Answer: It is not necessary to implement a barcode system. It depends on the company's budget and other affecting factors such as space capacity of the warehouse, number of product lines and etc. The investment cost in the RFID barcode system is high and company has to evaluate whether they are able to recover their capital within a period of time. However, it is definitely an advantage to implement the barcode system.
The video shows how RFID is being used in today's supply chain. Data are exchanged through the RFID without any physical contact and products are able to be located anytime. Once the products have pass through the scanner, information is sent and received by the inventory management system. This will allow 100% inventory accuracy.
Q2) Delia's Group: In your different types of ASRS, your group mention "Robotics". May I know what is that?
Answer: There are 2 types of robotics. They are the 'Floor mounted' and 'Overhead' robotics. It is a robot (machinery) that is used to pick and stack a range of products onto several palletized load. It is most commonly used in the end line packaging as it is extremely fast, flexible and cost effective as well.
Q3) Steven's Group: May I know how it helps to increase inventory control and tracking?
Answer: By using the ASRS, it helps to reduce human error as machinery are almost error free when it comes to accuracy. Hence, Inventory control is increased as the level of inventory can be obtained through the use of computer system and this will lower or eliminate the inventory required to be stored as safety stocks.
The details of the inventory items are recorded in the system once they are stored in the warehouse, and therefore, inventory tracking process can be conducted much faster and more convenient.
Q4) Roland's Group: How tall can VLM reach and how heavy can it handles?
Answer: The Vertical Lift Modules (VLM) can reach up to a height of 65 ft and is able to handle up to 132 000 lbs. It also depends on the height of the ceiling of the warehouse to decide the height of the VLM.
AS/RS is a type of mechanical equipment used to store and retrieve materials in large pallet loads or smaller tote boxes. Simply to say, it enables all the warehouse operations like unloading goods, sorting, put away, storage, order picking, staging and loading of goods to be done by machine automatically.
How the Automated Storage/Retrieval System are being used in the five main operations in the warehouse:
Within the warehouse, each storage location has their unique bar-code or chip to store the information of the goods location. These allow the employees to get to the goods in the most convenient way, saving time and energy.
Unloading/Loading Bay:
When the goods are unloaded/loaded to or from the conveyor belts, the Automatic Guided Vehicle system is being used to transfer the truck to the pick-up and delivery station in the warehouse. An Automated Guided Vehicle system is a battery powered, "driver-less" vehicle. On the left is an example of the Automated Guided Vehicle.
Another good example is the Pallet and Bin AS/RS used by the Army Logistics Base(ALB) that we have seen before through the visit.Main store/Reserve stock:
After the goods information are being stored and identified by the computers and scanners in the pick-up and delivery station, they will be transported to the main store for storage by the Stacker Cranes. The Stacker Cranes are able to move horizontally and vertically along its rails as shown in the picture on the left. Its function is to store or extract goods from the storage racks. A wireless scanner is also built into the Stacker Cranes to capture and receive information and locate the goods from their locations.
Order Picking:
As the goods are being picked from the storage when required, the Order Picking Trucks are being used. The Order Picking Trucks are available for low-level, intermediate and high-level picking. Other than this, the various types of pedestrian trolleys and roll cage pallets are also handling system used for order picking.
The video gives a brief description of AS/RS and shows the various benefits that the AS/RS can offer to the warehouse.
A few different types of Automated Storage/Retrieval system:
- Vertical Carousels
- Vertical Lift Modules(VLM)
- Horizontal Carousels
- Robotics
- Unit Load Stacker
- Fork Lift Trucks
- Automated Guided Vehicle System
- Fixed-Aisles (F/A) Storage retrieval system
- Stacker Cranes
These are the different types of AS/RS that are commonly used in the industry, and there are still many other kinds of AS/RS available in the market.
Vertical Lift Modules:
The Vertical Lift Modules are similar in appearance to the vertical carousels but they operate on a completely different principle. It consists of two vertical parallel shafts, each of which are divided into shelf storage locations.
The shelving units are stored on static racks within the the machine that resembles a baker's rack. The shelving units are stored and retrieved via a central vertical elevating trolley that typically serves two sets of rack in the fore and aft of the machine.
Each storage location can hold a single storage unit, generally a tray of tote module. The tray or tote modules are inserted, extracted and transported between storage levels and picking locations via an elevator-like device with an automatic extractor that travels up an down within the space between the storage shafts.
With load height sensing performed at the operator window, the machine dynamically selects a location within the rack to suit the height of the product stored on the mobile shelf. The machine is therefore very well-suited to efficiently storing products of widely varying heights. Efficiencies are gained in energy requirements since only the subject load is set into motion during a transaction.
