e-MH - Trends to Watch in Material Handling
Joseph Rosta
Editor-In-Chief From software to conveyors to drives, technological innovations are making the impossible routine in moving materials, components, and products through the enterprise. The following article culls the expertise of more than 20 company experts from a wide-ranging discussion of trends, case studies, and new products. Improvements in electrical and electronic components have been key in bringing greater efficiencies to materials handling. "Connectors are a small piece of a big pie," explains Jim Bachle, electrical products manager at Wago Corp. "But if that small piece fails, it can have a major impact on the entire process." One of the first advances in this area was Wago's development of spring pressure terminal blocks. Loose connections are often caused by vibration. If the electrical connection is not secure, the entire system can be shut down, causing expensive delays. Even today, Cage Clamp technology continues to be an integral part of many material handling processes. The company's self-tightening Cage Clamp increases the reliability of electrical connections, eliminating loose wires and reducing maintenance costs. Flexibility is just as important as reliability and speed. In the past, it was difficult to communicate with more than one type of PLC, and PLCs did not integrate well with PC-based control systems. Industrial communication protocols were limited. No longer -- new open Fieldbus and other protocols have been developed to allow greater flexibility and increased control. For example, Wago's I/O system can coordinate different machine centers and cross over, whether it includes DeviceNet, Profibus, Ethernet, Interbus or Modbus. Advances in Fieldbus technology have also simplified the wiring and retooling process. Control engineers can now make a change in the process without long periods of down-time caused by rewiring or re-programming. "The ability of our I/O system to run via a PLC or PC makes it easier for management to look at live data and pull specific data about a particular machine or process," states Charles Cook, product manager of advanced electronics at Wago.  "Even small companies can find it affordable to stay competitive in the industry because of the ease and flexibility that comes with the interfaces available today." The material handling industry will continue to look for solutions that increase the variety of functions in their industrial data networks, whether this includes vision systems that can ensure quality packaging or intelligent counting, Wago believes. Increasingly complex data networks will likely be a reality in the near future as well. Managers who are now limited in their involvement of material handling processes will have greater access to a wide variety of information, and detailed performance measures from a specific component or machine in the process will become even easier to obtain. Key Concerns and Trends Lee Schomberg, vice president of marketing at Ermanco, notes that "manufacturers are focusing upon eliminating the barriers to the efficient flow of information -- between manufacturer and distributor, distributor and end-user, and manufacturer and end user." This sector's use of the Internet is "of key importance now, and will continue to gain in impact over the next few years," adds Schomberg, while "accomplishing on time, complete and correct delivery will also be a focus over the next five-to-ten years. Finally, it will be important to determine if and when to use third party logistics for various segments of the business." There is also a trend among large manufacturers, including the aerospace and automotive industries, toward "decentralizing a lot of their storage," according to Ken Smith, marketing communications manager at Lista International. "Typically manufacturers used large parts and tool cribs. Now they are moving storage out to manufacturing sites. You'll have half a dozen right in a work cell." This leads to two concerns -- security problems, and inventory control. In conjunction with British Aerospace, Lista Europe has developed an electronic locking system, which is now available in Europe. The system has three levels of functionality. Basic remote control, where cabinets lock automatically with a time variation ranging from 30 seconds to five minutes, is now available in Europe and soon will be available in the United States under the brand name E-Lock. "The next two levels will allow interconnection with security and inventory control systems through standard communications protocols," Smith says. Lista has been working with several software companies to develop these products down the road, probably later in 2001. Smith notes that the "key safety and regulatory issue is ergonomics, the buzzword of the century. Any enterprise with a multi-shift enterprise is looking for height-adjustable workstations, and we meet that need with our Height-Right line." Versatility, speed, customization and a sharp focus on customer solutions are necessary to compete in today's material handling industry. "It's a 'just in time' world," reflects Eskay Corp's director of advanced operations Kevin Thuet. "Whether you're business to business or business to consumer, the expectation is to receive a product as you need it...the trend is to consolidate manufacturing and distribution under one roof in order to control the quality and timeliness of order fulfillment," he explains. Reflecting this trend, the nation's number one leader in online, direct-from-the-manufacturer computer sales uses a combined manufacturing and distribution system featuring Eskay's high-speed mini-load, sorters and conveyors to process orders. Eskay's MSS II modular storage system can automatically replenish flow racks, and can be used as a sorter or a work-in-process buffer with the ability to pick individual items. Beef supplier Excel, a division of Cargill Foods, combines the MSS II with Eskay's high-speed shoe sorter, conveyors and