What’s all the fuss about…

We tackle automation for online grocers, automated picking options, as well as inventory counting robots and much else. Insights include: It is reckoned a manual picker can spend up to 60-70% of their time walking between picks. That’s a lost of waste. What can you do about it?

Goods to persons automated systems are said to improves pick rate by a factor of ~2.5. AutoStore is said to be the fastest robotic goods-to-person system on the market, with the potential to remove the most pickers from a given environment. On the other hand autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) can bring savings to operations that have throughputs that are small compared to AutoStore style deployments, and they can be set up quickly and deployed more flexibly, particularly in tandem, with RaaS, robotics-as-a-service. It is well worth exploring with the plethora of vendors bringing robots to the market.

Be sure to keep an eye on Handling & Storage solutions to find out who’s who in this new and exciting category of solutions providers. Did you know…. A major courier is planning a 363,000 sq ft facility in the UK. Due for completion in 2022, it will initially process 1.3 million parcels daily. Read on for a broad scope of the options that make Billy Whizz look like a slowcoach.

Diesel not dead

Diesel is far from dead but it is starting to be marginalised. Tighter rules and regs, for example, ULEZ in cities, and stringent regulations for engine manufacturers, mean diesel driven cars, forklifts and other machinery, will be increasingly expensive and limited in their applications. Not to panic, as diesel will still have an important role to play in the right application for many years to come. The wind of the future will not blow everything towards electric – we just don’t have the generating capacity for start – but you can certainly hear the wind whistling through the pylons. I recently visited German intralogistics specialist Jungheinrich in Hamburg and saw it is betting heavily on electric and lithium batteries as the forklift power combo of tomorrow’s warehouse. Jungheinrich is a big player, with annual revenues of around 4 billion euros, but not quite as big as major rivals such as the Kion Group and Toyota Industries. Perhaps this is part of the reason it is seeking to specialise, relative to the approach of its rivals. The infrastructure it is building around lithium based forklifts is remarkable. The forklift is very much the central part of it, but just a part. It has set up JT Energy Systems, a joint venture with Triathlon, dedicated to lithium battery manufacturing and recycling. Jungheinrich has expanded its range of lithium chargers and energy storage devices, including models designed for outside use. Jungheinrich explained these devices could be used to help manage power draw efficiently, allow companies to take advantage of off-peak charging, and integrate with renewables as part of an energy management solution provided by the manufacturer. It also previewed the P30i electric counterbalance truck, which it claims will be a one-for-one replacement for any IC truck in any task, regardless of performance workload or outside conditions. The truck is expected to launch to market in late 2021.

SHE Awards

Consider entering the Safer Logistics category at the Safety & Health Excellence (SHE) Awards. If you have a great project or initiative that has helped boost the safety of your logistics operation, get in touch and you could be set for a night of glory among 550 of your peers on April 29 at the Vox Arena in Birmingham. The deadline for enttry has been extended to March 15. Check out the entry criteria at www.she-awards.com/awards