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Automation - simply made better
The best automation solution is only as good as the processes into which it is integrated. This is precisely why the plumbing and heating wholesaler Holter in Wels, Austria, initially set about reorganizing the flow of goods together with Linde Material Handling. On this basis, two Linde L-MATIC trucks can now perform their transport tasks optimally - and provide the company with a significant increase in productivity.
The main task of employees in order picking? Clearly: order picking - at least according to the job description. In practice, however, a significant proportion of working time is often spent on manual transportation, such as transporting picked pallet goods to the shipping area. The Austrian sanitary company Fritz Holter GmbH was also confronted with this: "Our employees sometimes covered very long distances between the warehouse and the dispatch department, which led to many empty runs and cost valuable picking time," says Lukas Vormair, Logistics Manager at the main site in Wels, describing the initial situation. Intralogistics had to become more efficient - automation was an obvious choice. The new solution had to be uncomplicated, reliable and adaptable and not require extensive intervention in the existing infrastructure. "We wanted an automation concept that was as compatible as possible with the other traffic in the warehouse," explains Vormair. The concept from Linde MH met precisely these requirements.
Convincingly uncomplicated
Two autonomous Linde L-MATIC high-lift trucks now act as the "heart" of the newly organized goods transport between the storage and dispatch zones. They use a virtual map to orient themselves in space - which makes it extremely easy to adjust the routes if necessary - and travel between four stations at the start and destination points. The employees take the picked pallets to the nearest station and place them there in one of four color-coded zones. The transport order is triggered at the touch of a button and the automated device takes care of everything else. If the energy content of the lead-acid batteries falls below 20 percent, the devices automatically move to a replacement station.
From the outset, it was important to the logistics managers to involve the workforce as much as possible: "One of the things we did together with our employees was to measure how long it takes them to travel manually from the warehouse to the dispatch area and back again. The fact that this accounted for a good 25 percent of working time at the end of the day surprised them too. That made things clear for everyone."
Clear distribution of tasks
Employees who can concentrate fully on their work, two automated high-lift trucks that reliably make their rounds thanks to various safety features - the results of the automation project at Holter are impressive. Especially as the implementation of the two vehicles had a number of positive side effects: "Wherever the AGVs are on the move, the routes must be clear. And although our people were used to having to park goods again and again, the routes were consistently kept clear from day one," says Lukas Vormair enthusiastically.
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