Borgholzhausen, March 05, 2024 - The automation of internal logistics can help to solve complex challenges in a future-proof, economical and ecological way - such as lack of space, shortage of skilled workers or gradual economic, sustainable growth with a responsible CO2 balance. Westfalia Technologies GmbH & Co. KG developed a technical leap towards perfect intralogistics in 1983 in line with the requirements of customers from the food and beverage industry. Satellite® warehouses store in a process-optimized, time- and space-saving manner. The Satellite® load handling device serves deep storage channels in which goods are stored in a highly compact row on profile rails.
Software for more complex warehouse processes
In 2005, Westfalia launched Savanna.NET®, a warehouse execution system that can be adapted to a wide range of IT infrastructures and individual customer processes thanks to its open interfaces. If required, Savanna® provides hundreds of warehouse strategies to optimally align intralogistics processes with the requirements of a company.
Sustainability is not just a question of energy efficiency in the warehouse itself. It is above all a company-specific definition, depending on very specific requirements and process characteristics.
Additional movements of storage and retrieval machines (SRMs), conveyor technology and transfer cars may be necessary for optimum warehouse logistics. Thanks to the economical and route-efficient combination of storage, retrieval and transfer or particularly fast transfers between conveyor and storage technology, logistics service providers or food producers, for example, can achieve fast storage and retrieval, high throughput, reduced staff workload, continuous and time-saving supply of production or order picking. The bottom line is fast, punctual route provision, even for last-minute orders, and more satisfied customers for further company growth. Although this consumes additional energy in the warehouse, it optimizes the overall processes - and therefore costs, energy and time.
Economy in cooling, production, material flow and maintenance
Automated compact storage systems for chilled or frozen goods offer clear advantages by using space more efficiently and reducing the amount of space to be cooled per load unit. This massively reduces energy consumption.
Even at normal temperatures, compact automated storage systems have a positive impact on the total cost of ownership: these storage systems fit directly onto production lines on a highly customized footprint. The distances from raw materials to production are shortened. With the help of these automated interim storage facilities, goods or semi-finished goods can be produced in stock.
SRMs from Westfalia can be designed for the transportation of entire load unit bundles - for example using multiple satellites. They thus link high-performance production to intralogistics and avoid "bottle necks" at the interfaces. This is an advantage that the corrugated cardboard and packaging industry, for example, with its often heavy, bulky load units, relies on.
Compared to forklift wheels with tires, rail-mounted storage and retrieval machines have lower frictional resistance. Manually controlled forklift trucks often have to take extra winding routes and travel several times to transport large quantities of goods. In addition, unlike head-guided storage and retrieval machines, forklifts cannot access storage heights of over 14 meters. Automated high-bay warehouses can be more than 40 meters high.
Efficient drives, controls and energy generation
Decisive progress has also been made in drives, energy storage systems and control technology: modern drive technology makes it possible to store energy or feed it back into the supply network or into energy storage systems directly on the vehicle. Storage capacitors in the intermediate circuit provide a large proportion of the required power peaks. Rotational energy and capacitor storage also ensure system operation for drives, engine brakes and controls in the event of power failures.
If the process optimization of high article variance, throughput or tour frequency consumes more energy in the warehouse system, this consumption can be compensated for by self-supply with renewable energy directly at the warehouse location. Warehouses offer large areas that can be designed for photovoltaic modules.
Conclusion: Solving complex challenges automatically
Automated storage systems can be individually adapted to very different process requirements in terms of systems and software. Sustainability means using different resources prudently and economically. Wherever a company finds the right balance between throughput, capacity and compactness: It can be achieved with space-saving automated high-bay warehouses in silo design, in new or existing buildings.
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