5 Best Practices for Utilizing Your Warehouse to the Fullest

Indian manufacturing industry has witnessed the fast-paced advancement in past few decades and every manufacturer in the industry is participating and becoming a part of the journey. New tax policies i.e. GST has played a vital role in the manufacturing sector as well as in the development of the country by taking an initiative in the advancement of businesses.

Supply chain logistics has continuously changed and evolved, the warehousing sector has to advance at the same pace. The warehouse managers always faces the challenges of utilizing and optimizing the warehouse space. Warehousing plays a major role in any manufacturing industry and its costs are an account of cumulative costs of labour, inventory, finished goods, building, and land. Warehouses if not managed well are expensive to operate for the end companies.

To get the most out of the warehousing, a number of best practices can be opted to improve the productivity and overall process in the manufacturing facility. Although the best practices vary from industry to industry, there are some best practices from Daifuku-experts in material handling, warehousing and logistics management; which helps in utilizing the warehouse SPACE optimally and handle your products with care.

• S - Scope for Expansion and Ease
• P - Pace Up The Movement Of Units
• A - Avoid Manual dependency
• C - Carryout the Process in Flows
• E – Escalate the Process
• These elements will help you in utilizing and governing the process in the right direction. Each element is significant and complementary to each other. Implementing these practices can make an impact on your warehousing facility processes.
• Scope for Expansion and Ease
• With the faster pace of growth, there is also growth in land usage; this had lead to scarcity of land for horizontal expansion. This creates a desperate need of implementing the vertical warehousing, as the horizontal extension has huge investment associated with it. Vertical storage allows storing bulk items in a confined space and provides more space for store keeping units (SKU’s). To ensure the product stored in these vertical storages the automated systems are the simplest and advanced solution. The automated systems help you track down the items stored on regular basis and also favour the FIFO patterns. Maximizing space utilization can help with keeping inventory visible and easy to find.
• Pace-up the Movement of Units
• A plan should be such to allow free and fast movement of material in and out of the system without any loss or delays. The dispatch and receive movements should not contradict each other while in operations. Using the storage area with the optimal storing of items for the size (for example if a rack is designed for the units of 3*3 and is stored in the 2*2 unit, one has stored air in 1*1 area), if there is a fixed location for a specific bin one can free up space in the warehouse and company no longer pays for storing air around the items. Use specific containers like boxes, pallets, etc. for storing items which will help in utilizing the rack areas optimally.
• Avoid Manual dependency
• Once space is in optimal use, it is possible to elude manual dependency in the warehouses.  There are various irregularities in warehouses which are visible as well as hidden; the hidden irregularities cause more glitches than realized. One can avoid delays by ensuring the optimization of two elements equipment and personnel. Leveraging resources appropriately like utilizing time, labour, and manual functioning, as well as definite automated operations help to achieve the continual elimination of irregularities in the warehouse. The optimization of space utilization can prove helpful in ease of finding inventory, making it visible and avoiding unnecessary long travels times between the storage locations.
• Carryout the Process in Flows
• When a process is carried out in a warehouse there is a number of questions that should be asked; what are the volumes of units can be stored, what are the storing bin requirements for the units, what are the arrival and dispatch cycles of the units? One should carry out a proper analysis of the product before storing it. This will help in optimal usage of the stored area and the company can plan for storing other items in the warehouse for further usages and customer satisfaction. The analysis carried out should be based on the product flows in the warehouse, position of storage, the time duration of storage, tracking of the product storage. For carrying out such operations one can use automated storage and retrieving systems, tracking systems for the storage bins.
• Escalate the Process
• Following the four elements of SPACE, one can escalate their warehousing in a faster way which helps to achieve improved productivity for the companies. Automated systems help to minimize the errors in the systems caused in manual systems, helps to monitor the storing and retrieving levels to achieve significant growth in the efficiencies. Escalating the operations will lead in reusing the resources such as manpower in other operations as well the delays will be reduced and will bring customer satisfaction.
• A final word
• Optimized warehouse layout helps to achieve greater efficiencies, minimizes travel time, involves less manual dependency and helps to monitor the appropriate level of processes. Daifuku India helps to achieve the optimized space utilization of the warehouses in your manufacturing facility. Daifuku caters to a comprehensive range of products such as AS/RS-Unit Load AS/RS, Mini Load AS/RS, Racking Systems to its customers that meet their versatile needs in logistics and manufacturing. These systems increase productivity.
• About Daifuku
• Since 1937, Daifuku has been world-class Automated Materials Handling Company – conveying, storage, sorting, picking and controls. We have a global network of offices and subsidiaries that offer design, engineering, sales, installation and commissioning of an Automated Storage and Materials Handling System.
• For more information, visit http://www.daifuku.com/in/

