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Vertical Sortation

Challenge:
Automation is the path to expansion for many companies in today’s competitive market. For one such company the need was not only to improve their overall kitting process efficiency but also to utilize what little space they had available without impacting other processes within their facility. Current operations consisted of multiple operators kitting product for a downstream assembly process. Product was stored in totes and manually carried to an operator for selection of items. The totes were stacked in the picking area until empty. Totes would clutter the kitting area, creating a difficult and unsafe working environment. Further inefficiencies were added to the overall process once the totes were emptied in the assembly area. Stacks of totes were hand carried back to the kitting area.

Solution:
USS supplied a unique and intelligent system of Vertical Reciprocating Lifts (VRLs) to supply kitting workstations and elevate product to various levels of conveyor within the facility. The lifts were “C” configuration and “Z” configuration with multiple stops for entry and exit elevations on each lift. The VRLs successfully allow the customer to best utilize their floorspace by moving tote storage and transport to unused space overhead.
Empty totes are transported into the kitting area on a conveyor line at 10’ elevation. They enter the first available kitting station VRL with product required. The tote is lowered to one of two picking stations in the kitting area located on either side of the VRL. Once the operators have completed the kitting process, the tote is removed from their kitting station and exchanged with the next tote via the VRL. Totes that need further kitting at other kitting stations are returned to the 10’ elevation where they are transported out the opposite side they entered into the VRL initially in a loop of conveyor at 10’ elevation. They proceed down each necessary kitting station accessing each via the appropriate VRL until the kit is complete. When a kit is completed, they are transported via the same VRLs to a conveyor at 12’ elevation that transports the totes directly to the assembly area. One additional stop on the VRL allows totes that are awaiting backordered product to be staged at an 8’ elevation via the VRLs until the back order is filled or the order is dispositioned appropriately.
Each VRL sorts product to four elevations (30”, 8’, 10’, and 12’) and has entrances and exits on both sides at the 30”, 10’, and 12’ entries for a total sort possibility of 7 options within these VRLs. These unique VRLs provide our customer maximum flexibility with minimum footprint to sort totes to the appropriate process.

Result:
By using Vertical Sorting technology, the end user was able to:

  • Maximize existing facility floor space by using unused overhead space for transport and staging.
  • Improve operational throughput by decongesting the kitting floor.
  • Enhance operation efficiency by automatically transporting totes to the appropriate conveyor for automatic transport between processes.
  • Reduce work loss injuries by allowing access to all totes automatically and reducing lifting requirement.