Day: 29 September 2022

Toyota Material Handling Europe and Toyota Europe Design Development have presented the winners of this year’s Toyota Logistic Design Competition. The response was huge: over 1,500 registrations and 203 final submissions.

A panel of design experts chose 10 finalists in a first round, with a second jury of industry experts picking the final winners. Toyota Logistic Design Competition 2022, Category Gold Award Winner is Jacob Abraham from University of Houston, USA, with ´Oro´.

Oro delivery module is a design solution that optimises final mile delivery vehicles in dense urban environments. Inspired by Toyota, the product has clear DNA from both the Toyota logistics and mobility side. Delivery modules can travel through areas inaccessible to most delivery vehicles, especially obstructed pathways.

“Oro with its ‘walkie’ function makes it extremely manoeuvrable in narrow spaces. One of the many great ideas coming out of our dialogue with young designers. After eight years the competition has submissions from 123 countries, showcasing revolutionary ideas around urban micrologistics,” comments Magnus Oliveira Andersson, Head of Design at Toyota Material Handling Europe.

“We enjoyed working with Laurent and his team and all of us will be back with a new edition next year, challenging the students to come up with logistic and mobility solutions for Paris 2024, “ concludes Andersson.

Laurent Bouzige, Chief Designer Strategy and new Mobility at Toyota Europe Design Development, agrees: “We are delighted to have been able to participate in this competition for the first time, collaborating with Toyota Material Handling Europe. It wasn’t an easy task to select the finalists as the quality of the works was remarkable, breathtakingly creative, and fresh! Many aspects of mobility service were well-thought through, the proposals were mature, relevant, and inspiring. All the stakeholders’ works, and the participants too, are all highly appreciated. We are already looking forward to the next edition.”

The Silver Award went to Zsófia Mátravölgyi from Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design Budapest, Hungary, with ´Oasis´.  Oasis is a pick-up and drop-off point system focused on the downtown. Its aim is to make last-mile delivery easier with minimal impact on social spaces and to help reduce the congestion of urban traffic with an alternative hybrid delivery method.

Nicholas Orie, from California State University, USA, with ‘Mitsubachi’ received the Bronze Award. The Toyota Mitsubachi solution is a modular, autonomous drone fleet, integrated in warehouses and urban micro hubs, designed to streamline the process of handling, and organising goods.

All finalists are awarded with cash prizes and will have the opportunity to apply for a six-month paid internship at the Toyota Material Handling Design Center, either in Sweden or Italy, and at Toyota Europe Design Centre, ED², in France.

At this edition, ED² identified the high-potential idea of E-Cargo Bike, designed by Marius Cramer, from Umeå Institute of Design, Sweden.  Former president of ED², Ian Cartabiano, now Vice President Advanced Design at Calty Design Research in USA, together with the executive juror, decided to give a special award to this project.  Currently, Marius is doing his 6-month internship at ED2 thanks to this special mention.

The award ceremony was held during Logiconomi 2022, a unique two-day event bringing together 600 logistics professionals and industry leaders to address the many challenges logistics is facing today, presenting solutions and providing inspiration.

CLICK HERE to see the winning design work.

Fleet operators using diesel forklifts from Linde Material Handling (MH) can now reduce their CO2 emissions by up to 90% through the use of hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO). This fossil-free fuel has the additional benefits of providing extra power to the engine and giving cleaner combustion, while not requiring any adaptations to the refuelling infrastructure and offering the option of being blended with regular diesel.

HVO diesel is made from 100% renewable raw materials and does not release any new carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. It is produced by hydrotreating from various vegetable oils, animal fats, and waste and residual materials, such as used cooking oils and fats from restaurants and the food industry. Its chemical structure is almost identical to that of conventional diesel and can therefore replace it completely.

“By approving this fuel for our diesel forklift engines, we are giving our customers the chance to massively reduce the carbon footprint of their diesel forklifts without having to invest a single cent in additional infrastructure,” says Frank Bergmann, Senior Product Manager Counterbalanced Forklifts. The cost per litre of HVO diesel, the expert adds, is slightly higher than that of standard diesel. But this is more than offset by the improved sustainability factor.