buffers. The palletizing buffer can pick boxes out of the system at any time, enabling individual boxes to be picked. The system allows Excel to sort, reduce flow lanes, lessen floor space, replenish inventory on a FIFO basis, and distribute shipments while maintaining a constant 28°F to ensure product freshness. Workers can avoid extreme temperatures and lifting 110-lb boxes. Safety and ergonomics increase, while health-related claims decrease. Another trend Thuet sees continuing is an emphasis by manufacturers on "value-added services" to products. "For example, a grocery store may expect to receive meat shipments that are ready to showcase. Instead of a store butcher processing the meat, the beef producer is providing this service to their customer as a valued-added service," he says. "Today's customer is asking for more selection," Thuet summarizes. "Manufacturers must be able to handle a plethora of picking methods." He sees this granularity increasing in all sectors, not just the food industry. "Eskay is well positioned because we are already doing this. We're a solutions provider - not an equipment vendor - and we tailor solutions on an individual, case-by-case basis." Thuet points to Eskay's Executive Briefing program as way of addressing specific concerns through dialogues with CEOs and top management. Innovations in Security/Labeling Products The use of 2-D bar codes is growing rapidly, according to Cathy Cole, security products market manager at Avery Dennison VIP Converted Products. These bar codes "allow up to 150 characters of information to be placed within a 3/16 in. square area, enabling manufacturers to track product as it moves through the distribution channel." Previous single dimension bar code technology limited tracking to cross-docking applications, an activity usually performed by manufacturers and retailers at distribution centers. The new bar codes can include detailed information about shipping and manufacturing, and companies can print an entire shipping document on a product label. In the next few years manufacturers will be under increased pressure to apply various security labels to products during the manufacturing or packaging process, Cole states. RFID labels can be used to track products as they move through the distribution channel, helping to "prevent product diversion and pinpoint its source when it occurs." These labels carry an embedded computer chip and can be continually updated. Avery Dennison VIP regional sales manager Joe DiGiovanni tells IEN that manufacturers will "face mandates from other links in the supply chain, including retailers and distribution centers, to meet more stringent compliance labeling requirements," compelling them "to search for ways to upgrade their product, carton and pallet ID labeling operations. They are likely to focus on four major areas: labeling speed, accuracy, communications capabilities, and bar coding." Adds Kevin Swartz, Avery Dennison Printer Systems print and apply manager: "A large gap exists between the top speeds of production-line conveyors (250 feet per minute) and the speeds of even the fastest print/apply labeling systems and applicators (approx. 60 feet per minute)...with the introduction of faster labeling systems, manufacturers will be able to integrate product ID labeling seamlessly into their overall manufacturing operations." Inaccurate or poorly positioned bar-coded labels can disrupt operations downstream from the manufacturing site. Consequently, the focus on labeling accuracy is likely to grow. In some applications, labeling accuracies of +1 mm will be required. At the same time, acceptable labeling error rates will decline, from a rate of about one bad label per thousand labels to one error in 10,000 or more. According to Avery Dennison's Joe DiGiovanni, both fully automatic and semiautomatic label applicators offer greater accuracy than manual methods. "Recently, Avery Dennison designed a semiautomatic system to apply labels to automotive components measuring eight feet long and four feet wide. Previously, labels were applied to these components by hand, and many were positioned incorrectly or even upside down. The switch to a semiautomatic system solved the problem. Now operators hand-feed components one by one to the semiautomatic applicator. Labels are applied with great consistency and accuracy." Five years ago, virtually all product ID labeling systems were standalone units without data communication capabilities. Today, many systems can exchange data with PCs or computer networks via optional communications interfaces. This enables manufacturers to control product ID labeling systems remotely and to upload production data and status reports on machine conditions. For example, Avery Dennison VIP's web-based InfoChain Express service allows manufacturers and their trading partners in the supply chain to exchange and access information without multiple linear EDI systems. Advantages include improved accuracy, increased levels of compliance, faster throughput, and greater visibility of information. Additionally, operating on the Internet creates greater access for exchanging information at faster speeds. Users obtain the capability to transmit purchase orders electronically; receive, acknowledge, view, change and redirect merchandise purchase orders; generate orders for required carton labels and product ID; scan merchandise for error-free packing; print carton labels at factory or warehouse locations; and generate and transmit accurate packing lists and advance ship notices (ASN). New generations of product ID labeling systems are already on the market, including the Avery Dennison 64 Series printer. Its 64-bit microprocessor runs the devices at speed four times faster than 32-bit printers. The first print/apply system in the line, the ALX 924 eliminates pauses between print runs and allows one-to-one printing of unique labels. In the data communications area, RS 422 interfaces will soon be available with all of the company's ALX and ALS