Tag: automation|materials handling|warehouse automation

HAHN Automation is celebrating its 30th anniversary on the market by inviting partners, customers, suppliers and press representatives to join the Innovation Days in Rheinböllen on September 14 and 15.

Founded in 1992 by Thomas Hähn in his parents’ garage, the company developed from a small design office in the Hunsrück region to a global group of companies within just under 30 years. Only a few years after the company was founded, the first foreign location was established with the expansion into the USA. Today, HAHN Automation employs more than 1,000 people at 12 production sites in China, Germany, Great Britain, Croatia, Mexico, Austria, the Czech Republic and the USA.

In 2014, the RAG Foundation in the form of the RAG Stiftung Beteiligungsgesellschaft (RSBG SE) invested in HAHN Automation, which led to the formation of the HAHN Group three years later as a platform for the further development of the company network. The HAHN Group unites a network of specialised companies for industrial automation and robot solutions.

At its production and service locations, the group employs approximately 1,800 people in 14 countries worldwide.

Well-known customers in the automotive, consumer goods, electronics and healthcare industries benefit from over 30 years of expertise. This know-how in the field of automation technology ensures that resources are used efficiently and robots, as well as digital technologies, are implemented purposefully.

“We are very pleased with the development that HAHN Automation and later also HAHN Group have accomplished. Over the past 30 years, we have been able to implement countless customer projects, establish strong partnerships and, above all, make an important contribution as an employer, especially in the Hunsrück region, but also at all other company locations. I am looking forward to the coming years and am confident that we will continue to write the success story,” says Frank Konrad, CEO of HAHN Automation.

For Thomas Hähn, company founder and CEO of the parent company RSBG Automation and Robotics Technologies, one thing is certain: “HAHN Automation is not only a great success story in itself, but rather also the nucleus for many other exciting developments, company foundations and partnerships. Through the entry of the RSBG SE in 2014, we were able to put the plan to establish an international pioneer in industrial automation into action. In addition, HAHN Automation was also the origin of all developments towards HAHN Robotics, HAHN RobShare and most recently the United Robotics Group.”

CLICK HERE for further information about the Innovation Days.

Relentless eCommerce trends continue to put tremendous strain on distribution and fulfilment operations worldwide. A new Honeywell report reveals once-predictable consumer demand cycles centred around holidays and “peak seasons” have given way to a model where any month, week or day can be a holiday.

Warehouse Automation: Future-Proofing the Global Economy, authored by Futurum Research, examines the importance of automation as an increasingly critical component in helping warehouse and distribution centre (DC) operators meet new escalation points in consumer demand.

“One of the biggest predictors of how a business will thrive in the hypercompetitive e-commerce and omnichannel marketplace is how well it improves its decision making in real time to make deliveries faster and more accurate,” said Keith Fisher, president of Honeywell Intelligrated. “With rising service level agreements dictating order fulfilment process improvements, automation can help bring stability, predictability and potentially unlock greater efficiency to their operations.”

The analysts at Futurum Research developed the report after sitting down with a group of industry leaders with deep, global experience in warehouse operations, automation technologies and systems implementation to hear first-hand of their experiences and thoughts on the future of warehouse automation. Three recommendations emerged from the interviews as businesses navigate challenges both present and future along their automation journey:

Focus on augmenting and securing, not replacing the worker. While the concept of a dark warehouse exists on the horizon, the reality today is that the future of warehouse and DC operations for the foreseeable future is one where workers and automation technologies are both needed and must co-exist.

Constantly challenge assumptions and technologies. The value of automation should not be limited to just automating existing takes or processes, it should be part of an overall strategy that addresses the issues of what tasks can be automated today while also asking what new tasks or processes might be possible tomorrow.

Invest with a long-term focus for both technologies and partners. In a static or slow growth market, the application of automation technologies to address specific short-term needs may make sense. However, the rapidly growing and evolving market of today requires a much longer focus and a more rigorous framework.

