Manufacturers leading the way in step-by-step automation solutions.

There may be no official numbers or industry stats to back-up the theory, but the manufacturing sector has always appeared to embrace automated handling and storage technology more willingly than some others.

Possibly because so many of the processes undertaken within a modern production unit have been highly automated for a long time, it seems that manufacturing companies have always viewed the adoption of automated storage and handling solutions as a natural progression within their business.

Most are comfortable with the technology and, from experience, would be very happy if every component or piece of raw material that arrives at the factory gate had its journey from the loading bay to the storage area and on to the production line automated.

The UK’s automotive and pharmaceutical products manufacturers were among the early adopters of automation. In the past, investing in automated storage and materials handling needed something of a leap of faith - as well as large budgets – thanks to the fact that moving to automation often meant that every aspect of the intralogistics operation had to be automated.

However, that is no longer the case; now it is possible to automate just the parts of an intralogistics operation that will benefit most from the technology. The benefits of which can be not only financial, but can allow manufacturers to retain human control over parts of their workflow where appropriate.

And, with rapid developments in technology leading to the emergence of increasingly flexible and scalable solutions, more and more manufacturers of a wide range of goods, including food and drink, are choosing to automate key aspects of their intralogistics process.

Toyota Material Handling has successfully delivered hundreds of automation projects to manufacturers across Europe, with no two projects ever being the same. We collaborate with our customers to determine the specific challenges they face and tackle them one step at a time. Breaking the process down into small modules gives clients essential scalability and means that companies retain the option to introduce more automated technology as future demands change. This way, introducing intralogistics automation becomes a multi-phased project.

By applying a systematic approach to identify a client’s most common storage and handling functions, Toyota designs systems that fit a client’s needs and drive productivity, increase efficiency and lower costs. 

Significantly, many smaller companies for whom automated solutions would, until relatively recently, have been financially out of reach, are now able to benefit from the operational gains that today’s highly cost-efficient automated systems offer.

For example, many SME manufacturing firms are opting to introduce automated guided vehicles (AGV’s) as a means of mitigating the impact of the nationwide shortage of skilled forklift operators on their business.

AGV’s – such as Toyota’s Autopilot series – offer several benefits in addition to delivering lower labour costs, including reductions in product, and building infrastructure damage and increased productivity.

These notable advantages bring a rapid return on investment - typically within 12 and 36 months.

Autopilot is among the state-of-the-art AGVs and shuttle systems that can be seen operating within a realistic industrial setting at Toyota’s automated handling technology demonstration centre in Leicester.

And yet, despite its myriad benefits, automation is not the answer to everything. Every manufacturer’s intralogistics flow is different and what works for one business may not be appropriate for another. 

So, is automation suitable for your operation? As a starting point, consider the following questions in relation to your facility:

-  Are warehouse-driven delays a common issue?

-  Do everyday workflows include a vast amount of manual, repetitive tasks?

-  Is output directly affected by limitations within the workforce?

-  Are inventory counts regularly affected by inaccuracies?

Anyone that answered ‘yes’ to any of these really should have automated storage and handling solutions on their radar.

Find out more about automated solutions from Toyota here >>>