless forklifts bring, other benefits include: reduced damage to goods, racking and trucks; greater picking accuracy; and more efficient use of the available storage space.

Worldwide, Nestle, DHL and Walmart are among the high profile businesses to have already adopted the VisionNav driverless truck system, while countless small and medium sized forklift users are also benefiting from the solution.

In simple terms, the ‘vision-based’ navigation technology at the heart of VisionNav’s operator-free forklifts uses a vehicle-mounted camera to sense the environment in which the vehicle is operating. Information concerning the structural design and storage system lay-out of the facility where trucks are deployed is stored as off-line maps which the visual navigation system matches with real time images received from the camera to navigate the forklifts efficiently and safely around the store. With multiple vehicles controlled by the system, the trucks are directed to their next location via the shortest, fastest and safest route for optimum throughput performance.

Visual navigation technology is not only highly efficient, it is quick and easy to install and brings a rapid return on investment. The highly flexible technology allows driverless industrial trucks to be adopted with minimal disruption to a site’s existing intralogistics process and, typically, ROI is achieved after a period of 18-24 months.

The overwhelming majority of warehouse and distribution centre operations rely on forklift trucks for the efficient running of their intralogistics processes and when it comes to running a lift truck fleet, the forklift driver is often the biggest cost.

Salaries, bonuses, training and myriad other expenses combined with hidden extras such as the damage to goods or a building’s infrastructure caused by a carelessly driven truck or, worse still, injuries to personnel, all add up to a considerable sum.

When the cost savings they bring are added to the fact that driverless lift trucks eliminate the staffing issues created by the shortage of qualified forklift drivers, it is not surprising that more and more companies are adopting automated lift truck technology to optimise the efficiency of their warehouse intralogistics processes.

Established in 2016, VisionNav Robotics is among the fastest-growing operator-free industrial vehicle manufacturers in the world. The company’s range of fully automated, vision-guided forklift trucks is now available across Europe and includes driverless counterbalanced trucks, reach trucks, stackers and tow tractors.

 

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