“While warehouses have historically had a sense of predictability in demand cycles, we found that in today’s warehouses and DCs, every day is as busy as peak,” said Shelly Kramer, principal analyst and founding partner of Futurum Research. “While we can assume the level of strain this has placed on supply chain and fulfilment operations, we were able to get a better grasp of how businesses are approaching this shift in consumer expectations and adopting the right automation to meet their long-term business goals.”

The report also explores how the ongoing pandemic, global trade issues and regional conflicts have created long-term disruptions to the historically predictable throughput and capacity of warehouses and DCs.

From concept and integration, Honeywell Intelligrated draws on its expanding portfolio and deep industry expertise to help warehousing, distribution and fulfilment companies optimise and manage their processes. The business offers integrated end-to-end automation solutions, warehouse execution systems and analytics solutions to improve throughput and keep workers safe.

CLICK HERE to download the report.

Warehouse and distribution centres (DCs) are grappling with a significant and ongoing labour shortage. Increased wages and benefits haven’t been enough to reverse the trend. Ever-increasing demand for faster delivery, and ongoing macro supply chain disruption add to the challenge. Warehouse safety issues also remain a problem for recruitment and retention of workers.

“Amidst a ‘perfect storm’ type of environment, warehouse and DC operators are aggressively seeking ways to digitise operations, add automation technology and integrate those technologies with software systems,” said Keith Fisher, president, Honeywell Intelligrated. “The goal is to increase efficiency, reduce the human labour requirement and create safer, more productive workplaces. As a result, we’re seeing some developing trends heading into the second half of the year.”

Specifically, Honeywell sees six trends emerging in the warehouse and DC industries.

Increasingly aggressive adoption of proven automation technologies

Moving into the second half of 2022, we’re seeing heightened interest in long-proven warehouse automation systems that pick, pack, sort and carry packages throughout the facility. There is also increasing investigation into how to integrate this automation into warehouse software systems, such as warehouse management and warehouse control systems (WCS), to extract more value from automation.

Regardless of the labour shortage or where companies currently sit on the automation spectrum, SKU proliferation, widely varying order profiles and seasonal demands are making some degree of automation a necessity. For many operations, order picking or putting are the entry point to digitalisation and automation. For those further down the path, integrating these technologies into operations means trained coordination between workers, automated systems and software to drive high-speed, high-volume warehouse execution.

Newer forms of automation are being evaluated and adopted with increased urgency

There are also signals that newer forms of automation, such as robotic palletising/depalletising and Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs), are beginning a path toward significant adoption. For example, a recent Interact Analysis report showed the mobile robot market is expected to grow from $3.6bn in 2021 to $18bn in 2025. Honeywell is seeing surging interest as the industry begins to prioritise investment designed to increase efficiency and productivity along with employee safety and overall satisfaction by integrating automation.

AMRs provide significant productivity benefits by, for example, automating the movement of carts used to transport picked orders or returns. Instead of spending more than half the day walking, workers can park carts in pickup locations and call robots to retrieve them. Additionally, robotic palletisers and depalletisers limit the need for heavy and/or awkward lifting by humans. While these and other advanced forms of automation handle the repetitive, difficult and often time-consuming tasks, scarce labour resources can be shifted to higher-value jobs and, in-turn, increase employee satisfaction.

Persistent labour shortage, new technical skills gap becomes problematic, training required

The number of warehouses globally is forecast to rise from nearly 150,600 in 2020 to 180,000 by 2025, according to Interact Analysis. Without more automation, an additional 3.5 million warehouse workers need to be added to cover current needs and that expansion. However, a willing workforce is proving very difficult to find and competition for these resources is high.

As a result, warehouse and DC operators will look to expand automation, but this creates another fast-developing issue. Technical skills are needed to plan for, utilise, maintain and optimise warehouse automation, and they’re in short supply. Operators will aggressively look to outsource automation-related training – to train up a new army of technically skilled workers and realise far faster benefits from automation.

This promises to make warehouse jobs more attractive intellectually and drive higher compensation, thus making the overall market more compelling for job seekers and those seeking upskilled career transitions.

