DC Velocity - December 2010

bin). When a worker is done with a bin, the robot returns it to the grid system and delivers another. In the meantime, another bin has been lined up at the picking station, which limits waiting time between picks. Once an order is complete, the worker places the carton on a conveyor for transport to shipping.

Putaway works much the same way, only in reverse. An operator logs in at a station as a putaway user, and adds goods to bins based on instructions from the system.

The bins in the grid do not have preset
slotting locations. “Each bin is a location,”
Vindegg explains. “AutoStore knows which
bin is needed and where it is located.”
Vindegg adds that one of the things he
likes best about AutoStore is the way it
almost naturally slots fast movers in the
most accessible locations. Bins can be
stacked as many as 16 deep, meaning
retrieving bins toward the bottom can
take time. But the nature of the system is
such that the bins used most often stay
near the top of the grid, while the others
slowly sink to the bottom, he says. “Our
statistics show that 90 to 95 percent of
what we need is in the three upper layers.”

Big boost in efficiency

As for how the system has worked out for Komplett, Vindegg reports that it has resulted in a significant improvement in productivity. Although the addition of new product lines as a result of Komplett’s 2008 merger with Torp Computing Group makes it difficult to quantify the actual gains, Vindegg estimates that the AutoStore has boosted efficiency by at least 20 percent. He notes that last year, the company was able to pick and pack 1. 4 million orders containing 4. 4 million units using just 10 workers to operate the system over 12 eight-hour shifts per week (two shifts per weekday, plus one shift each on Saturday and Sunday).

Although it’s happy with the results to
date, Komplett continues to fine-tune the
system. “This is the kind of project that’s
never finished,” Vindegg says. “We are
always doing things to the software, mak-
ing small adjustments.”
Asked what advice he would offer to
someone interested in installing this type

of system, Vindegg says the secret’s
in the staffing. “It is important to
have competent people—very
important. What we have done is
take young eager people from our
own organization and given them
training on the job, given them the
technical background on the robots
and software. We know there will be
a number of system stops every day.
Small things could make the system
stop for a minute or two or three, but
our people are able to get it up and
running without calling someone
from outside. You need that compe-
tence in house.” ;