materialhandlingupdate LIFT TRUCKS
ators’ movements telegraphed by a band they wear around
the wrist.
Others are directed by a warehouse management system
(WMS) in concert with the traffic control system.
Integrating with a WMS can help solve problems like excessive travel time and exactly match
actions to orders, say vendors. “If
total flexibility is required due to
highly dynamic warehouse processes, then not connecting may be
best,” says Brian McCahill,
Kollmorgen’s business unit director,
AGV Systems North America. “But
if you have a pretty stable picking
process and if your WMS is already
talking to a voice system, why not
have the [vehicle] get that same
information at the same time to take full advantage of the
available productivity gains?”
Unlike traditional AGVs, automated trucks aren’t limited
to set routes; they can go anywhere a warehouse worker
would go. They can also quickly change from automatic to
manual mode with the flip of a switch. This lets the buyer
define the most efficient way to operate for a particular pick
cycle or environment, says William Pfleger, president of Yale
Materials Handling Corp. For example, if pick locations are
close together, the operator could continue to pick while
moving the truck remotely. But if there are long distances
between picks, the operator could save time by switching to
manual mode and driving at the maximum speed to the
next location, he explains.
It won’t always be obvious to the operator which mode
would be most efficient, though. Here’s where interfacing
with a WMS and voice system can help. “We use the software to tell the drivers through the voice system when they
should ride the vehicle and when they should pick with it in
the automatic mode,” says Brad Moore, vice president,
AGVPick and global accounts for Swisslog.
Some automated systems will
even determine when and how high
to raise and lower the lift truck’s
mast. To maintain stability, most
operators fully lower the mast and
drive at full speed, then lift again on
reaching the pick location. But
that’s not necessarily the most efficient way to go, says Michael
Wiesenegg, product line manager -
warehouse systems, for MCFA.
Depending on the distance between
picks and their rack levels, it may be faster and more efficient to drive with the mast partially raised. “The truck
knows how low you have to go to find the best combination
of driving speed and lifting,” he says.
PAYBACK IN PRODUCTIVITY
While the sight of a forklift driving itself around a warehouse is bound to impress, technological wizardry isn’t reason enough to invest in new equipment. There must be
solid productivity and cost benefits. In the right environment, say providers, automated trucks definitely deliver.
What’s the right environment? Vendors are targeting case
pick-to-pallet operations, especially those with a high-wage
workforce and/or where labor is in short supply. In addition, “any warehouse of 200,000 square feet or more, with
lots of repetitive, horizontal travel with full pallets or carts
Who offers driverless fork trucks?
Europe is the biggest market for automated forklifts
and pallet trucks, while here in North America, the driverless forklift party is just getting started. Here are
some of the major players and their current offerings:
▪ Crown Equipment Corp.: Operators control the
QuickPick Remote for the Crown PC 4500 Series rider
pallet truck with a glove- or ring-mounted device.
( www.crownequipment.com)
▪ Dematic: LaserTrucks+ applies Dematic’s wireless
radio-frequency or voice picking software and AGV
guidance technology to a Crown PC 4500 Series rider
pallet truck. ( www.dematic.com)
▪ Egemin Automation: The Hybrid Automated Guided
Vehicle lets users operate a standard forklift either in
manual mode or as an AGV. ( www.egeminusa.com)
▪ Jungheinrich: The Warehouse Navigation System for
very narrow-aisle trucks controls their movements while
tracking their positions via RFID and transponders in the
warehouse floor. ( www.jungheinrich-lift.com)
