Consulting and planning for automated pallet high-bay warehouses (HBW) – Building a high-bay warehouse

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Here, goods are stored in high-bay racking. Between each pair of racks is an aisle in which storage and retrieval machines (SRMs) move, which, for example, can only travel lengthwise along the aisle using rails or induction, in order to store and retrieve goods from the racks.

The storage and retrieval machines are automatically controlled when order picking takes place in the pre-zone (goods to person). However, they can also be operated manually when order picking takes place directly on the shelf (person to goods). In a warehouse with automated operation, this area is secured against human access for safety reasons, using fences and light barriers.

Each aisle has a storage and retrieval area. In an automated high-bay warehouse, conveyor technology moves the load units to the loading and unloading points for the forklifts. In manually operated high-bay warehouses, the frontmost positions in the racking at the end are designed as transfer points for the forklifts.

A high-bay warehouse includes an inbound or storage area where goods are delivered and from which the storage and retrieval machines retrieve the goods for storage. Similarly, an outbound area is required where the storage and retrieval machines place the goods after retrieval.

Components of this conveying technology can include chain conveyors, powered roller conveyors, gravity roller conveyors, lifting tables, rotary tables, transfer units, automated guided vehicles (AGVs), transfer cars, and vertical conveyors. A special feature of these storage and retrieval machines is a truck shuttle system for each storage level, as seen in fully automated compact warehouses.

In automated picking warehouses, picking stations are located in the pre-zone. The pallet comes from the high-bay warehouse to the picking station, the goods are removed, logged out, and the pallet returns to the high-bay warehouse.

In the pre-zone, goods are also identified for the warehouse management system or material flow computer; this point is referred to as the I-point (identification point). Here, the goods are marked with automatically readable identifiers, such as a barcode or smart label, and are managed by the warehouse management system from this point until they are checked out.

A high-bay warehouse is managed and controlled by an IT system. The landscape of these systems is highly heterogeneous. An ERP system is almost always integrated. This often includes a warehouse management system (WMS), which in turn communicates with a material flow computer. The material flow computer controls the conveyor technology in the receiving area, the stacker cranes, and possibly technology in other departments. In less complex systems, the material flow computer is usually integrated into the warehouse management system.

The IT system coordinates the storage and retrieval of goods according to specific guidelines. Optimizing the software to individual requirements is crucial for the warehouse's performance.

Storage often follows the principle of dynamic storage – formerly known as chaotic storage. In simple terms, this means the system automatically selects any available space and stores the goods. If necessary, this chaotic principle can be supplemented with rules. For example, it can be required that a material contained in several containers be distributed across multiple rows of shelves in such a way that different storage and retrieval machines can access it. This ensures that the material remains available even if one of the machines fails.

The ABC strategy for increasing throughput is also widespread. Here, the most frequently needed items are stored in area A (close to the storage/retrieval point) of the warehouse. In area A, travel distances are relatively short, and therefore storage/retrieval times are also reduced. Similarly, area B, at a medium distance, is used for less frequently needed items, and area C, at the rear of the warehouse, for rarely needed items.

It is also possible to distribute the stored goods as evenly as possible by weight in order to load the shelf structure evenly.

Automated pallet high-bay warehouse – Image: Xpert.Digital / Chesky|Shutterstock.com

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