Fixed-Aisles (F/A) Storage & Retrieval system:
Fixed-Aisles Storage & Retrieval system consists of one or more long, narrow aisles framed on both sides by a steel storage racks structure into or from which loads are automatically stored and retrieved under computer control via a crane system. The crane system is most often a machine that consists of a floor running, vertical frame or mast that guides a hoisting carriage on which loads handled. Insertions or Extractions of devices on the crane system manipulates loads into and out of the storage rack system.
The storage and retrieval function in each aisle can be performed in a variety of ways. However, the most common way is by a machine that consists of a floor running, traveling structural frame or vertical mast that guides and supports a hoisting carriage on which loads are carried. All three machines motion, horizontal ( down aisle), vertical and shuttle action are independently and automatically controlled.
Stacker Cranes:
Stacker cranes run between a floor mounted rail and an overhead rail. They can be single or twin mast, with a raising carriage for lifting and lowering the load to the required height and for transferring the load into and out of the racking on either side of the crane aisle. They can have a rising cab for the operator, but they lend themselves to remote computer control. Drive is by an electric motor, while feed is by suspending or reeled power cable.
Benefits of Stacker cranes
Maximize Vertical Cube within a Smaller Footprint than a Forklift
The typical counter balanced forklifts require a 10-12 foot aisle for operation, a stacker cranes typical aisle is 6-8 foot and narrow aisles uses a smaller storage footprint. As a result, a stacker crane can be used to store and handle product in areas where you could not have done so if you were to be using counter balanced forklifts.
Increase in Employee Productivity
Through the use of a stacker crane which is integrated with the storage rack, employee’s no longer waits for a fork lift to become available. The stacker crane is always available and ready to go. It takes 2 1⁄2 minutes or less to store and/or retrieve an item. This single operator system for handling heavy or bulky items can turn an employee into an efficient production worker. The stacker system allows 100% accessibility to 100% of the product 100% of the time.
Increased in Machine Productivity
Through the “point-of-use” storage, by storing work-in-process at key locations throughout the plant, machine changeover times are reduced. Retrieval of components for secondary processes can be reduced as well. Not relying on forklifts to deliver product or tooling to the machine operator helps to reduce or eliminate bottlenecks. Storing material near its point of use eliminates wasted time traveling back and forth through the plant. The less time the employee is traveling, the more time the machine is running.
Increased in Plant Capacity
The reduction in the square footage requirement for material storage and/or staging allows for increased production space without actually expanding your existing building size. Freeing up valuable floor space gives room for the addition of new production equipment or expansion of existing product lines.
Improvement in Organization of Work in Process (WIP) Inventory and Finished Goods
Time wasted searching for items is greatly reduced when inventory is stored in a system with 100% visibility. This allows employees to utilize their time performing tasks that add value and increase productivity. With a more organized storage method, inventories can be tracked more accurately and be retrieved within the shortest time span. Accurate tracking will result in lower inventory levels without the risk of stock outs.
Improvement in Flexibility
Through the use of a modular design which can easily be expanded, the stacker crane system is typically a rack supported freestanding structure. Therefore building additions or modifications are not required. As the space requirements change over the years, the stacker crane system can be modified to suit your needs.
Improves Safety and Reduces Damage
Through the use of inherent design features, the forklift assembly cannot rise above the storage system. Damage to overhead fixtures such as lights, ventilation ducts, gas and water lines is eliminated. Unlike conventional forklifts, motorized stackers are electronically controlled.
With the ability to pre-program the time it takes to ramp up to full speed as well as slow down to a full stop, the opportunity for product, rack or personal injury caused by accidental over acceleration inside the storage system is eliminated. The stacker crane system is designed with many basic safety features to protect the operator. These include but are not limited to an overhead protective canopy, mast back stop, integral carriage freefall safety device, hand guards and adjustable toe guard.
This is a video on how stacker cranes work in the warehouse. As you can see, there is also convertor belt installed along with the stacker cranes to further enhance its productivity. Stacker cranes are able to store the items in form of bins or pallets.
Other Industries/Applications Automated Storage/Retrieval System:
- Pharmaceutical Industry
- Cell Manufacturing
- Lean Manufacturing
- Automobile
- Grocery Distribution
- Mail Order Fulfillment
- Manufacturing
- Knitting
Pharmaceutical Industry:
The Automated Storage and Retrieval System (AS/RS) is widely used in the pharmaceutical industry . Every aspect of the Work-In-Process (WIP) storage and finished goods have been handled with careful attention that allow them with 100% verification of product tracking throughout the material movement and storage process via the Warehouse Management System (WMS).