HVO advantages

In addition to reducing CO2 emissions by up to 90% compared to conventional diesel, local emissions such as particulate matter, nitrogen oxide (NOX), hydrocarbons (HC) and carbon monoxide (CO) are also reduced, which has a positive impact on the working environment of employees. In addition, HVO diesel has a higher propensity to ignite (cetane number), which results in efficient and clean combustion and reduces soot formation in engines and exhaust systems.

The fuel’s high performance even at temperatures as low as -22°C opens up a wide range of application options. Last but not least, the ability to flexibly blend HVO is a convincing argument: The fuel can be used in its pure form or in any mixing ratio with fossil diesel and requires no hardware adjustments to the IC truck.

Linde MH has approved the biofuel for both its current industrial trucks and most predecessor series in the load capacity range from 1.4 to 18 tonnes. “All customers who are unable to switch to electric forklifts in the short term can now improve their carbon footprint by changing to HVO,” states Bergmann.

The Yale Series N has the potential to be game-changing for customers with its configurable features, allowing them to redefine the way they operate with a bespoke lift truck to meet the unique demands of their applications.

“Customers in warehouse and logistics, automotive and food industries can elevate their success by integrating the Series N into their applications,” explained Phil Mean, Product Strategy Manager at Yale Europe Materials Handling. “Our dealers and sales team know how to get to the root of an application’s individual needs and define a precise lift truck specification that gives our customers exactly what they require. The configurability of the range sets a new level of excellence in lift truck solutions – so we thought we could outline what a Series N in each industry may look like.”

Warehouse & Logistics

Warehouse and logistics operators are often required to regularly get on and off the truck during their normal operational tasks. The Series N has a number of features to help the operator get quickly and safely off the truck.

The step position offers excellent ingress and egress, which combined with the overhead guard position minimises twist as the operator climbs into the cab, reducing the flex in an operator’s back and torso. A large step is one of three points of contact, alongside a convenient handle for the left hand and the seat’s flip-up armrest to provide the operator a secure way of getting into the truck.

As the cornerstone of the supply chain, warehousing and logistics operations are likely to require trucks that work in both indoor and outdoor environments. The addition of high-output LED lights on a Series N provides superior illumination in dark conditions. Where trucks are used in outdoor areas, the cab can be configured for various climates. Features such as heaters or air conditioning can be specified.

When frequently placing loads on racks in warehouses, visibility to the load, forks, racking and stored loads is key for the operator. The Series N has a wide mast window, helping the operator to see the load every time they lift. It can also be fitted with a fork laser line, helping to reduce operator guesswork during high lifting.

Automotive Industry

Automotive customers have similar demands to those of warehouse and logistics operations, with some key additional challenges.

An industry-wide drive for efficiency in logistics has led to the use of more lightweight and returnable packaging – and with it, an increased risk of damage to the packaging from the forklift. The Yale Series N offers some excellent options to reduce this risk, allowing packages to be handled carefully.

This includes a new hydraulic system, which offers improved sensitivity and fine control. Together with industry-leading drive systems, the truck enables operators to consistently and accurately place loads.

Food Industry

In the food industry, it is common practice for customers to have light but bulky loads, which can limit forward visibility, therefore increasing the need for more reverse driving.

To facilitate manoeuvring in reverse, users can benefit from a rear drive handle with horn option. The handle is conveniently located on the rear overhead guard leg and helps to reduce strain on the operator’s back when driving in reverse. The addition of the horn button allows an operator to use the horn function without having to remove their hand from the steering wheel. While operators should keep an eye in the direction of travel, a reverse camera option can support visibility behind the truck, especially when manoeuvring and first moving away.

Tall loads are often block stacked, which bring its own operational issues. They can be less secure on the forks due to the high centre of gravity, especially when stacked on top of each other. The Yale Series N has a number of features to help, from a simple load back rest to the Dynamic Stability System, where truck performance is limited during high lift situations.

“There are even more features and options offered by our Series N range that can add value to customers’ operations. This is an incredibly exciting product, engineered to help raise the levels of efficiency and productivity for our customers and their employees. We encourage anyone interested in learning more about the range to get in touch with our team today and find out how the Series N can help them set their own standard,” concluded Mean.