Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Applications

Staying cool under pressure

For German HVAC manufacturer, an advanced forklift guidance system has made pallet tracking a breeze and search time a thing of the past.

Staying cool under pressure

As a 104-year-old manufacturer of heating, industrial, and refrigeration systems, The Viessmann Group is a pillar of the German economy. Now in its fourth generation of ownership by its founding family, the company in 2019 employed some 12,300 people in 12 production facilities and booked sales of $3.2 billion.

However, managing warehouses full of climate-management products like oil- and gas-fueled boilers and hot-water tanks requires significant forklift operations. So the company recently decided to install a forklift guidance system with the goals of optimizing internal material flows; increasing lift truck efficiency; saving time, cost, and energy; and improving on-site safety.


The company also wanted a way to track inventory throughout the building. Specifically, Viessmann was looking for a solution that would automatically log the locations of pallets in order to keep track of work-in-progress materials, all without requiring additional scanning steps or slowing the flow of pallets as they’re continually shuffled around the facility throughout the day.

For help with the project, Viessmann turned to SEP Logistik AG, a Bayern, Germany-based developer of warehouse management software. That firm recommended a product called the RELAG-System - SLS, a forklift guidance system with real-time location system (RTLS) functionality. The system’s forklift-tracking ability is enabled, in turn, by the automated navigation technology (ANT) vehicle localization platform from BlueBotics SA, a Saint-Sulpice, Switzerland-based developer of navigation technology for industrial equipment.

Now running in Viessmann’s Allendorf, Germany, headquarters site, the system is able to locate pallets with specific material numbers and track inventory throughout the factory in real time. Once a pallet has been logged into the system, there is no need for any further scanning to locate materials, the company says.

NO MORE SEARCH TIME

Viessmann installed the system in its 215,000-square-foot sheet metal production area, where workers transport 1,000 pallets of semi-finished products every day between individual machining centers and the powder plant. Fifteen forklifts equipped with RELAG-System and ANT software now handle that workload over three shifts.

“The new system means the number of forklifts per shift can be reduced by 20%, with search times, startup times, and forklift downtimes a thing of the past,” Udo Ungemach, head of logistics at Viessmann, said in a statement.

The BlueBotics ANT solution deployed on the forklifts uses natural-feature navigation technology based on the identification of permanent features in the environment—such as walls and pillars—to identify the location of each vehicle and then relay this information to the RELAG-System. Next, the RELAG-System dispatches the most suitable vehicle to retrieve each pallet and provides the operator with the most efficient route through the facility, based on the locations and types of forklifts on the shop floor, the trucks’ job schedules, and the pallets’ destinations. 

Thanks to that streamlined workflow, the system can optimize forklift utilization, reduce the time needed to retrieve pallets, and cut operational costs, according to Viessmann. The system can also notify an operator if a pallet is placed in the wrong position and analyze vehicle locations to avoid accidents through a collision warning system, automatically slowing vehicles in critical areas.

“Augmenting our workforce with advanced industry-leading tools from BlueBotics helps us serve both our internal and external customers more efficiently,” Ungemach said in the statement. “The system fits well with the lean philosophy of Viessmann and with the need for systems to serve employees and not vice versa. We expect to have a return on our investment within about three years.”

The Latest

More Stories

drone flying through warehouse

Robotic revolution

Robots are revolutionizing factories, warehouses, and distribution centers (DCs) around the world, thanks largely to heavy investments in the technology between 2019 and 2021. And although investment has slowed since then, the long-term outlook calls for steady growth over the next four years. According to data from research and consulting firm Interact Analysis, revenues from shipments of industrial robots are forecast to grow nearly 4% per year, on average, between 2024 and 2028 (see Exhibit 1).

market forecast for industrial robots - revenues graphEXHIBIT 1: Market forecast for industrial robots - revenuesInteract Analysis

Keep ReadingShow less

Featured

Freight Science dashboard screen
Freight Science

High-tech solution helps truckload carrier drive change

The trucking industry faces a range of challenges these days, particularly when it comes to load planning—a resource-intensive task that often results in suboptimal decisions, unnecessary empty miles, late deliveries, and inefficient asset utilization. What’s more, delays in decision-making due to a lack of real-time insights can hinder operational efficiency, making cost management a constant struggle.

Truckload carrier Paper Transport Inc. (PTI) experienced this firsthand when the company sought to expand its over the-road (OTR), intermodal, and brokerage offerings to include dedicated fleet services for high-volume shippers—adding a layer of complexity to the business. The additional personnel required for such a move would be extremely costly, leading PTI to investigate technology solutions that could help close the gap.

Keep ReadingShow less
indigo software screenshot WMS

Aptean adds British WMS vendor in latest acquisition

The Georgia-based enterprise software vendor Aptean today said it had acquired Indigo Software Ltd., a British provider of purpose-built warehouse management and logistics software solutions.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Aptean said the move will add new capabilities to its warehouse management and supply chain management offerings for manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, retailers, and 3PLs. Aptean currently provides enterprise resource planning (ERP), transportation management systems (TMS), and product lifecycle management (PLM) platforms.

Keep ReadingShow less
schneider app screenshot for owner operators

Schneider seeks more business with owner-operators

Transportation and logistics service provider Schneider National Inc. is reaching out to owner-operators, encouraging them to do more business with the Wisconsin company using an updated digital platform.

Schneider says its FreightPower platform now offers owner-operators significantly more access to Schneider’s range of freight options. That can help drivers to generate revenue and strengthen their business through: increased access to freight, high drop and hook rates of over 95% of loads, and a trip planning feature that calculates road miles.

Keep ReadingShow less
trucks used by jillamy 3PL

Texas 3PL Mode Global acquires Jillamy’s freight brokerage arm

The Texas third-party logistics firm (3PL) Mode Global has acquired the freight brokerage business of supply chain service provider Jillamy, saying on Monday that the deal advances its strategy of expanding its national footprint.

Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, but Mode Global said it will now assume Jillamy's comprehensive logistics and freight management solutions, while Jillamy's warehousing, packaging and fulfillment services remain unchanged. Under the agreement, Mode Global will gain more than 200 employees and add facilities in Pennsylvania, Arizona, Florida, Texas, Illinois, South Carolina, Maryland, and Ontario to its existing national footprint.

Keep ReadingShow less