Material Handling in Facilities Today
When it comes to material handling, businesses are always asking the question:
“Are there smarter and more efficient ways we can store our inventory?”
In recent years, the answer to this question has been the inclusion of automated solutions. However, many businesses are still using conventional methods of storing inventory in their facilities such as pallet racking and shelving units.
Solutions like racking and shelving are excellent, but if you’re looking to increase efficiency, space utilization, and safety in regards to your storage operation you definitely want to take a look at automated vertical storage!
Hänel Storage Systems offers these exact solutions, consisting of products such as the Lean-Lift®, Rotomat®, and Lockomat®. Since 1953, Hänel has stood for providing innovative storage solutions to its customers all geared towards improving facilities with a variety of benefits:
- Reclaiming Floor Space
- Maximizing Inventory Accuracy
- Increasing Productivity
- Improving Ergonomics
- Enhancing Security
Reclaiming Floor Space
Hänel’s vertical storage assists in effective space utilization by taking advantage of vertical space that may not be used to its full capacity. Racking systems can create empty space in between each beam level, as stored inventory may not take up all of the space provided.
With a Hänel solution this unused space can be effectively utilized as items are stored in more compressed sections, allowing for more of your inventory to occupy the space. These vertical storage solutions also take up a smaller footprint in a facility than traditional pallet racking, which grants more space for other processes or solutions your facility may need!
Taking advantage of otherwise unused overhead space that would be unreachable to employees without proper lifting equipment, and being able to have that inventory be delivered right to the user is a huge benefit of these vertical storage units.
Automated vertical storage can be a difference maker in the discussion of either expanding your current facility or purchasing a new facility. It makes both options obsolete, and instead allows you to keep your existing facility the same, while focusing on utilizing less floor space.
Maximizing Inventory Accuracy
Making sure you have the right amount of inventory is important! Tools, parts, and materials can easily be misplaced or overstocked, especially if they aren’t accounted for. Hänel solutions provide inventory accuracy to over 99% through its HänelSoft inventory management software, and assist in reducing overstocking, parts shortages, expired items, and time spent on correcting errors.
HänelSoft inventory management software allows items to be organized by expiration date, par level, first in/first-out, barcode cross check, and much more! The software is able to create a secure audit trail, allowing users to know where supplies reside and how many are left. It can also interface with other ERP systems that you already have in use.
Increasing Productivity
Businesses continually seek methods of improving their labor productivity. Finding ways of being more efficient, as well as reducing costs are constant goals for any organization.
Hänel’s solutions do exactly this by providing workers with a more efficient method of picking inventory. This is done through the proper organization of inventory within the vertical storage units, allowing materials to be easily identified, picked, and taken to the next assignment.
This vertical storage also requires less workers to gather inventory and tools needed for the job, providing facility managers with the ability to relocate additional workers to other areas of the facility to perform other important tasks!
Improving Ergonomics
Ergonomics are an important aspect of a safe work environment, and is essentially the science of designing a job to fit the worker rather than forcing a worker to fit the job. Ergonomics is under more consideration today than it was 5 years ago, and continues to be on facility managers’ minds as they look to keep their employees safe.
Hänel’s Lean-Lift® and Rotomat® are designed to expose workers to the least possible amount of physical stress through creating ergonomically correct access points in order to eliminate unnecessary bending, stooping, and reaching.
OSHA has a “golden zone” for lifting:
Lift items close to the body, between the waist and mid-chest height.
Hänel’s solutions do exactly that, allowing employees to adhere to this golden zone. By doing this, employees reduce the risk of injury and stress on joints, muscles, and tendons allowing them to maintain their physical health at their place of work!
Enhancing Security
Missing and stolen materials and tools are unfortunately common in a lot of facilities today. It can be costly spending extra resources on tracking down these materials or even just replacing them. This cost can be lessened or even avoided with proper security for this inventory.
The solutions Hänel offers can provide the proper security for your facility. Hänel vertical storage units are fully enclosed, and even come with custom locking solutions to fit to your requirements. Making your inventory accessible to only authorized personnel.
This allows you to focus your resources on other areas of your facility, while not needing to worry about stolen or mis placed tools and materials.
Learn More about Hänel Storage Systems
Hänel’s automated vertical storage solutions can be a great investment in improving the quality of not only your facility, but the workers within! If you would like to learn more about these solutions or Hänel itself please visit their website, https://www.hanel.us/us/.
If Bode Equipment Company can assist with your next project, Contact Us, or Just Call Bode! 800-797-5699.