The use of digital twins will accelerate to help automated warehouse planning

Digital twins deliver virtual representations of a physical environment – proving extremely helpful in the warehouse industry. With a digital twin, new automation technology can be tested virtually, without downtime or rearrangement of physical assets. Automation efforts can be tested, and impact can be reviewed.

By using digital twins and synthetic data modelling, warehouse operators can close the loop between planning, training and implementation on the floor. With this technology, what used to equate to months of automation implementation can now be accomplished in days. In short, warehouse performance can be improved far more quickly and cost-effectively than in the past.

Human health and safety will begin to take root as a business case for automation in the new, pristine warehouse environment

Regardless of whether there are health and safety issues at a particular warehouse, the overall industry suffers from a health and safety image problem. It’s well documented that concerns in these areas are either keeping workers away from the industry entirely or causing problems with existing employee satisfaction.

Automation can help. Repetitive movement-related injuries and those due to heavy and/or awkward lifting, as well as worker fatigue, can be greatly mitigated by robotics and automation. Increased use of these technologies can lead to far fewer work-related injuries, keep workers on the job and earning for their families, and mitigate insurance premiums and worker’s compensation claims for the employer. By prioritising happier, healthier workforces, we should see an uptick in retention and warehouse job appeal.

Accelerated dark warehouse research & development, forward-looking companies begin path

Dark warehouses promise to be nearly fully automated and autonomous, operating virtually free from human intervention – aside from planning, maintenance and ongoing optimisation. They will operate 24/7/365 in no light (thus, the term dark warehouse) and in extremely cold or warm conditions, thus saving energy and related costs. They promise to help solve the labour shortage and drive incredible efficiency. However, full concepts are still at least two years away and live implementations are at least three years away. Breakthrough technologies in robotics, sensing and control, and IT are still needed. But demand is so strong that it’s beginning to drive more aggressive R&D investment to achieve these breakthroughs faster.

Meanwhile, forward-looking warehouse operators are starting the journey to dark warehouse by not only putting automation piece parts in place as described above, but also tying technologies together via software, such as Warehouse Execution Systems, allowing all the technologies to communicate.

As promising as it is, the brave new world of dark warehouses will also contribute to the developing technical skills gap referenced above. Operators will need to plan for that as well as determine what types of warehouses and industries are most appropriate for the early days of dark warehouses.

“These trends showcase a collective theme: automation is increasingly paving the way for better safety, productivity and workforce retention in the warehouse industry,” said Fisher. “From what we see, the number of operators currently using automation technology and aggressively moving to expand it looks to be growing rapidly heading into the second half of 2022. These are smart investments to help weather the current labour crisis – and help minimise the need for future capital expenditures.”

 

Since mid 2021, it’s been prominently noted that the global logistics industry is experiencing great labour shortages, across all sectors, writes Johan Jardevall, CEO of Smart Robotics. With talent shortages among skilled and unskilled professionals, vacancies in logistics are at an all time high. The warehousing sector has felt the effects of the labour crisis, first-hand, and with parcel handling at the core of business, it is critical to ensure improvements are made so that the lack of employees does not set back operation efficiency.

Warehouse automation does however not mean replacing employees with machines or robots, it simply means certain automation, requiring minimal human assistance, are introduced in the warehouse. For example, picking automation relieves warehouse employees from time consuming and physically demanding tasks. This type of automation allows existing employees to spend less time manually picking and sorting parcels, as well as speeding up the time it takes to complete the activity. With little human labour involved, picking automation creates a highly functional environment in the warehouse where employees and robots can co-exist.

More to gain from warehouse automation

As we’ve seen across industries in a post-pandemic era, fundamentally, employees want more to gain from their work environments. Even more so when not being able to work from home. This is especially the case in warehousing – with flexible work arrangements not being an option, as with many sectors in logistics.

As a result of the demand for better working conditions in warehouses, companies are now faced with the challenge of catering to the needs of their employees whilst keeping labour costs at an affordable rate.

One solution to improving labour efficiency in warehouses is by introducing picking automation as a service. Not only does picking automation fill a gap in the process efficiency of floorwork in the warehouse, but it grants warehouse employees the opportunity to focus their attention on where their skillsets are needed with greater urgency.

