Dynamic Storage Systems

Changing the order picking process to utilize a goods to person principle can increase productivity by 2/3 and improve worker ergonomics in metalworking operations. Dynamic storage systems from Kardex Remstar brings the work to the worker; eliminating the time spent to walk to the specific location to retrieve the item.

Using a standard shelving system workers walk up and down the aisles searching for the items they need, very similar to grocery shopping. They take their cart and their shopping list and walk up and down the aisles gathering everything into their cart. This works well at the grocery store because everyone is picking one order and going home.

When picking a high volume of orders throughout the day, the grocery cart shopping method is not efficient. The largest waste of time in this process is the travel time; that is the time it takes for the worker to travel to the location to pick the item they need. A simple way to measure travel time is to have order pickers wear a pedometer to see how far they walk per shift; this represents wasted time in the order picking process. To eliminate this wasted time, dynamic storage systems from Kardex Remstar, automatically deliver stored items to the worker with the push of a button. Utilizing horizontal carousels, vertical carousels, Shuttle VLMs and Element VLMs can dramatically increase order picking productivity and often require less order pickers. To further increase productivity, the dynamic storage system can be integrated with FastPic5 inventory management software for batch picking.

All goods are delivered at an ergonomic height, eliminating the bending, reaching and lifting often associated with standard shelving. Utilizing dynamic storage systems can prevent worker injuries that lead to costly worker compensation claims.