High-bay warehouse consulting & planning: Automatic high-bay warehouse – optimize pallet warehouse fully automatically – warehouse optimization

Published on: July 5, 2021 / Update from: August 4, 2021 - Author: Konrad Wolfenstein

High-bay warehouse – fully automated pallet warehouse – Image: Xpert.Digital & Juice Flair|Shutterstock.com

Some warehouses are fully automated, requiring only operators to complete all tasks. Pallets and products move on a system of automated conveyors, cranes and automated storage and retrieval machines, coordinated by programmable logic controllers and computers with logistics automation software.

The conveyor technology and intralogistics industry is part of mechanical engineering and deals with the organization, implementation and optimization of internal material flows using technical systems and services. The intralogistics industry includes manufacturers of hoists and cranes, forklifts and storage technology (e.g. buffer storage ) as well as software providers and complete system providers.

Between two high racks there is an aisle for the fully automated stacker crane or ASRS - Automated storage and retrieval systems, which is necessary for the automated loading and unloading of the high racks.

A high-bay warehouse is a warehouse with a height of 12 meters or more. The current maximum height of a high-bay warehouse is currently just under 50 meters. High-bay warehouses are pallet warehouses with a few thousand pallet spaces up to several hundred thousand.

Construction of a high-bay warehouse

The advantages of a high-bay warehouse

• Optimal use of storage space and storage space
• Optimal access to the respective articles and goods – possibility of individual access
• Short lead times, high product availability
• Large storage capacities (e.g. for hundreds of thousands of pallet spaces)
• Low proportion of traffic areas
• High goods turnover
• Low susceptibility to failure, low error rate – automated processes reduce error rates
• Great flexibility (e.g. with driverless transport vehicles – AGV / Automated Guides Vehicle – AGV)
• Can be smartly integrated with other systems (e.g. buffer storage)
• Green logistics, low electricity consumption
• Low personnel requirements thanks to full automation
• Great storage expertise (suitable for both flat and long goods)
• High speed despite large format!
• Automated or fully automated for warehouse efficiency

Silo high-bay warehouse – the perfect solution (silo construction)

Silo high racks are a special design in which the building walls and roof are part of the external structure of the high rack warehouse. Because the outer building of a silo high-bay warehouse complements and supports the pallet rack storage system or the rack is the load-bearing element, the unity of the rack and building is ideal for areas with strong winds or earthquakes. In addition, this construction method minimizes building costs.

The little sister of a high-bay warehouse is the automatic small parts warehouse (AKL), also known by the term: Automated Miniload System (AMS) or just Miniload System (MLS) .

Automated high-bay warehouses are often installed in cold storage facilities where temperatures are kept very cold to prevent products from spoiling. This is especially true for electronics bearings, which require specific temperatures to prevent damage to parts. Automation is also common where land is expensive, as automated storage systems can make efficient use of vertical space.

In order for a high-bay warehouse to function efficiently, the system must be planned correctly. The classification takes into account which storage medium a product is picked from (pallet rack or carton flow), where each item is placed for storage and how the items are picked (pick-to-light, pick-to-voice or pick-to-paper). ). With a proper putaway plan, a warehouse can ensure that fast-moving items are stored in the most accessible areas or near dock areas that improve inventory rotation requirements, such as: B. First-in-First-out (FIFO) and Last-in-First-out (LIFO) systems.

Mechanical high-bay warehouse – modernization – intralogistics 4.0

Mechanical high-bay warehouse – – Image: Xpert.Digital & By hacohob|Shutterstock.com

While fully automated high-bay warehouses, in addition to most automated high-bay warehouses, are already geared towards the Smart Factory or Smart Logistics “ Intralogistics 4.0 – Ready warehouse optimization methods in the many existing mechanical high-bay warehouses . The difference between mechanical and fully automated high-bay warehouses lies in the diverse use of human-operated industrial trucks such as: E.g. forklifts or pallet trucks.

Suitable for:

• Networked distribution centers – intralogistics 4.0
• World logistics – resilient logistics
• Last mile logistics
• Intralogistics Glossary
• Intralogistics & Logistics Library (PDF)

That's why Xpert.Plus for high-bay warehouses consulting and planning: Smart, fully automated high-bay warehouses / pallet warehouses with Industry 4.0 - IoT technology

Xpert.Plus is a project from Xpert.Digital. We have many years of experience in supporting and advising on storage solutions and in warehouse optimization , which we bundle in a large network Xpert.Plus

Konrad Wolfenstein

I would be happy to serve as your personal advisor.

You can contact me by filling out the contact form below or simply call me on +49 89 89 674 804 (Munich) .

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Xpert.Digital – Konrad Wolfenstein

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