Features/Benefits Provided: Saved $450,000 to $500,000 in new construction costs. Assembly parts are delivered ergonomically to the employee at waist height.

A new approach to assembly and service parts storage and retrieval has helped one North Carolina company add a new spark to its industrial battery handling systems manufacturing operations. While analyzing their parts storage and retrieval operations, they found that small assembly parts were taking up too much room and becoming increasingly time consuming for product assemblers and service parts personnel to find.

Two vertical lift modules (VLMs) became the solution to reducing the amount of space required for parts inventory and improving part picking productivity. Using an automated storage and retrieval system for parts consolidation has increased worker productivity and overall operations efficiency while successfully delaying a costly building expansion. By installing two 21.5 -foot tall shuttle 250NT VLMs, the company has reduced the floor space necessary for storing assembly parts by 87 percent from 1,125 sq. ft. to only 140 sq. ft. The shuttle VLMs allowed the battery handling systems manufacturer to free up space in two of the plant's four product assembly areas sufficient to double the two areas' production. At present, only 70% of the total 44 shuttle VLM trays are in use, allowing for future expansion.

Up to 50 percent of walk and search time has been eliminated. The shuttle VLM delivers the specified tray to a waist-high extraction platform for easy part removal or return. Tray-to-tray cycle times range from 23 to 47 seconds for multi-shifter's 21.5-foot high VLMs.

is a Proud Member of the AS/RS Product Section of Material Handling Industry of America

41 Eisenhower Drive
Westbrook, ME 04092
Toll Free: 800-639-5805    Phone: 207-854-1861
info@remstar.com
www.Remstar.com