With warehouse demand skyrocketing in several US states, it’s only a matter of time before yours runs out of space. More warehouses are narrowing their aisles and embracing automated guided vehicle systems and material handling equipment to ensure safe and efficient storage and inventory management.
Allow Hovair Systems to guide you through the process of implementing the automated material handling system at your warehouse.
Determine Your Goals
Not all warehouses are the same. Yours might have unique needs based on the inventory it houses. All in all, your automated handling goals need to take three things into account:
- Budget
- Efficiency
- Current problems
The last bit is particularly important because you can factor it into your goals. Maybe you don’t want to expand your warehouse but increase your return on investment by reducing lost or damaged products through these machines.
In any case, plan how long it’ll take to notice returns on this new technology. If you can afford to wait two to four years, you’ll be much closer to investing in it today.
Shortlist Your Options
Shortlist Your OptionsOnce you’ve decided on the equipment you want, you can move to the next step: choosing the best place to buy it. Where pallet handling is concerned, the cost and variety might differ from company to company.
However, you won’t have to spend too much time mulling each option. Since you know exactly what you need and are well aware of your budget constraints, you can immediately filter out those who don’t fit the bill.
It would help if you also left any vendors with customization options. They might come in handy when you’re all out of options and need something out-of-the-box for your warehousing needs.
Introduce Automation Gradually
Automation takes time, and not only because of the costs. Your staff might have difficulty finding their bearings with those air bearings, and the equipment may not work as well as you first thought.
Whether there’s a problem with the equipment or not, you can start with a small investment to cause minimum disruption to operations and ease your workforce into the new norm instead of overhauling the entire system and risking efficiency and monetary loss.
Establish a Back-up Protocol
Automatic warehousing primarily depends on ergonomic equipment moving systems for your day-to-day warehousing needs. The thing about machines; is they might go out of order sooner—in the absence of regular maintenance—or later due to a malfunction.
It would be best if you had a contingency plan for this unplanned downtime. Keep the material moving at all times, with or without equipment. Manual handling may not be as efficient, so it’s better to have more Hovairmoving systems in storage after the initial purchase to keep things moving at the same speed.
Follow the above structure to plan your shift to automation. Check out light and heavy movers, lifting and rigging equipment, air bearing turntables, and other products online.
Reach out to request specialized ergonomic equipment.