Optimised storage processes at Armaturenwerk Hötensleben
Armaturenwerk Hötensleben GmbH has produced stainless steel components for the food products, cosmetics, chemical and pharmaceuticals industries for decades. With continued development and expansion of the product range, the group has established itself in the market and is continuing to grow.
Initially it is often not necessary to change the structure of a high bay warehouse, but to optimise efficiency of the warehouse instead. A sophisticated automatic system means that the forklift trucks are used at optimum speed, whilst reducing time lost when searching for pallet positions. Our task was to optimise the capacity and throughput of the 24-aisle warehouse with 25,000 storage locations despite the lack of space and specific performance requirements.
Warehouse navigation with Logistics Interface
As ever, the Warehouse Management System fulfilled its purpose; it was necessary to connect the warehouse navigation feature to the available IT infrastructure. Our logistics interface (an interface between the forklift truck and warehouse management system) helped to transfer orders from the Warehouse Management System (WMS) to the forklift truck terminal directly via the fork lift controls. This enables the forklift truck to identify the exact position to approach. The operator only has to give the travel and lift commands. The positioning is accurate down to the millimetre, meaning that the intended pallet positions can be approached in the shortest possible time via the shortest route. The access times were reduced by the (semi) automatic and precise directions to the racking position, ensuring standard productivity among the operators.
Significant increase in productivity and reduced access times
"We are very satisfied with the overall concept offered by Jungheinrich. In particular, connecting the warehouse navigation to our existing WMS and the reliable trucks with the sophisticated warehouse navigation software are convincing on a daily basis," says Heinz Schmiegel, Head of Materials Management at Armaturenwerk Hötensleben. "Since switching to Jungheinrich, we have increased our productivity by 18 per cent and reduced access times by 11 per cent."