Innovations in Warehousing

Transforming over time from godowns to warehouses, warehouses have grown to become the backbone of the manufacturing and the service industry. Traditionally warehouses meant humongous spaces managed by a huge manpower. There have been businesses that have been solely dependent on managing warehouses. Today, the very nature of handling such space is changing. 

With supply chain getting advanced and evolved over time, warehousing is on a continuous improvement process. The volume of material handling these days, demands use of automation instead of a large workforce. This is to meet the expectations of accuracy and on time delivery. In today’s world speed is everything, it can be your competitive edge.

Specially in the manufacturing industry, with lean manufacturing and lean inventory becoming the aim, having sophisticated material handling systems has become the need of the hour. Similarly, growing consumerism especially with modern retail and ecommerce in particular has led to ever increasing amount of logistics handling in the service sector, for which proper warehousing stands crucial for survival.

Warehousing in India

India- The changing scenario

Demand for modern and sophisticated warehouses has witnessed a tremendous increase in India in last few years because of influx of multinational companies as well as export-oriented companies who are ready to invest in the warehousing infrastructure.

Need for large scale warehousing or dedicated logistics parks is fast catching up in India. The industry is mostly fragmented and unorganized; dominated by many small players. Also, the role of warehouses has increased due to wider product range, emphasis on shorter lead times and constant changes in customer demand with changing dynamics of the country.

In a recent study done by World Bank, India has jumped 19 positions in the Logistics Performance Index (LPI) which means India is on the growth path as far as the Logistics handling capacity is considered. Also, in 2017, India made the highest ever jump to come within the top 100 countries in the “Ease of Doing Business’ index of the World Bank. This indicates that, India is becoming a preferred destination for global companies. 

 Although India is on the path of technological advancement, more needs to be done. Out of the many fields, warehousing and logistics management is one such important field that needs attention. The warehousing industry in India is growing at a rate of 10 percent every year. Considering the current scenario, the growth in Indian warehouse industry is led by various factors, prominent amongst them are:-

➢     growth in manufacturing, engineering and service industry;

➢     growth in e-commerce, modern retail, digitization, government thrust on cashless economy;

➢     growth in domestic consumption;

➢     fast growing exports and international trade;

➢     growth in private and foreign investments with government’s Make in India Campaign;

➢     introduction of GST integrating India into a unified market;

➢     increase in trade through foreign investments in the SEZs(Special Economic Zones)

➢     growth in openness of the Indian economy and market integration; According to studies, Indian logistics market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 12.17% by 2020 driven by the growth in the manufacturing, retail, FMCG and e-commerce sectors.

Why innovating in warehousing is crucial?

In today’s globalized world the cost of manufacturing a well specified product is pretty much the same anywhere in the world. Then there is the market price which is determined by the consumer base. So with the input and output prices being controlled by external influences, one of the few areas where companies can leverage competitive advantage is their supply chain of which warehousing is a part. So innovation in the warehouse become not only crucial but necessary for survival. Some other issues specific to industry and India are as follows:

Labour Problems- Labour in India though available in large number as well as cheaply, its not easy to manage them and they are highly unskilled. Compared to other countries, labour in India don’t receive proper training and thus lack industry knowledge. Hence, there are issues of labour union, regulation issues and differences between labour unions and company’s management.

Bulky Material- Industries like textile, iron and steel industry etc. handle huge quantity of bulky material everyday. A large workforce is required to handle such huge quantity and managing such a large workforce requires more management and safety is always a concern.