The main reason using AS/RS in the pharmaceutical industry is because of the 100% real time tracking and control of the WIPs and finished goods information. Not only that, the fully automated system gives them accurate positioning of the items and therefore, retrieving process time can be reduced. It also eliminated the high downtime and low reliability and hence, will result in a reduction in operating costs.
Here is a link that you can take a look for better understanding on the application of AS/RS in the Pharmaceutical Industry:
ADVANTAGES OF USING AS/RS
- Provide users with increased inventory control and tracking
- Greater flexibility to accommodate changing business conditions
- Systems are comprised of modular subsystems that can be easily replaced to minimize downtime and extend the service life of the overall systems
- Reduce labor costs. lowers unnecessary workforce requirements
- Increased workplace safety
- Remove personnel from harsh working conditions (such as cold food storage environments)
- Produce major savings in inventory storage costs ( as vastly improved warehouse space utilization, both vertically and horizontally, creates greater storage density)
- Automation of the entry and exits operations of your products
- Create savings in storage space
- Eliminate errors arising from the manual management of the warehouse
- Control and update the inventory management
- Operates 365 days a year
- Multiply client service capacity
- Able to be integrated into any production or storage process
DISADVANTAGES OF USING AS/RS
- Automated storage and Retrieval systems require considerable investments of a company's resources.
- The cost of purchasing and implementing an effective automated/retrieval system is significant, such as pre-purchases analysis of supply chain and inventory management needs and the actual prices of the AS/RS equipment and software.
- The software used in the AS/RS system is usually a combination of different types of managing software base on the requirements of each operation. Therefore a Local Area Network (LAN) needs to be established to support the information transfer within the warehouse.
- AS/RS is also combined with the Automated Guided Vehicle System to control the movement of vehicles within the system.
- Warehouse Management System is also used to track the inbound movements of the goods inside the warehouse. It's usually interfaced with the Bar-coding system and Stock Control system to capture and store the information of the goods from each storage location and P/D station by using optical scanning of an advanced radio frequency technology.
- There are also significant ongoing costs for maintenance and and updating of various subsystems in the AS/RS.
- There will also be long-term implications such as lost production and shipping revenue, increased labor costs for repair, diminished workforce confidence in the company's operations, downgraded client confidence when disruptions occur to the system.
Usefulness
- Advanced technology makes job easier
AS/RS allows us to explore the highly advanced technology used by warehouse to store and retrieve items. The different types of AS/RS are mainly vertical and horizontal carousel system, vertical lift modules (VLM), fixed aisle storage retrieval system, stacker cranes and etc.
AS/RS uses computerised system to do real time tracking and control of the WIPs and finished goods, and also accurate positioning of the items in its storage area. This can reduce the time for the picker to retrieve the selected item as the item location is known and will be transported from its storage area to the picker by the AS/RS. - Flexibility of the types of items handled by ASRS
AS/RS can handle many different types of items, such as high density product line, unitized and palletized goods, small items in bins, cartons and etc. Hence, many companies and industries are already using AS/RS to provide storage for their WIPs and finished goods. For example, the pharmaceutical industry often uses the vertical carousel system to store their medical equipments as the items are small in size and requires a safe and easily accessed environment to store them.
Furthermore, the speed of the AS/RS in storing and retrieving the selected item is very much faster than manual labour. In this way, goods can be retrieved and shipped out more quickly, and therefore, customer satisfaction can be easily achieved. - Improvement in product quality and lower inventory level
The AS/RS will improve the product quality and prevent pilferage as the items are always safety secured in the storage system and are unreachable, unless permission is granted to it. It can also lower the inventory level of the warehouse by elimination or reduction of the safety stocks as AS/RS provide better accuracy and responsiveness. In this way, the overall operating cost can be reduced as lower inventory level means lower inventory holding cost.
Constraints
- High Investment Cost
AS/RS can improve the productivity and efficiency of the warehouse, but it requires a high investment cost to have it installed. Therefore, there are still people who uses manual labour instead of machinery to replace them. Besides the high investment cost, there is also a need to send technicians to check on the machinery every period and therefore, will incurred maintenance fees.
During the maintenance period, production will be stopped as the WIPs and raw materials are unable to be retrieved. This will cause an opportunity cost between production and maintenance, and will in turn become a loss in number of units to be manufactured. Reduction of manual labour
Even though replacing machinery with manual labour is an advantage, but have you thought of what will happen to those workers that are not needed anymore? The AS/RS is fully automated and will only require 1 or 2 people to retrieve the selected items. Therefore, the labour that are working in the warehouse before the AS/RS is implemented will be retrenched if there are no work for them to do. The remaining workers have to be trained and sent to workshops to learn the skills of controlling the AS/RS.
