Food & Beverage International June 201044 FoodBev com

example, languishes at the bottom of the list

when it comes to today’s warehouse, behind a

long list of other concerns, such as canteens,

toilets, marshalling, battery charging and

maintenance. Yes, all of these are important

as well, but carefully planned storage can

eliminate so much waste and contribute

enormously to increased productivity. It needs

to be high up the agenda.”

What TMHE delivers to bridge the

productivity gap are solutions specifically

designed to maximise payback, such as

opportunities to increase cubic capacity.

“For instance, you can reduce the number

of aisles in wider aisle applications by using

narrow aisle trucks, thus increasing storage

density,” he adds. “And, by decreasing

transfer aisles, you can increase VNA

(very narrow aisle) density, which means

less aisle and more racks.”

There are a whole raft of ways in which

TMHE products can be combined to

minimise cost, while maximising storage,

accessibility and productivity. One vital

area where these solutions add value is in

boosting picking productivity. As Rostance

comments: “Picking is the largest activity

and yet much of that task is actually

spent travelling. Our laser guided trucks

overcome that through AOP (Automation

in Order Picking), where the truck follows

a predetermined route and the picker

simply follows

from location

to location.

Improved pick

rates can mean

productivity

gains of up to

80% in some

applications.”

As attractive as

such technology

is, though, how

affordable is it

to businesses

still recovering

Productivity: the Holy Grail

If there is one thing that consistently taxes

the minds of manufacturers within the

food and drink industry, it is the pursuit of

productivity. In many ways, it is the Holy Grail

from which all else flows.

Yet attaining that goal is only part of the

equation. Most of all, it’s about how such

productivity can be maximised by applying

the right criteria. However, that is a complex

challenge in itself, so how exactly can

manufacturers be sure they are on the right

track?

Ask Dave Rostance, sales development,

Toyota Material Handling Europe (TMHE) and

he will point to a number of essentials that

can help those in the industry to achieve this

objective. Most importantly, he refers to the

‘Ultimate Cube’, namely the total useable

volume of any warehouse, which is all about

maximum storage density, maximum access

and maximum efficiency.

“Maximising cubic capacity is essential

within the food and beverage industry and

that is all about the minimisation of waste –

or Muda within the Kaizen ‘lean’ philosophy.

In distribution terms, the most expensive and

irreplaceable commodities most commonly

wasted are time, energy and space.”

Rostance says these are often badly neglected

areas that can bring significant payback when

addressed. “Remarkably, pallet storage, for

from turbulent economic times? Graham

Wilkinson, national account manager,

TMHUK, offers this response. “Certainly,

productivity is the big driving force for food

and beverage manufacturers, and specifically

cost-effective productivity. This is where I

believe we have been able to demonstrate

advantage by providing a solution where we

supply them with equipment, plus labour,

plus parts at a fixed cost, over a fixed period

of time. Customers know exactly what they

need to budget for and where they stand,

which is a huge consideration in an industry

where commodities are flexibly priced.”

The final word goes to Gunter Simonis,

director key account & sales operation

support, TMH Germany. “The rate of pick

in the food and beverage industry is critical

and clearly targeted. So the selection of the

right truck should involve a quicker and more

efficient operation. Crucial factors include

appropriate acceleration and deceleration,

exceptional performance during lifting and

lowering, high versatility and manoeuvrability,

and easy handling. We have been designing

such trucks for this industry for many

decades. The fact that our solutions continue

to be used is actually the only endorsement

we require.”

The BT Automation in Order Picking (AOP) solution works side-by-side with driver-operated equipment to substantially boost productivity. The Toyota Traigo 48 is the most compact Toyota 48-volt forklift yet

Stable thinking

As the focus on workplace safety

increases across Europe, one stand-

out technology - SAS (System of

Active Stability) - is actively reducing

the risk of accidents and driving down

costs. Unique to Toyota lift trucks, SAS

constantly monitors forklift operations

and automatically takes corrective

action when it senses factors that

could lead to truck or load instability.

It acts automatically to prevent sideways

tip-over, the cause of more than 30%

of serious forklift accidents. For more

information, see:

www.toyota-forklifts.eu

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PRODUCTIVITY

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