Lift trucks & automation mix it up: Finding the right balance of lift trucks and automation in the plant and warehouse comes down to flexibility, labor and equipment

摘要

LIFT TRUCKS OR AUTOMATION? It's not an either or proposition. Even in highly automated facilities, lift trucks are almost always part of the equation. "In the mid-1960s, Sara Lee opened the most automated plant in the country," says Bob Footlik, president, Footlik & Associates (847-328-5644, www.footlik.com). "Lo and behold, at the end of the line, a lift truck took the pallet from a conveyor and loaded it into a trailer." Nearly 40 years later, the lift truck is still a key link between the dock doors and the pick-up or drop-off locations in any automated system. "The lift truck is the vehicle for transporting product to and from areas of automation," says Paul Psarcik, senior manager, Sedlak (330-908-2244, www.jasedlak.com). "Even an automatic guided vehicle [AGV] needs to be loaded and unloaded. A lift truck is a tool to support the automation." Striking the right balance between automated systems and lift trucks usually comes down to three considerations: the need for flexibility, the cost of labor and the relative cost of equipment.