Picking automation refers to the utilisation of robotic arms in the warehouse to “pick and place” items with greater efficiency. This type of automation can help overcome the labour need in the warehousing sector, as well as help scale up production by automating tasks that are repetitive and physically demanding.

Picking automation, coupled with the advancements of AI software, is transforming production lines by improving accuracy and operational efficiency. With an ever increasing consumer demand for retail efficiency, for example, the expectation of same day delivery, the logistics industry cannot afford the setback of a labour shortage against customer demand.

Besides customer demand being strenuous on the logistics industry’s capabilities of delivering on customer expectations, the added pressure to perform optimally results in mental and physical strains impacting employees. Therefore, automating the warehouse and production is key in relieving warehouse employees from time consuming and physically straining tasks.

By automating specific sections of the warehouse’s operations, such as picking and stacking groups of parcels, efficiency and performance improvement is achieved – based on the principle that manual labour is swapped with automated processes.

New opportunities created by automation

By introducing robotic automation in the warehouse, warehouses of the future will be able to handle more materials and will require less physical labour input to get tasks done. By automating manual processes, greater operational efficiency is achieved.

Improving Manual Processes

Often, processes like parcel picking and stacking require a great deal of physical effort. Not only does this place strain on the employees’ physical health, mental wellbeing is often undermined by the pressure to maximise operational productivity. Robotic automation should however be viewed as tools to improve the existing capabilities of warehouse employees and to help processes move faster, with more precision.

Warehouse automation should be carefully strategised, so as to keep a healthy balance between human and robotic collaborations. Collaborative-robots (cobots) are smaller robots designed specifically to maintain this balance. These types of robots are easy to engage with and safe to be around. Next to this, they don’t take up much floor space in the warehouse. For example, cobots designed for stacking smaller parcels saves employees walking and sorting time.

Improving quality of work

When pursuing automation in the warehouse, a critical factor to note is that robotics aims to ​​relieve existing employees from repetitive and physically straining work, granting them time to focus on tasks that require human skills.

The goal is not to replace human talent, automation exists to help solve specific problems – without taking away from employees’ workplace quality and standard of work. The goal is to benefit human performance, productivity and working conditions, for example, by cutting back on walking time or heavy lifting in the warehouse.

Level of expertise

The future of warehousing is to a great extent reliant on robotics and automation. However, employees, no matter their level of experience with robotics, need to be able to operate and interact with robots. In order to achieve optimal performance improvement in the warehouse, robotics need to be made accessible to everyone. This means that robotics or automated processes should not be complicated to oversee or to manage by anyone, no matter their technical background, prior experience or knowledge about robotics.

Reliability of automation

Staying with the example of cobots, robotic automations have become quite sophisticated in design. Intelligent vision, motion and task planning algorithms now enable cobots to handle a large variety of items whilst safely cooperating with employees. Little human involvement is needed when the cobot runs into an error, for example, redirecting its movements or readjusting its position in relation to the packages it is stacking.

Key challenge

A key challenge in implementing automation in the warehouse is change management. When trading physical labour for robotic automation, there are multiple business processes and workflows that need to be rewritten. This also requires management to think about the existing infrastructure of the warehouse to accommodate a certain level of automation.

When designing new systems and processes to accommodate automated functions, the use of space and labour constraints need to be considered. This is important in order to maintain a balanced working environment and to ensure that the warehouse’s functionality and productivity is indeed improved. Not to mention the accuracy with which tasks are performed. It is therefore important to prioritise which manual activities can be exchanged for robotic automation – to aid the employees in their tasks and to lessen the dependency on physical labour.

In conclusion, companies will need to continue adapting and responding to the changing wants and needs of their workforce. Proactivity and a more profound understanding of what is important in the warehouse environment will be a key strategy in the future to avoid the shortages seen in today’s market. It is however important to keep in mind that robotic automation cannot replace the manual workforce. The aim is to simplify and ease the demand of employees, whilst creating better working conditions for those engaging in physical labour activities across logistics.