systems, so users can link a PC or computer network with a series of labeling systems in a daisy-chain arrangement, instead of setting up multiple separate links. In another innovation, many product ID labeling systems now come with optional on-board scanners, which scan bar-coded labels automatically after label application and verify correct label data and positioning. They direct the systems to produce new labels when necessary. There are also innovations in store for pallet-handling operations. Applying labels to fully loaded pallets can be difficult and expensive, but new systems promise to streamline this operation. Avery Dennison VIP's PLU2C Pallet Labeler, for example, includes an applicator arm that automatically applies separate labels to adjacent sides of a pallet. The system can label pallets on more than one side without turning them, and replaces corner-wrapping, which can result in wrinkled labels and bad scans. New Uses for Existing Technologies Manufacturers are also using existing technologies in new ways. "Sortation components used traditionally for sorting packages at the shipping docks have proven to be efficient in streamlining the picking process," states Bill Wold, director-business development at Automotion Inc. "At Automotion, we've been using standard components to sort in and out of zones within split-case picking modules. In addition, standard sortation components are now being used to sort into the replenishment aisle of these split case picking modules." The improved efficiencies, necessary in today's high velocity distribution centers, have proven effective by applying these standard components, notes Wold. He believes that major challenges lie ahead as supply chain management accommodates the reverse logistics necessary to support e-commerce virtual storefronts. "For those retailers without bricks and mortar stores, the reverse logistics problem can be a nightmare," he observes. "Those retailers will need solutions to their increased handling problems resulting from the return of merchandise. Increased attention will be paid to improving efficiencies at the receiving docks in the distribution center." Meanwhile, the new government standards for ergonomics will drive the designers of material handling systems to introducing fresh designs. "The repetitive reaching and bending at 3D designed workstations will no longer be acceptable," Wold adds. Around $4.5 billion will be spent to implement solutions to comply with the OSHA rules, which took effect Jan.16 and will be mandatory by October. "With savings from medical expenses and workers comp estimated at $9 billion, there will be a great deal of emphasis on improving the designs of our workstations," says Wold. Marconi Data Systems product manager Dave Bequette contends that system flexibility is key to improved productivity. "New product additions and fast changeovers require material handling solutions that are adaptive," he notes, adding that "more and more manufacturers are cleaning up their previous designs and providing material/product handling systems with tool-less adjustments and change capabilities." The company's Quick Change conveyor, for example, builds the side drives, print-head mountings, and guide system on two machine lead screws connected to a single hand wheel. A single operator during changeover can adjust the system to a variety of different carton sizes with the turn of a single hand wheel. "Better case control and maintenance of print quality will eventually allow more customers to print SCC14 128 codes on-line with our HR300 printheads," Bequette adds. The material handling sector also is focusing on the development of improved transport media. "The variety of conveyor belts in the market today is amazing," according to Bequette. "In an industry such as ours where the conveyor belt can mean the difference between a readable or unreadable bar code, the staple has been a smooth, seamless belt. Unfortunately, seamless belts have been difficult to deal with, since you virtually had to take the conveyor apart to replace a belt. In the past, seamless belts were simply replaced with a seamed belt and users accepted the fact that print quality was being affected. Now comes hidden seam belts, with all the convenience of seamed belts but with the smooth transition qualities of seamless." At a time when manufacturers are striving to minimize capital spending, increase customer response time, and strictly control inventory, "flexible, modular systems have become crucial for manufacturers' success," Assembly Technology and Test's James Anderson remarks. "We have seen the application of electrified monorail to engine and transmission assembly/test systems for just these reasons. These flexible systems allow manufacturers to build 'batch of one' to meet their customer requirements as well as flex with their volume requirements." Meanwhile OSHA regulations "are pushing noise and ergonomic requirements lower and lower," Anderson observes, and manufacturers "require more automation and/or manipulators to handle material. The noise level reductions will make systems such as chains more difficult to apply in areas where people are working." Probably the fastest changing area in material handling is controls, according to Anderson, where "faster and smaller allows more distributed control systems and more intelligence on individual stations or trolleys." RF tags provide product tracking and traceability, while RF technology "allows communication on-the-fly." With the tremendous growth in the materials handling sector in recent years, Baldor has "seen a strong demand for motors and controls from OEMs that manufacture robotic, automated assembly, packaging, sorting, pick-and-place, and conveying equipment," says Baldor market research manager Doug Thrift. However, signs of sluggish retail sales and a slowing economy overall could translate into reduced equipment purchases by parcel carriers. "If we are truly experiencing a long term slowdown then the industry