FEATURE Automated Warehousing y
Moving away from the traditional Andrew Mason, Automation Sales Manager at RARUK Automation, explains the benefits of vertical handling P
rior to its investment in an Effi mat storage and retrieval system, OFI Testing Equipment (OFITE) relied on eight
employees manually selecting sales and work orders. At times, people were waiting for an aisle to clear so they could get the parts they needed, with the same wait repeated when re-stocking the inventory every morning.
A vertical challenge
Instead of adding shifts or expanding the building to improve effi ciency, OFITE decided to automate the selection process and, clearly, the most practical solution was to use existing fl oor space optimally and consider a vertical confi guration. The initial plan was to invest in a traditional vertical lift module (VLM) but then Dan Wax, Director of Supply Chain and Logistics at OFITE, saw an Effi mat system at a trade show and immediately understood the time- and cost-saving the patented Box Mover Technology could bring to his facility. “To say that I was impressed is an understatement,” said Wax. “I even took a sales engineer representing a traditional VLM company to the Effi mat stand to ask if his machine could do the same.”
Differences The main diff erence between a traditional VLM and an Effi mat is the effi ciency when picking multiple parts. If an operator has a kit of parts to produce, each on a diff erent shelf, they’ll have to wait for each individual shelf to be presented, typically taking around 60 seconds every time, bar when the required parts are located on the same shelf. Effi mat, available in the UK from RARUK Automation, stores parts in individual boxes and allows the user to select up to fi ve boxes to be presented simultaneously. Even though the cycle time of 80 seconds is slightly longer, effi ciency is many times greater since each cycle delivers fi ve products. Typically, up to 250 boxes/picks per hour can be achieved, and boxes can also be sub- divided to further enhance productivity. This capability was a clear vote-winner for OFITE management, but the company was also keen to reassure its employees
14 November 2020 | Automation
OFITE decided to automate the selection process with a vertical handling setup
that such an investment would benefi t them, too. As a result, OFITE arranged visits to other Effi mat installations so staff could see for themselves how the Effi mat improves the working environment and reduces the tedium of order picking. Now installed, the OFITE Effi mat is used for storage and handling of smaller and expensive parts inventory used to fulfi l direct sales and work orders to build fi nished products. It is interfaced with the company’s ERP system for order processing, and is currently responsible for over 3000 part numbers. Three people operate the Effi mat at any one time, which means other order-picking
staff can tend to diff erent tasks. Also, the company has gained a lot more open fl oor space thanks to vertical storage, which is now used for collating large orders. Greater effi ciency and cost-savings have
resulted from this investment, and OFITE’s Wax confi rms Effi mat is now an essential part of the company. “It is rewarding that the Effi mat is one of the stop-off points for visitors to our factory. It wows people,” added Wax.
CONTACT:
RARUK Automation
www.rarukautomation.com
automationmagazine.co.uk
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