Imagine a warehouse in which rows of full pallets could be stacked up to 165 feet in the air, one on top of another, on top of another. Then, with the ease and grace of a high quality machine, one of those pallets–weighing as much as 6,600 lbs–is gently lifted from its storage space and quickly brought to a worker at ground level.

This is the amazing world of automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS). These automated systems have been perfected through the use of Swisslog stacker cranes. These cranes swiftly transfer pallets, containers, and even cars from storage slots within the ASRS to a pickup station outside the system…

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When I first read through the sales coordinator job description at Bastian Solutions, a material handling system integrator, I didn’t fully understand what this company did. Someone on the outside might ask what exactly a material handling system (MHS) is. While the CAD drawings (computer aided design drawings) look like they were drawn by a rocket scientist, an MHS very simply moves (handles) something (material) from point A to point B; an item is going from here to there.

As I learned more about material handling systems, I thought–a silly thought I admit–that even Santa Claus would be more efficient with a conveyor system…

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Last month a colleague of mine, Derek Cribley, wrote a blog article about the evolution of Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems (ASRS) since he first started working with them 15 years ago. To give you an appreciation for the breadth of solutions available, I thought I could share my experience from a recent project I worked on involving an ASRS system for pallet storage.

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As I was recently working on an Automated Storage and Retrieval System (ASRS) project, I had the opportunity to reflect on how much the technology has changed in just the past few years. One of the more valuable references I was using–from the Material Handling Institute of America–divided the ASRS technology into two main families: fixed aisle and carousel/vertical left module (VLM).

However, some of the new advances in ASRS have a hard time fitting into either of these categories.

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When most people hear the word “simulation,” they often envision a flight simulator (circa 1986 Top Gun), a race car game, or possibly even this theory that suggests we actually live inside of a massive computer model–wow!

Nonetheless, individuals don’t often realize the benefits and applications of simulation in the material handling world. To showcase the usefulness and advantages of material handling simulations I’ve included the top 3 reasons one should consider simulating their current or future processes.