Environment issues- With mass productivity being the prime moto today, industries face problems of space availability, land issues etc. Sometimes challenging environment to work in like in cold storages, high work temperature areas also hinder the productivity of workers. In such cases replacing man with machines can be a boon .

Solution to problems of Warehousing

Automation and optimization are key to Innovations in warehousing.

Harnessing the power of technology and maximizing a facility's potential can be a competitive edge. This demands companies improve their warehousing facilities and advance their logistics handling with efficient supply chain management environment. One such expert in material handling solutions and logistics management is Daifuku.

Daifuku, provides its expertize in utilizing the warehouse space optimally with its custom-made solutions. Daifuku’s AS/RS helps pace up the movement and use the right amount of space with the least human dependency in a safe way.

A final word

Innovations in warehousing will most certainly help achieve improved operating efficiency, cut cycle time, prevent material handling loss and provide controlled access. Daifuku’s products such as AS/RS, Unit Load AS/RS, Mini Load AS/RS, Racking Systems help deliver speed and effciency for today’s supply chain management (SCM) environment. Daifuku caters to all types of customer needs and designs and builds ensuring high quality and long-term reliability.

About Daifuku

Since 1937, Daifuku has been world-class Automated Materials Handling Company – conveying, storage, sorting, picking and controls. We have a global network of offices and subsidiaries that offer design, engineering, sales, installation and commissioning of an Automated Storage and Materials Handling System.

For more information, visit http://www.daifuku.com/in/

Non-Contact Power Supply Transport System Technology

In 1993, Daifuku developed the world's first monorail system that utilized a non-contact power supply*, which has garnered attention as the next-generation transport system to create a clean environment. The system supplies electric power to moving objects without coming into contact with them. The first system was delivered to the Iwate Plant of Kanto Auto Works, Ltd. in 1993 (photo). Since then, Daifuku's non-contact power supply transport systems have been expanding from the automobile industry to other industries, including semiconductors, food, and pharmaceuticals.

The noncontact power supply system was named HID, an acronym from High Efficiency Inductive Power Distribution Technology.

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  A Brief History of Development

  The elementary technology of HID was invented in 1990 by a group of researchers at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, led by Professor John Boys. Daifuku conducted research and development jointly with the university and successfully put HID technology into practical use. Our HID technology solved drawbacks of the conventional contact power supply technology using trolley lines and collectors, including collector wear, wear debris, and sparks generated by line separation. Daifuku signed a technical license agreement with the University of Auckland and has the exclusive rights to the use and sale of HID in the material handling market. At present, the HID technology is patented in many countries.

  Configuration and the Roles of Components of HID system

  The HID system consists of the following four components.

  HID Power Supply Panel

  The power supply panel converts the commercial power supply to a frequency suited to noncontact power supply and feeds electric power to the induction cable.

  Induction Cable

  The induction cable is a special electric line installed along the rail of a moving object. A magnetic field is generated around the cable in order to efficiently transmit electric power to a moving object.

  Pickup Coil

  The pickup coil is installed on the side of the moving object opposite the induction cable and receives electric power from the magnetic field around the induction cable.

  Power Receiving Unit

  The power receiving stabilizes electric power that the pickup coil receives and feeds quality electric power to inverters and servo drivers.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  Features and Patents of the HID System

  Features

  The features of the HID system are that the induction cable and the pickup coil are non-contact and that the induction cable is covered by insulating material. It has the following benefits.

  (1) High reliability and durability

  Collectors for non-contact power supply require a refined 3D mechanism in order to achieve stable contact. The HID has a simple structure and its noncontact configuration allows stable electric power supply for an extended period of time.

  (2) Maintenance-free

  Conventional collectors may be increasingly worn out depending on the surrounding environment. Since the HID is non-contact, its collectors and trolley lines never become worn, and thus significantly reducing maintenance costs.

  (3) Applicable to clean environments

  The system never generates dust that contact collectors often produce. It is therefore indispensable for environments where no dust is allowed, such as clean rooms.

