Handling heavy goods is part of everyday life in the production, retrieval, and storage processes of many companies. We are seeing more and more facilities focused on creating safer and healthier methods for their staff. Automated storage and retrieval  answers many of the needs of warehouses with mixed loads.  There are two main reasons why this makes sense.  Firstly the physical stress placed on employees is incredibly high in many industries. Average loads of ten kilos per unit are often moved, with the upper limit sometimes as heavy as 20 kg or more. This is a major reasons why many companies have reviewed their approach and are now increasingly focused on the health of the employee. But in addition to the health aspects, there are also economic reasons for establishing automation in the workplace, because these measures help companies to increase productivity.

Automated storage and retrieval is key in storing parts of different size and weights.   Automation offers a goods-to-person principle, which is not only labour-saving but much faster. 

Shuttle systems are the best in the industry for mixed loads mainly due to the flexibility of the products that can be stored.  Shuttles come in 3 sizes depending on requirements, for example a Shuttle XP 1000 delivers storage of up to 1,000 kg per tray (4 meters wide and 864 deep). This size is also suitable as a pallet shelf, as the model can pick up two side-by-side pallets as well as offer integrated hoisting cranes which can significantly improve productivity in terms of costs and speed.

Trays of different load-bearing capacity can be used within a Shuttle allowing the simultaneous handling of heavy storage items and large quantities of small parts in a single shelf system. In short, this enables faster more flexible, economical, and ergonomic processes.

Shuttle XP modular vertical lift system have a 250 or 500 weight capacity. The combination of compacting the warehouse as much as possible, flexible storage strategies, and safety makes the Shuttle XP series a unique storage solution. You can learn more about the Shuttle XP series by visiting our website www.kardex-remstar.co.uk or visit us at this year’s Southern Manufacturing & Electronics event on stand G255.