CK's Reflection on ALBWe visited the Army Logistic Base (ALB), Singapore first centralized warehouse. The ALB is an efficient and technological advanced logistic base that acts as a military warehouse for Singapore Armed Forces (SAF). It is really a memorable experience for me to have such an eye opener at the ALB.
The estimated height of each warehousing floor is approximately around 30 metres. It is essential for them to have various storage systems to handle the goods. They are the Very Narrow Aisle (VNA), Mobile Racking System, Vertical Carousel System and the Pallet / Bin Automated Storage and Retrieval System (ASRS).
The mobile racking system is situated at the main storage area and has excellent utilization of floor space. It is used for storing homogenous items. It is able to ensure the safety of the workers as it is slow moving and will immediately come to a halt when there is an obstacle in the way.
The vertical carousel system (VCS) is located at air-conditioned rooms within the warehouse to control the temperature and humidity level. It is used for storing medical supplies and other small items. The VCS is the ideal choice for storing small items as there is a total of 74 layers and multiple bins on each layer. It has a high utilization of cubic capacity and enhanced safety protection over goods and workers.
There are different kinds of Material Handling Equipments (MHEs) used in the ALB. They are the forklift, pallet jack and laser guided vehicle. The laser guided vehicle is located at the marshalling area where it is able to pick up goods with accuracy and pack them up nicely. The path of the vehicle and the human's path is separated to ensure the safety of the people moving about.The enlistees in the past are required to collect their items at the counter, whereas in the current state, there are e-marts available for the army enlistees to order and purchase their items. Their ordered goods will be packed and delivered to them in the shortest time possible, this clearly indicate that the current logistic industry has improved greatly.
Overall, i think that this is a trip worthwhile for us to experience the local logistic environment. I had been amazed at those equipments and systems as i am able to take a close look at them. This is definitely beyond classroom teaching and an eye opener.
Hi everyone! My name is Chiam Chin Kwang Aka CK( most people think that it's Calvin Klein on first impression =.=)
Now my friends have given me a new nickname, "Kim Moh" =(
I am a Libra!
Currently studying in Temasek Polytechnic, pursuing a diploma in Logistics & Operations Management.
I am a friendly and outgoing person, with a smile on my face everywhere i go. =D
I was in concert band during my secondary school days, playing tuba as my instrument.
From my tanned look, you should be able to know that I am quite a sporty person.
I like to play many kinds of sports such as badminton, basketball, soccer, pool, bowling and etc.
My favourite pastimes are GOING KTV, surfing web, playing games, watching animes, listening to music and stayovers.
ALB adopts a 'through flow' system where the loading and unloading bay are just at the opposite ends of each other. Also, ALB has shown a great real life example to the five main operations that was taught through the textbook to me only. In the five main operations, the system, pallet ASRS situated in the receiving bay, impressed me the most as it is one of the largest system used in ALB. It can managed 13, 500 pallets with 6 cranes and 18 racks with the height of 30m to 35m. Example of the advantage of this system are being showed by the guide person like goods not placed properly will be rejected. This additional information given did help me in interpreting and getting known to the system that the textbook does not have. In addition to that, the tour guide exhibited the new army uniform to us and introduced the new system that the army backpacks are now pre-packed and sent to the enlistees instead of having them to collect at the counter.
Overall, the whole trip has given me an overview of how the five main operations should look like in real life instead of just looking at the pictures given from the textbook. Though its a pity that no photo taking is allowed in ALB, it is definitely an eye opener and great help to me.
HELLO EVERYONE !! (:Yes! The above is ME, Chua Meng Yee! (:
DOB: 11-05-1990
Horoscope: Taurus
Gender: Female
Characteristics: - tall and skinny
- enjoys being taking long bus rides (:
- likes to do silly stuffs *like the above* (:
- stubborn
- newest idol *A MEI ZHANG HUI MEI!* (:
We visited the Army Logistics Base (ALB) and was given the chance to match the details given in our textbook with real-life examples. Through the experience, I was able to understand better on the through flow adopted and the various storage systems used.
Vertical carousel was also used to contain small items, it has a total of 74 layers and equipped with humidity control. Other than that, it is linked to WMS which shows item location through Sub Issue Voucher (SIV) slip and it is believed to be a full-proof system. The guide also mentioned that in the unlikeliness that the machine was to break down, the technician will be bind by the contract to come down in within an hour.
Tan Shu Chun.