  (4) Applicable to environments where oil mist and/or water vapor occurs

  Contact power supply may not always be used in places where dust, oil mist, and/or water vapor occur. HID systems can be used in such places without problems.

  (5) Safe power supply system

  The power supply cable is entirely insulated and has no exposed parts, so there is no risk of electric shock. Electric power is supplied to the moving object by electromagnetic coupling and electric sparks will not be generated, making this is a very safe power supply system.

  Patents

  The idea for non-contact power supply can be found in a USA patent granted some 100 years ago. This technology is based on the accumulated knowledge of forerunners, including the law of electromagnetic induction. On the other hand, the development of simulation technology, the invention of elements which can be used in high frequency ranges, and advanced circuit technology were necessary to refine a non-contact power supply system to a practical level.
  Since the tie-up with the University of Auckland, Daifuku has applied for tens of patents in major countries. The following are the core patents.

  (1) Patent relating to the form of pickup coils and the configuration around induction cables

  With the assumption that moving objects will travel in three dimensions, simulation was performed to determine the support of induction cables and the optimum form of pickup coils. As a result, the present E-shape core has been employed (Figure). This patent relates to the configuration that provides a good balance between power receiving efficiency and facility costs and is most suited to moving objects.

  (2) Patent relating to power receiving units

  The power receiving unit must supply stable power to control devices, such as inverters and sequencers, when the number of moving objects is changed or when electric power is changed at the moment of motor startup or the occurrence of regeneration. This patent relates to how efficiently and simply several kilowatt electric power can be controlled.

  Conclusion

  The HID system is widely used not only in the automobile, semiconductor, and flat panel display industries, but also in the optical fiber, food, and food container industries. In short, what many users want from their facilities is high availability. Specifically, this means that maintenance is unnecessary or minimal, only a short time is needed to change the facility's layout, errors and breakdowns do not occur, and recovery from problems is very quick. In addition, the mitigation of effects on the global environment and the provision of comfortable environments to human workers are significant concerns. We believe that our HID system will be broadly used in many industries as an important support technology to meet these requirements.
  
  
  
  
  
  

TPM: Critical Approach to Optimal Productivity

Considered as the medical science of machines, TPM (Total Productive Maintenance) is an innovative concept introduced by the Japanese to the world. Japan, known to be the master in quality production, the origin of TPM can be traced way back to 1951, when preventive maintenance was introduced in Japan. With increasing automation, regular and preventive maintenance of machines became crucial to increase productivity.

TPM: The Idea Behind

The ideas behind introducing TPM was to get operators involved in maintaining their equipment and make them responsible for their machines, such that they proactively carry out maintenance to improve and achieve perfect production, targeting zero breakdowns, losses and defects along with ensuring a safe working environment.

What is TPM?

To be precise, TPM is a timely maintenance program carried out in a factory to increase productivity of its machines and equipments with modest investments in maintenance. TPM has a holistic approach to improve the Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) of plant equipments which is its main objective, along with improving the quality and quantity of production, boosting employee morale and job satisfaction. TPM includes 4Ms and T- Man, Machine, Material, Method and Tools. TPM creates the right environment between all these factors of production, which helps maximize the operational efficiency and achieve manufacturing excellence. Here if we see, efficient material handling is crucial for successful TPM.

TPM vs. TQM

Though they share lot of similarities, but they are two different approaches. Both result in improved quality but both follow two distinct paths. TQM focuses on improving quality of the goods and services and concentrates, while TPM focuses on equipment and process used to produce the product thus maintaining quality, reducing cost and increasing volume of production.

The 8 Pillars of TPM – Way towards achieving Manufacturing Excellence5S- Sort, Systematise, Sweep, Standardize, Self-discipline- The Foundation

5S is the very foundation on which the 8 pillars of TPM stand.  It is so because, when the house would be in order, then only the pillars of TPM can exist. Organizing the workplace with 5S sets the workplace in order, which helps make problems easily visible and makes workplace clean and well-organized, ready to set the 8 Pillars of TPM.