Over the past two years, many things have changed fundamentally in the industry, including purchasing and consumer behaviour. But this also means a door has opened for companies to walk through it and grab hold of new opportunities to optimize their business models. In the run-up to the recent LogiMAT event, Bernard Biolchini (pictured), Executive Vice President EMEA at Dematic, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of integrated automation technology, software and services for supply chain optimization, spoke about the new era.

Dematic believes it is key to understand that “the best way to help companies find the right opportunities is to constantly engage with their customers, working together and as closely as possible as they seek to fundamentally change their processes.

Q: Hello Mr. Biolchini. Dematic’s trade show presence this year is themed #bringiton. Can you briefly explain what this is all about?

Bernard Biolchini (BB): It means, mutatis mutandis, “We’re ready! Let’s embrace these new opportunities together!” We are sending a direct message to our customers: Let’s work together to take advantage of new opportunities that have cropped up over the last 24 months. Let’s stand together to tackle everything the industry faces in terms of new customer requirements, market conditions and technological issues.

Q: Sounds interesting, how did the new approach come about?

BB: We support our customers in every process, from a specific order to its delivery and while doing so, we engage in a dialog with them to better understand the logistics world from their perspective. Having in-depth conversations was an obvious outcome of the events of the last two or so years, where many parameters have undergone fundamental changes where there is no going back. That is why we have conducted extensive surveys and analysis. We have been talking about a new era lately, and we don’t just mean the industry, but all of Europe as well! It is no longer a luxury for companies here to just think about transformation, but a must for our customers to embrace automation and innovative technologies. Our answer: let’s work together to help you succeed in this new era.

Q: With what results?

BB: In our conversations with them, patterns began emerging. We began to identify opportunities to address new problems that had come up. Some may see them as challenges, but we see them as opportunities to make changes.

Q: Can you give some specific examples?

BB: Firstly, there is the potential of digitalization, particularly the growing importance of data- and cloud-based solutions. Our goal is to make our customers’ supply chains fit for the future through intelligent software and transparent data points. Data transparency is also key to another opportunity – meeting delivery deadlines by creating robust supply chains. Knowing which order is where, at any point in time, is a key building block of successful e-commerce businesses.

Q: What do you do when customers come to Dematic with disruptions in their supply chains?

BB: We bring together all of a customer’s data points. It ensures transparency, reliability and flexibility, but also the greatest possible planning security. In this context, the increasing uncertainty is not just about delivery deadlines, but also specific cost issues. It is the reason we want to be a constant and reliable partner for our customers and support them in optimizing their supply chains with autonomous picking systems, data-based solutions and intelligent software systems. Based on this view, we want to bring another opportunity to the table for discussion, which stems from our #bringiton campaign: efficient use of space. Spatially constrained warehouses in urban environments, for example, rely on high scalability of picking systems. Our multishuttle solutions or our Autostore systems can create real competitive advantages. However, the focal point for intralogistics of the future is not going to be on automation or digitalization. Most definitely not on technology implementation as such.

Q: Instead…?

BB: But if course on the customer! Understanding them and, in turn, their customers is the game changer for developing tomorrow’s technologies and solutions. It is precisely the focus of our thoughts and actions at Dematic. And so we are especially excited about LogiMAT 2022. We want to inspire our visitors with our new solutions, which we plan on presenting to them in an extraordinary way!

Margaret Wilson (pictured) successfully manages a WITRON OnSite team with more than 100 staff members. She doesn’t need her own office: “I have a desk next to the conveyor system”, says the WITRON site manager with a smile.

Since 2018, she has been responsible for one of the largest US WITRON OnSite teams, which works at the logistics centre of grocery retailer Kroger in Tolleson, Arizona. The heart of the highly automated system is the OPM solution, which the retailer was the first customer worldwide to opt for in 2003.

“Office work alone wouldn’t make me happy; I need to be in direct contact with my colleagues – and, of course, with the technology.” She leads her team, is en route in the facility four to five times per week, and actively maintains the conveyor system and stacker cranes, including all components.

