Shuttle meets space demands

Link 51 has responded to a changing marketplace by broadening its portfolio of racking and storage solutions to include an automated shuttle. The result, says the company, is more efficient use of warehouse space

Managing director John Halliday says: "Customers are demanding a range of products from traditional racking to shelving, mezzanines, and now shuttle systems. We're not saying that every customer will need it but we must have it in the range for those applications when it is the best option." The units can be configured to operate on a FIFO or FILO basis, will automatically detect and handle both CHEP and Euro pallets, and are capable of 300 missions per charge, which is comfortably a day's work.

The shuttle is easy to operate from a remote control, which can control four units. The system is designed to be easy for forklift operators to use.

The Shuttle's expected sweet spot is storage applications with low SKU and high pallet volume, with logistics, pharmaceuticals, food and drink, and some import/export businesses key target sectors.

Group product manager, Dagan Hyde explains: "Customers currently considering push-back, drive-in or pallet live should add shuttle to the mix. However, the choice of storage solution, of course, depends on what the business is trying to achieve. You need to sit down with the customer and come up with solutions that match the challenge." Shuttle can provide a numbers of benefits over some other forms of storage. For example, they service deep and densely packed levels of racking, which depending on how quickly pallets need to be accessed, can lead to highly efficient warehouse utilisation.

In comparison, gravity fed systems operate at a slope and the triangles of space lost at the top and bottom, can lead to less complete storage utilisation. Shuttle systems can maximise the cube better, at the trade-off of accessibility to those pallets deep in the racking.

Link 51 has installed shuttles with Toolbank. The company needed a storage solution that would very efficiently use space as it was locked into a site with limited room to manoeuvre. The customer uses the shuttle-fed racking to store container loads of products from overseas. The pallets contain similar products and are generally slowmoving.

In comparison with drive in-racking, shuttle-fed racking decreases reliance on forklifts. Operating fewer forklifts allows for savings to be made on equipment, as well as operators. In addition, with fewer forklifts driving into aisles, the risk of accidents and damage to racking and goods is reduced.

Sales director, Keith Evans says: "Deploying shuttles may mean a customer does not need to operate two buildings but can get away with one. They also may be able to lower the number of forklifts. The shuttle is effectively acting as a truck. The cost is similar to a lower end forklift, but a customer will certainly reduce costs in terms of operators." The shuttle available through Link 51 is said to be reliable and, being of a modular design, points of potential failure or accidental damage, such as sensors, use offthe- shelf components that are not a headache to replace.

Dagan Hyde adds: "The equipment is reliable, but maintenance is important and sensors should be kept clean. In most cases, in-house teams will be able to manage the shuttles, but we have a 60,000 mission service package, a trained service team, and stock of spare parts to back up the new range." The addition of the shuttle to Link 51's portfolio is also, in part, a response to an increasingly fast-moving market, meaning suppliers must be ready to move quickly with complete solutions. This is partly due to the diversification of tasks undertaken in storage facilities, with activities such as fulfilment, returns, picking, and packing much more common.

John Halliday says: "We are also seeing the procurement process shortened as companies are often downsizing or see their supply chain processes as offering competitive advantage and want to keep details under wraps.