Pillar 1- JISHU HOZEN (Autonomous Maintenance) - Small maintenance tasks on continual basis

Making operators responsible for the upkeep of their equipment with small, regular tasks to help prevent their equipment from deteriorating;

Pillar 2- KOBETSU KAIZEN (KK) - Small improvements on a continual basis

Kaizen is the most well-known philosophy introduced by Japan to the world. Kaizen simply means ‘change for better ‘through continuous improvement, which is not only pertaining to manufacturing but improvements in all areas of a company;

Pillar 3- Planned Maintenance- Proactive and Reactive method

 Scheduled maintenance based on the predicted and measured failure rates to have trouble free machines and defect free products. Customer satisfaction is the final aim;

Pillar 4- Quality Maintenance- Proactive method

The goal for any manufacturing facility is to have ‘defect free manufacturing’. This is achievable only by maintaining highest level of quality standards. Quality Maintenance on time can ensure being proactive in Quality Control to Quality Assurance, help detect errors and eliminate them to maintain quality to have zero customer complaints;

 Pillar 5- Training and Education- A well informed workforce

In order to do away with the knowledge gaps, the workforce has to be well- informed. The Operator should develop skills not only to know how the machine works, but also should understand the reason behind emerging problems, if any. Training and Education develop the personnel’s skills and techniques to deal with a particular problem in a proactive way. Proper Training of the personnel is necessary for achieving TPM goals;

Pillar 6- Safety, Health and Environment (SHE) - Peripheral Necessities

The aim is to have an ‘accident free workspace’. It focuses on the elimination of potential risks of accident and fires. It makes the workplace operator-friendly by taking timely safety measures through dedicated personnel taking care of it;

Pillar 7- Development Management- New Product Development

Before any new product is incorporated in the manufacturing process, getting practical knowledge of the new product helps easy amalgamation of it, into the ongoing processes and also helps reach the pre-planned maintenance level soon. TPM provides understanding of the new equipment which supports in designing and developing the new product;

Pillar 8- TPM in Administration- Support to the plant operations

Improving Administrative function is crucial for improving plant functioning and increasing productivity. It also includes analyzing the process and procedures to eliminate losses. TPM in administration is a step usually taken after the four basic pillars of TPM are in place.

To add to this, Material Handling is considered to be another pillar of TPM. The linking element between man, machine, material and method is material handling. Increase in total productivity cannot be possible if material handling is not organized.

 Companies introducing TPM in their factories start with implementing the first 4 pillars (JH, KK, Planned Maintenance and Quality Maintenance) initially and then slowly widen their scope to include the remaining pillars to have complete implementation done. A new factory or a factory introducing TPM, if introduces efficient material handling systems at the beginning, it will always lead to successful implementation of TPM.

Advantages of introducing TPM in a factory

When it comes to Productive Efficiency, TPM is the answer for every factory. TPM addresses all facets of the factory from material, machines, equipment, processes to employees. It brings in a positive approach in workers by bringing them into the loop of being responsible for their machines and its production. It helps workers in developing multiple skills to become flexible. When it comes to machines, machines also become efficient because of timely maintenance. Regular maintenance ensures that systems and machines do not reach the stage of extremity like breakdowns, accidents etc . It ensures defect free production along with maintaining the highest level of quality. Also, the benefit of TPM in administration adds to this, by having involvement of all people in support functions, with a focus on improving the plant performance. This results in the improvement of Overall Effective Efficiency (OEE) of the plant.

My TPM Mantra: TPM leads to TPM

By this I mean to say, Total Productive Maintenance leads to Total Profit Management. When TPM ensures zero defects, zero losses and zero accidents with maintaining highest level of quality, the result is customer satisfaction and increase in profit to business. If we do the cost-volume-profit analysis for an organization having introduced TPM effectively, the total revenue exceeds the total cost with increase in productivity, and the total profit increases.

Daifuku’s Role with TPM

Along with implementation , making way for the success of TPM starts with efficient material handling. DAIFUKU provides the means to achieve TPM Goals, with its Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems.AS/RS ensures providing industries best in class material handling solutions giving unique solutions. Reaching TPM goals- Zero Defects, Zero Losses and Zero Accidents’ is made easy and effective with DAIFUKU AS/RS. The Automated Storage Solutions help utilize manpower efficiently and save on space. Automation and optimization increase productivity and help improve quality and quantity of production, setting new levels of manufacturing excellence and customer satisfaction.