The distribution centre supplies more than 100 Kroger stores with a dry assortment of almost 9,000 products and “we can only master the daily exciting challenges as a team ”, explains the 55-year-old engineer. The WITRON employees in the logistics centre work four shifts, 24 hours a day, and 363 days a year. The site manager served many years in the US Army as a combat engineer, maintenance supervisor, and unit movement officer.

“There, I learned a lot of logistics, but most of all responsible leadership. You have to trust people. In the Army, I served teams with people coming from all walks of life.”

In the logistics centre, more than 100 WITRON experts ensure that the mechanics and IT run permanently with maximum availability around the clock and that the goods leave the warehouse on time. This is because WITRON, as a lifetime partner, sells a delivery service to the customer, and Margaret Wilson and her OnSite team ensure that the technology keeps the promise made, day in and day out.

“We have IT specialists, electricians, and spare parts experts,” reports the manager. When she started, there was one woman on her team. Today, 15% of the workforce is female. One female colleague also manages her own team,” emphasises Margaret.

Do women lead differently? Wilson agrees. “I think, women tend to lead more collaboratively, take up ideas from the team, and don’t always have to know everything down to the technical detail. That might differentiate us from some men who think that if they are the boss, they have to show it, and have to be able to answer every question on their own. I think that is not absolutely necessary. Getting people to work together, creating a powerful team, that’s our most important job as a leader.”

For Margaret, a good leader is first and foremost a person whom the team trusts in and who gives confidence. “I can’t be directly on the front line for every shift or every repair, or maintenance call. I have to manage resources, keep the system running, and develop my team members professionally and personally.”

But where do women and men learn good leadership? In the military, according to Margaret, but also in sports clubs or church groups. “You have to practice over and over again. It will not come automatically.”

Her career in the military is still unusual, and even in the US, society is debating job opportunities for women in traditionally male professions. “Logistics for many Americans still means men with big muscles carrying packages. But logistics today is also mostly a head thing, and we need a lot of women there, too.”

She has made a lot of good experiences with the Kroger management, she said because they also have many women in management positions.

“When I started at WITRON back then, the customer’s concern was not that I was a woman, but that I was a rookie and had no direct experience with the processes in a logistics centre,” remembers Margaret and laughs. “I’m sure the WITRON bosses were a little nervous at first, too”, she jokes.

“They trusted me but were afraid that some of the gentlemen on the team might not accept me.” So? “The team wanted a competent leader who was motivated and committed, and, of course, had the technical knowledge. I was that leader, and that’s who I still am. After a week, I had arrived.”

Margaret is confident. “You have to believe in yourself and your abilities.” The site manager is certain: Despite rise of automation, employees are still and oftentimes become even more important. The shortage of skilled workers is omnipresent. “The logistics centre is a great place to be if you like technology and people like I do.”

CLICK HERE to listen to a podcast of Margaret Wilson

 

Dematic is putting customers and their requirements front and centre at its trade show appearance in Stuttgart, transforming its stand into a unique customer experience at the upcoming LogiMAT, May 31 to June 2. For an interactive trade show experience, the company will unveil 15 showcases where innovation can be experienced live with the help of 3D configurations, 360° tours and augmented reality. This approach allows specific and fully automated warehouse solutions to be visualised, tested and remotely controlled on site.

Under a new slogan, #bringiton, Dematic plans to encourage stand visitors and customers to use new material flow solutions to benefit from opportunities that achieve a competitive advantage. Dematic aims to address current challenges customers in intralogistics are facing, thereby demonstrating how it is a premier partner to deliver the most suitable solutions. The two-story Dematic booth is located in Hall 1 at Booth B37.

“Customer experience is Dematic’s top priority at LogiMAT. In an ongoing dialogue with customers, we want to understand their requirements from the entire intralogistics value chain so that we can help strengthen their competitiveness over the long term with innovative solutions customised to their exact needs,” explains Bernard Biolchini, Executive Vice President (EVP) EMEA at Dematic. The company has identified key challenges the industry is currently facing, such as overcoming staff shortages and space constraints, achieving reliable delivery times despite shortages in raw materials, planning reliability for project costs, changing consumer behaviour and further digitalisation initiatives.

