materialhandlingupdate LIFT TRUCKS
over long distances, with multiple shifts, and putaway
requirements for moving large numbers of pallets quickly is
a good candidate,” says Frank Devlin, marketing manager,
advanced technologies for The Raymond Corp. “If you’re
running more or less the same routes with a pretty regular
stream of products from one end of a building to another
and have to deadhead back, that’s the ideal place for auto-
mated lift trucks.”
The biggest payback comes in productivity improve-
ments. The use of automated trucks to eliminate pre- and
post-picking activities like retrieving empty pallets and
moving full pallets to stretch wrappers and loading docks
boosts time spent on picking to 80 percent, by some esti-
mates. Moore suggests thinking of automated trucks as
combining the best aspects of pick-to-belt and pick-to-pal-
let. “With pick-to-belt, generally there are two touches:
When the WMS sends semi-automated trucks to
the required positions, operators don’t spend time
searching for pick or putaway locations. This can
shave five to eight seconds off each pick on aver-
age, says Wiesenegg. That’s especially beneficial
for DCs that hire seasonal or temporary help,
he says, adding that for one customer,
Jungheinrich’s Warehouse Navigation system
boosted productivity by 10 to 15 percent “just
through eliminating the experience factor.”
In fact, the technology may help any new employee
become proficient more quickly, says Tim Quellhorst, senior
vice president, Crown Equipment Corp. Furthermore, work-
ers who have used his company’s automated solutions report
that they are not as tired at the end of a shift even though
they are doing more work, he says. “Even semi-automation
made their jobs less of a mental challenge and less physically
demanding,” Quellhorst adds. “That can increase productiv-
ity and improve retention and job satisfaction.”
number of personnel required and can operate in low light
and temperatures, saving on energy costs. Some vendors
also contend that automated trucks do less damage to
goods, infrastructure, and themselves than drivers on manual trucks do.
Furthermore, it takes little time and little or no additional infrastructure to introduce automated trucks, says
Raymond’s Devlin. No major renovations or installations
are required, whereas a traditional AGV system could
require months of planning, testing, and the like, he says.
And it’s easier for free-ranging trucks to accommodate
changing DC layouts than it is for most AGV systems.
COST ADVANTAGES
There’s a cost associated with automating forklifts and pallet trucks, of course. But according to Yale’s Pfleger, all of
the prospective buyers he’s spoken with are focusing on
overall ROI rather than on purchase price. He believes that
for many warehouses and DCs, the productivity improvements from automation would more than offset any additional costs over manual lift trucks.
But there are also some cost advantages in comparison to
AGVs. Because automated trucks are based on mass-produced equipment, manufacturers can keep the price
down—to about two-thirds the cost of a comparable AGV,
by most estimates. A fully automated machine reduces the
BE REALISTIC
Any new technology, no matter how great its potential, is
bound to raise some concerns. Quellhorst, for one, cautions
that driverless forklifts and pallet trucks are not yet equivalent to conventional equipment. Because of speed and performance requirements, he notes, manual trucks have to
withstand a lot of vibration and other physical demands.
Automated trucks are not as robust, in his view. “When I
think of a true dual-mode solution—a forklift that can
work in automatic mode just as well as in manual—I think that day isn’t here yet, and that more
work is needed to develop the technology so it
can stand up to the demands that are placed on
manual vehicles,” he observes.
Additionally, potential buyers
should not be lulled into thinking
that introducing automated
trucks is as easy as sending new
manual ones out on the floor. “You’re not just adding fork-
lifts,” says Wiesenegg. “It’s an integration of systems, and
you have to make sure the software is complementary and
that the implementation goes smoothly.” Much depends on
how well organized the facility is and how effectively it uses
its WMS, he adds. “If you are not well organized and you go
to a fully automated system, it can do a lot of damage.”
DC managers may be slow to accept automated forklifts
and pallet trucks for fear of disrupting operations, and
some may be skeptical of technology that may look more
like a science project than a practical solution. But auto-
mated trucks could fill a need for companies that are trying
to figure out how to handle rebounding business but are
wary of adding a lot of labor in a still-sluggish economy. It’s
also an attractive technology for warehouses that have dif-
ficulty finding enough qualified workers—still a common
problem despite the high unemployment rate.
More importantly, the double-digit productivity gains in
picking, putaway, and travel time claimed by the manufacturers—from 20 percent to 50 percent, depending on the
activity—are hard to ignore. In the right circumstances, this
technology could help warehouses and DCs achieve their
most important goals: improving productivity and keeping
labor costs under control. ;