About Daifuku

Since 1937, Daifuku has been world-class Automated Materials Handling Company – conveying, storage, sorting, picking and controls. We have a global network of offices and subsidiaries that offer design, engineering, sales, installation and commissioning of an Automated Storage and Materials Handling System.

For more information, visit http://www.daifuku.com/in/

case study-AS/RS introduced as a painted vehicle body buffer system to improve productivity Indian automobile manufacturer Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (M&M; headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra) manufactures sport utility vehicles (SUV) and light commercial vehicles (LCV) and other vehicles. In June 2013, M&M introduced a unit load AS/RS as a painted vehicle body buffer system at Nashik Plant. The buffer system stores painted vehicle bodies temporarily and sequences them by retrieving in assembly order so that various types of vehicles can be assembled in one line. The buffer system enhances productivity in supplying vehicle bodies to the assembly line and drastically shortens cycle time in production. In addition, assembly parts, which were previously dispersed throughout the facility, are consolidated into one location next to the assembly line in the now open space created by installing the AS/RS. M&M, a core company of the conglomerate Mahindra Group, was founded in 1945 as Mahindra & Mohamed, a steel trading company. In 1947, Mahindra & Mohamed changed its name to the current Mahindra & Mahindra and entered the automotive manufacturing business when they started the licensed production of the Jeep. Now, M&M operates six plants in India. The Nashik plant, which began operations in 1980, produces five types of vehicles, including main models Scorpio and Xylo, with an annual production capacity of 200,000 vehicles.

AS/RS introduced as a painted vehicle body buffer system to improve productivity

Indian automobile manufacturer Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (M&M; headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra) manufactures sport utility vehicles (SUV) and light commercial vehicles (LCV) and other vehicles. In June 2013, M&M introduced a unit load AS/RS as a painted vehicle body buffer system at Nashik Plant. The buffer system stores painted vehicle bodies temporarily and sequences them by retrieving in assembly order so that various types of vehicles can be assembled in one line. The buffer system enhances productivity in supplying vehicle bodies to the assembly line and drastically shortens cycle time in production. In addition, assembly parts, which were previously dispersed throughout the facility, are consolidated into one location next to the assembly line in the now open space created by installing the AS/RS.

M&M, a core company of the conglomerate Mahindra  Group, was founded in 1945 as Mahindra & Mohamed, a steel trading company. In 1947, Mahindra & Mohamed changed its name to the current Mahindra & Mahindra and entered the automotive manufacturing business when they started the licensed production of the Jeep.

Now, M&M operates six plants in India. The Nashik plant, which began operations in 1980, produces five types of vehicles, including main models Scorpio and Xylo, with an annual production capacity of 200,000 vehicles.

For more information: http://www.daifuku.com/in/solution/casestudy/mahindra/

History of Automated Warehouses at Daifuku

Daifuku developed the first automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS) in Japan in 1966. The objectives for developing this system included achieving workload reductions and cost savings through (1) the effective use of land, (2) improvements in storage efficiency, (3) personnel saving and labor saving in warehouse work, and (4) improvements in management levels. At the time, single-story warehouses were standard type for warehouses. Logistics capabilities were not as advanced as current levels because loading, unloading, and storage work mostly consisted of manual labor, and stored goods were managed through ledgers and slips. The automated warehouse that emerged under these circumstances was a revolutionary logistics technology innovation that overturned the traditional concept of warehousing.

About forty years since the birth of this technology, automated warehouses have now become more high-capacity and high-performance through the expansion of models, including stacker cranes and peripheral equipment, while its purposes and industries and businesses delivered to have rapidly grown. Here we will introduce our automated warehouse market and technology developments, as well as future trends.