The Dematic executive added: “Over the last two years, many operating parameters have changed and they require new thinking and a deep understanding of our customers’ needs.  At LogiMAT we want to captivate our visitors with new approaches and present them in an extraordinary way.”

Biolchini also mentioned that customers will also have an opportunity to meet many of the executives from the EMEA region, which underwent a new alignment in early 2022 to better meet local customer needs with Dematic’s global experience.

Visitors to the Dematic stand can obtain information and exchange ideas as they normally do, but they can also demo new products on-site.  Notes Dr. Jens Hardenacke, the managing director at Dematic Central Europe: “Our guests will not only be able to see our solutions on product displays, but they can also experience them ‘live’ in innovative ways.”

Thus, visitors have an opportunity to first illustrate their individual automation project in a 3D view and then to operate it live. They can use virtual reality goggles for remote machine maintenance as one example of how the concept translates.

“I am looking forward to showing in a more interactive way how Dematic can support customers from start to finish in terms of their automation journey with our broad set of advanced applications that feature both the best technology options on the market and demonstrate our ability to meet the specific needs of various industries we serve,” explains Hardenacke.

In addition to ground-breaking e-commerce solutions, mixed case fulfilment, pallet storage and mobile automation, Dematic also plans to unveil its new visual remote inspection service for intralogistics equipment at the show. It can significantly reduce the time and effort required for maintenance but without compromising quality. Regular safety checks and visual inspections can be accomplished with the help of drones. Dematic will be conducting live drone flights at its German headquarters in Heusenstamm – near Frankfurt – at LogiMAT. Dematic also plans to demonstrate the use of a digital twin for predictive maintenance.

“With a digital twin, we can also perform a software health check with interactive dashboards, digital showcases and VR applications, which helps reduce time and costs for the customer during maintenance,” says Hardenacke.

 

Toyota Material Handling UK has announced the establishment of a systems integration division dedicated to designing and delivering turn-key automated storage and handling projects.

Toyota Logistics Solutions Integration (LSI) will develop systems based on the most appropriate technology for each client’s specific requirements, which means that designs are not restricted to products within the Toyota portfolio.

Luis Sullivan, Head of Systems Integration within LSI, says: “Toyota is one of the world’s most trusted brands and is known for the exceptional build quality of its industrial products. But the equipment selected for every LSI solution is proposed on its own merit to provide tremendous productivity gains and the lowest total cost of ownership.

“We describe the LSI approach as ‘technology agnostic’. We respect the specific character of each project and offer end-to-end automated solutions designed to fit a client’s business. This means that we approach each project thinking ‘what does this customer need?’ rather than ‘what products can Toyota offer this customer?’“

LSI designs systems based on the latest automated picking and storage technologies, state-of-the-art sorters, conveyors, autonomous robots and automated guided vehicles (AGVs). All the necessary control software is also provided – from single modules that connect to a client’s existing IT infrastructure to a fully-built central management system.

LSI oversees an automation project from commission to sign off, while Toyota’s team of highly qualified and experienced service engineers provide fast and efficient ongoing after-sales support and system maintenance.

Toyota expects the UK market for automated handling and storage system to continue its upward trajectory as more companies seek to optimise their intralogistics processes and improve operational robustness through automation.

Paul Freeman, Head of Logistics Solutions at Toyota Material Handling UK, comments: “The need to make the most of every available square foot of storage capacity and move more inventory around the warehouse or distribution centre building with optimum efficiency has made the idea of automating key intralogistics functions increasingly attractive.

“Brexit and the pandemic have made it increasingly difficult to attract warehouse personnel and, as a result, we have seen our customers go from zero automation to at least partial automation within their businesses.

“Toyota is the largest manufacturer of forklift trucks in the world, but the role of our solutions integration operation is to identify scalable material handling systems, innovative software and automation engineering to deliver unique solutions that help our clients become leaders in their industries.”