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Higher production and efficiencies, lower operational and labor costs, and a smaller real-estate footprint might sound like a tall order, but this is exactly what automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS) deliver.
Amazing technologies are the drivers of these dynamic facilities, displaying the marvels of 21st-century engineering, which offers operators reduced worker safety problems, less product damage and increased customer service levels through accurate deliveries.
The Magic Aisle
What if you were to go shopping and had to visit only one aisle where all the products you needed were waiting for you? "This is what companies are looking for in both piece and case picking, which we call product-to-person picking," says Rob Schmit, vice president of the automation and systems division of SSI Schaefer Systems International, Charlotte, NC. "They want the person consolidating an order to visit only those locations that are active for that particular order. This means you need powerful technology behind such a highly efficient system."
Crane technology drives such systems, along with pick-to-light, pick-to-voice and screen applications. "What you are doing is getting this system to do multiple things simultaneously," continues Schmit. "So you are using it for order optimization, replenishment and other optimizations, cutting out transports because of the automatic three-dimension functionality. While the crane does the walking, workers can utilize their time for higher-efficiency picking."
The main advantages of ASRS installations include maximum cube utilization, precision accuracy, greater efficiency and the capability of throughput sustainability, notes Schmit. "You can go higher with less tolerances and clearances. Significant contributors to the sale for such a system are the frozen and temperature-controlled environments because of the lower cost of real estate since the building envelope can be much smaller."