1970s: Spread of Systems Boosted by Increasing Adoption of Computer Technologies

As suggested by its name, automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS) are systems that allow warehouses to become three-dimensional and automated, and they had mostly been used for storing finished goods and raw-material by manufacturers until the beginning of the 1970s. Furthermore, because automated warehouses were not necessarily low-cost at the time and the breakeven level was high, customers mainly consisted of large companies.

In 1966, we delivered the Rackbuil System (rack-supported building with an AS/RS, hereinafter "RB"), which was operated onboard, to the Electric Motor Department of Matsushita Electric Industry (at that time) as the the first automated warehouse in Japan (photo 1). In addition, we commenced with unmanned operations of a stacker crane called Rack Master (RM) that enabled automated warehouse storage locations to be managed based on X, Y, and Z coordinates and could be operated easily with a computer. In 1969, we delivered the first fully automated RB using computer control in Japan to the Nobeoka Plant of Asahi Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.

As a result of the possibility of controlling automated warehouses by computer, the accuracy of inventory management was improved, as inventory management could be done simultaneously with the retrieval and storage of materials. As a result, a sudden expansion of the industries adopting these systems began. For example, some of the largest automated warehouses in the world were delivered to the Kasuga Plant of Toyota Motor Corporation and the Sagamihara Parts Center of Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., which are both auto service parts centers that manage tens of thousands of items. In addition, automated warehouses were also adopted at pharmaceutical companies, mainly for the purpose of strengthening the accuracy of inventory management and storage and retrieval management.

From the mid 1970s, the effectiveness of automated warehouses began to become recognized in the market and demand grew for automated warehouses that were more economic and lower-priced than building-style systems. In response to these needs, we developed and commenced the sales of the technical standard-compliant unit load AS/RS and the superfast mini load AS/RS

For more information,visit us: http://www.daifuku.com/in/solution/technology/automatedwarehouse/

Using Level Switches for Waste Water Management

Looking at the blueish tint of the globe, one might as well say, that water is everywhere, why so much fuss about saving it, preserving it, managing it? But, as per the statistics already established in our previous blog, the availability of fresh water is decreasing and the need for preserving water with applications such as waste water management is increasing.

Pune Techtrol Pvt. Ltd., the leading manufacturer and supplier of level measurement and control instruments, had figured out this importance of waste water management since its inception in 1984.

In reference to the importance of waste water management, Mr. Mayank Khatan, Director of Operations at Pune Techtrol Pvt. Ltd., says “If third world war is at all to going to take place in future, it will be ‘water war.’ War for ‘drinking water.’ Save water, treat and recycle water, to save human race.”

This is one of the main reasons why PuneTechtrol Pvt. Ltd. is contributing actively to the process of waste water management. Since the beginning of the company, it has time and again innovated and added on to the list of instruments which can be used in noble applications like waste water management.

A very useful feature of “Techtrol” instruments is that there is wide choice of Material Of Construction (MOC) for all the instruments to suit specific requirements of the medium or liquid whose level is to be measured, detected or monitored. Thus a wide range of level control switches is available, which can be used in various phases of waste water management at various places in the waste water management plant.

Pune Techtrol’s level measurement and control switches useful in waste water management include Float Guided Switch (FGS), Displacer Switch (DS), Cable Suspended Switch (FTS), Conductivity Type Switch (CNS), Float Pivoted Switch (FPS) and Miniature Float Switch (MFPS/MFGS).

Float Guided Switch (FGS) is single or multipoint level switch used for in clarifier and aeration tank. These switching contacts can be used for alarm indication or pump control. Displacer Switch (DS) is more suited for application in clear effluent and potable water. Switching points rated for 5A, 250VAC and can be adjusted at site as required. Cable Suspended Switch (FTS) is a simplest type switch and easy to install. These switching contacts are rated for 5A, 250VAC and can be used for alarm indication or pump control and are ideally suitable for application in settling tanks. Conductivity Type Switch (CNS) is used only for conductive liquids. It can be used for treated & potable water. More suitable in applications where the depth of tank is large. Float Pivoted Switch (FPS) is side mounted, single point switch rated for 5A, 250VAC. It is suitable for over ground tanks. Miniature Float Switch (MFPS/MFGS) is used for level detection in small /medium tanks.