will look for additional ways to improve productivity and maintain its profit levels," Thrift suggests. "The easiest way to do this is by making the material handling machines smarter through the use of drives" and machine vision. Automated guided vehicles (AGVs) could play an expanded role in moving materials and products in the future. Enhanced vehicle flexibility will be a key concern for the material handling industry in the next decade, AGV Products marketing manager Debbie Bishop tells IEN. "Already, AGV technology is being sought out and installed in non-traditional applications such as aerospace and the entertainment industry," she notes. Laser bumpers are the latest in AGV safety technology, allowing for "increased speeds, therefore increased production, and increased maneuverability. In areas where traditional bumpers are too bulky, the laser bumpers are also a safe alternative." AGV Products offers an automated warehouse concept "where we combine the versatility and space saving capabilities of a standard VNA turret forklift vehicle with the automated benefits of an AGV," says Bishop. These automated standard vehicles bring expanded benefits to warehouses, including "continuous operation, lights out capabilities, reduced and very often eliminated product damage, improved material tracking," as well as reduced labor costs and safety improvements. Meanwhile, new ANSI standards are embracing low resolution optical safeguarding and muting applications. Banner Engineering Corp.'s EZ Guard grid system and Mini-Screen muting system addresses material handling safeguarding applications such as palletizing equipment, and rope pulls for conveyor emergency stops are expected to be released in the future. Voice Recognition and Wireless Devices Advances continue in the development of voice recognition and wireless devices, too. Catalyst International will integrate the SyVox SpeechNet suite of applications into its upcoming standard software release. The speech recognition program will be beta tested in the first part of 2001, after which the speech applications will be made generally available. The SyVox SpeechNet suite of speech-based applications is tailored for mobile workers who operate in warehouses and distribution centers. Warehouse workers can hear instructions through a headset and communicate through a headset microphone, operating the system without computer training. "Catalyst will be the first WMS company to offer a speech-directed picking system as an option to our standard product," says Jeff Frailey, director of enabling technology for Catalyst. "I anticipate that mobile speech recognition technology will be quickly adopted as a leading choice for users to interact with the Catalyst system on the shop floor. The technology is a flexible and cost efficient alternative to other material handling solutions." The warehousing sector is seeking "greater product velocity through the supply chain, yielding customer satisfaction for B2B or B2C users" with interfaces that "do not require extensive training," he notes. Frailey emphasizes that SyVox SpeechNet "is not voice over IP, walkie- talkie, voice recognition, or free-form dictation" technology. Speech recognition is a combination of hardware and software technologies that allow a mobile worker to interface with a computer application by responding to audio instructions with speech. It is speaker independent, with a smaller vocabulary and higher recognition rate than voice recognition. "Different users can speak to the same computer," says Frailey. Voice recognition is speaker dependent, needs a large vocabulary, and requires a computer voice profile for each user. By narrowing the vocabulary to a series of simple commands, the computer can understand the user even in a noisy warehouse environment. The Catalyst International technology brings a "hands-free, eyes-free" solution to material handling, Frailey adds, improving productivity, speed, mental focus, and safety. Common warehouse applications could include high speed picking; pick-to-belt or conveyor; small-piece parts picking; freezer and cold storage; and large items. Speech recognition is designed as an alternative to pick-to-light hardware, paper list picking, and building pallets. Frailey believes the speech-directed picking will catch on quickly because SynVox SpeechNet uses a listen-and-acknowledge user interface and "coexists with traditional mobile data collection computers." Once it is accepted in picking applications, the technology could spread to receiving, cross docking, cycle counting, and annual inventory. And Opto 22 will introduce the Wireless LAN option for its SNAP-IT solution for managing and monitoring real-world devices in February 2001, allowing network and IT managers to manage non-IT devices on new or existing wireless networks as well as their wired networks. SNAP-IT Wireless LAN is compatible with IEEE 802.11 wireless LAN standard, a frequency hopping technology that can withstand high noise levels. The device has a range of 2000 feet in open environments. The SNAP-IT system is a standard rack or panel mount enclosure with a processor, communications interface, and a backplane that accepts SNAP modules. This technology allows companies to remotely monitor and manage any non-IT device from within existing IT structures. The devices support a long list of standard networking and data communication protocols, including SNMP, TCP/IP, HTTP, HTML, and XML. The system can be connected through wire-line Ethernet, analog modem, or DSL. Robert A. Sheffres, vice president of sales and marketing at Opto 22, tells IEN that the device is "completely transparent and uses existing delivery. There is no need for separate hardware or software interface-no proprietary middleware is required." SNAP-IT is widely used in mobile applications and in automated warehousing. "You can send e-mails from the truck on the floor to the back office SAP program," adds Sheffres, "and move data and alerts throughout the enterprise."