For more information,visit: http://www.punetechtrol.com/

“India needs to concentrate on multiple ROIs to embrace automation” – Asim Behera

Asim Behera, COO and Board Member—Daifuku India, pointed out that Indian manufacturers should consider multiple results to move towards automating their operations. India is a price-sensitive market and has cheap labor availability. So, it’s extremely hard to justify the Returns on Investment (ROIs). Asim was airing his views as one of the leading panelists at the recently concluded Global Supply Chain Symposium organized by the University of Southern California Marshall Center and the Global DCM at St. Regis, Mumbai. He was speaking about the discrimination that Supply Chain Officers are facing in the industry for a long time.

Asim pointed out that the smallest project undertaken by Daifuku in India was worth more than USD 1.5 million. In the West or Japan, this cost can easily be justified by taking into consideration the fact that the system can replace more than 50 labors, which in maximum 2–3 years will pay off for the system. But in India, the labor is so cheap that it’s hard to recover the money even in 12 years. So, to sell any product of Daifuku, India needs to concentrate on more than one aspect to justify the ROIs. This is where a Chief Supply Chain Officer (CSO) comes into the picture and adds value to it.

The panel discussion was moderated by one of the leading experts in Supply Chain Management Mr. Sammi Dua, General Manager with GSK Consumer Healthcare. The panel members were high-profile executives such as Lt. Col. Vijay Nair, Head—Distribution and Logistics, Reliance Digital; Mr. Asim Behera, COO and Executive Board Member, Daifuku; Mr. Vishal Premchandani, Joint Managing Director, KD Supply Chain Solutions; Mr. Pramod Sant, Head of Exports, Imports, and Customs, Siemens Ltd.; and Mr. Bipin Reghunathan, Director Supply Chain, DHL.

The moderator and the panel members reached a consensus that the CSOs need to be taken seriously with the change in business dynamics and the importance that supply chain is gathering in today’s competitive market. Pramod Sant of Siemens believes that the reason behind the decimation faced by CSOs is the traditional belief of the society that the CSOs are low-profile workers and aren’t a must for the industry. Pramod strongly believes that the people working in the supply chain should get a say in decision making, and if required, they should market themselves so that the industry recognizes their importance. He also congratulated the organizers Raj Dias, Ajay Jhallani, and Augustine Chalassery for bringing an exclusive symposium on supply chain management and the changing focus towards the industry.

Lt. Col. Vijay Nair, Veteran, remarked, “The board of a company will be strong only when all the members of the company are strong. The value one brings to the board is with the experience of each employee, and it’s important that the skill sets of each individual are improved at this point of business evolution.” Bipin Reghunathan believes one of the major challenges for this situation is the Supply Chain Experts operate from 5 ft. to 5,000 ft. height, while the board members work at 50,000 ft. height. So, when a Supply Chain Officer comes on the board, he needs to understand these dynamics and should be equipped to provide the board with their expectations of building business strategy and global statistics.

The panel agreed that there is never an end to learning. It’s necessary for the businesses to learn about the evolving market conditions. The panel recognized that there is a need to bring in a strong Supply Chain Management person to the board, one who brings in value to the board with his vast career experience. The CSO must also have the ability to plan the strategies and work accordingly.

Overall, the event served its purpose to stimulate ideas and provoke conversations on a broad range of important topics in the Supply Chain industry.

Innovations in Warehousing Published in Equipment India Magazine

Warehousing recently has grown on such a large scale that doing away with its challenges has become a challenge in itself. Innovation is the solution for such specific needs. @Equipment India (page 64&65), introduces to such foresighted innovations in the industry and featured Daifuku in its Guest Column. Asim Behera, COO, Daifuku India Private Limited throws light on the current scenario and how ASRS benefits industries to be an edge ahead with their material handling.

For more information: http://www.equipmentindia.com/DigitalEdition/2/

About Daifuku

Since 1937, Daifuku has been world-class Automated Materials Handling Company – conveying, storage, sorting, picking and controls. We have a global network of offices and subsidiaries that offer design, engineering, sales, installation and commissioning of an Automated Storage and Materials Handling System.