Implementation of An Automatic Storage and Retrieval System PDF
Implementation of An Automatic Storage and Retrieval System PDF
CM Greene, instructor.
Abstract
Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems have many benefits to different manufacturing systems. The benefits of
Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems include better inventory control, larger inventory and storage capacities,
and faster and more effective materials handling. Materials handling has always been a challenge in any
manufacturing environment being a non-value added process and potentially unsafe in certain industries (ex. steel,
chemical, aerospace). An example of the benefits provided to a manufacturing facility by an Automate Storage and
Retrieval System is Klein Steel in Rochester, NY. This paper will overview the before, during, and after aspects of
the choices, responses, and improvements throughout the implantation of the Kasto Linear Bar System at Klein
Steel.
Keywords: Automated Storage, Automated Retrieval, Materials Handling, Klein Steel, Kasto
1. Introduction [1]
Organized and automated warehouses enable companies to handle many orders quickly and correctly. With the
evolution of technology, automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS) allowed for products that can be moved
by the AS/RS to get larger heavier and exponentially smaller. The possible products moved by AS/RS range from
pieces of metal weighing multiple tons to computer components that are as small as a flake of pepper. Online
ordering also increased demand for AS/RS, they increased the order numbers so that a manned operation could not
keep up. AS/RS can read an order number, look up what items are needed and retrieve them. It then can send the
package on its way to receive a shipping label. At the same time, AS/RS can receive incoming orders and place
them back in the warehouse to their specific location. This paper will look into the history of AS/RS, how AS/RS
systems work, configurations of AS/RS, and the optimization of AS/RS in a manufacturing environment.
Exponentially growing populations meant more products needed to be moved. This also forced standard warehouses
to be faster, more efficient and hold more products. Trucks were bigger and stronger. Warehouses struggle to keep
up with the demand. Automation was added to keep up with the orders. Automation allows tighter and taller aisles.
Every product is label with a Stock-Keeping-Unit (SKU) [2]. Each item is given its own unique SKU, which allows
a master computer to stock and track each item. Incorporating a computer into a warehouse can greatly improve its
efficiency. A SKU combined with a computer can provide wonders for those who run the warehouse. It can produce
statistics to forecast future sales, it can also eliminate jobs by keeping and monitoring the inventory in real time. It
can also automatically order new product to keep a constant inventory. Now automated systems are found in just
about every warehouse that can afford it.
ground floor of the warehouse. Once there, a series of rails rollers and conveyors brings the pallet or item to a
pickup area where the item is brought to a machine or to the sales floor via human interaction.
AS/RS come in many different forms and sizes to serve different functions. They can vary in size from picking up
giant pieces of steel to tiny surface mount technology components. No matter how big they are they all serve the
same function. They all pick up items from a designated area and place them in an assigned place. Every AS/RS
machine has three drive systems; one to drive the ground movement, another to drive the vertical movement and a
third to pick up or drop off the unit. The motor that drives the horizontal ground movement can move at speeds up
to 600 ft/sec. The vertical movement system moves at speeds up to 150 ft./min. In order to retrieve the unit many
different systems may be used. Some of these systems include forks, conveyors, suction, magnets and automated
shelves. Depending on the type of unit being retrieved or placed the company will need to decide which system fits
their needs best. The input/output (I/O) points are places where an item is either delivered to be taken out of the
warehouse or to be taken into inventory. Bigger and more effective warehouses have more I/O points to allow more
products to be moved [2].
Plant layout and the physical design of the AS/RS are needed in order to determine what type of AS/RS will be
implemented (ex. vertical or horizontal system). The plant layout will help to decide important design factors into
the system, such as the number of containers or bins and the aisles layout for the system. These systems usually have
a large footprint on a manufacturing floor and in certain case, an engineer may have to redesign a manufacturing
process around the AS/RS system. In order to validate such a large plant change engineers choices will be made
using, capacity and capability analysis, historical and forecasted product data, production output requirements,
available floor space, and available budgeting[3].
In tandem with these considerations, an engineer must decide what type configuration the system will have. While
choosing the physical layout and design of the system, the engineer must take into consideration, the input and
output configurations of the system. First, there are the electrical and software setup of the system in order to
functionally run and keep up with the high demand of the manufacturing process. Second, the physical input and
output points of the system must be setup to be in a central location for all storage and retrieval requests.
Atkinson, Daya, Harlan
As these system considerations are designed and decided upon, an engineer must then decide what type of storage,
batching and sequencing operations will be used to most effectively use the AS/RS in the manufacturing process.
Design decisions include storage positioning, batch size of storage containers, and the sequencing methods of the
systems. Storage and retrieval operations are typically broken into classes based on the material, size restrictions, or
storage location. This allows the system to be able to optimize the time for storage and retrieval throughout the
system.
Once the system has been implemented and built into the manufacturing process, the design portion may be over,
however the system must be continuously improved over the implementation of the AS/RS on the manufacturing
floor. Optimization of bin organization, timing of each bin, and bin location must be studied in order to have a cost
saving and effective AS/RS. Performance metrics for AS/RS are usually based on time studies, as the systems are
implemented to help save time in materials handling. Metrics used to measure AS/RS systems include, storage and
retrieval travel times and wait times for storage and retrieval [3]. Other metrics that will be used will evaluate the
capability and capacity of processes before and after the implementation of an AS/RS.
With proper design, the return on investment of an AS/RS system will be met with the improvement of the
manufacturing process, inventory control, and time savings in materials handling. The high initial costs of the
system will be offset when implemented correctly and effectively, while always improving the system to meet the
needs of production. There are many factors to take into effect, but when done correctly an AS/RS can help improve
production yield, increase storage space, and improve quality of finished goods.
Klein Steel Service is a family business. Klein Steel was founded by Arnold Klein in 1971 after recognizing the
need for a small order steel wholesaler. Klein Steel started in a 3-garage warehouse, and has grown to four facilities
covering a combined 360,000 square feet. Klein has state of the art metal processing and distribution equipment.
This includes magnet cranes, plasma cutters, water jet cutters, and a Kasto Automated Storage and Retrieval System.
Klein serves over 2,400 customers in the northeastern United States region. Currently, Joe Klein is the chairman of
the company and has led Klein Steel to be one of Upstate New York’s top employers and has been elected as the
best place to work four years in a row.
Because of the growth the company experienced, Klein had the resources and ability to implement one of several
different options. In addition, the cost per square foot of new building additions was significant enough to warrant
the use of more complex, space-saving technologies such as Automatic Storage & Retrieval Systems.
After considering alternatives, Klein chose to implement two systems; a Raymond Side-Loader system which uses a
modified forklift design to load material into racks from the side and a Kasto Linear Bar Storage System – the focus
of this study. The Kasto system proved able to hold large amounts of material in a small footprint – saving nearly
20,000 square feet of building space. In addition, the system was – theoretically – safer than their original system
and could expand to meet additional storage need which Klein has done twice; once from 850 storage compartments
to 1850 and again from 1850 compartments to 2350, bringing their square-foot savings to 170,000 square feet.
4. Pre-Implementation [5]
4.1 Previous System
The original storage system Klein used consisted of a crane with a set of chains operated by two people. These
cranes moved material to a series of racks separated by cross members. To access lower-level material, cross
members on higher levels had to move (by way of the aforementioned crane). From there, the material moved using
manual effort - 8 people to move material to the loading dock, with another 6 to move the material onto trucks.
Klein still uses a modification of this system - using only the crane – for extremely large stock such as the 50 foot
stock pictured below.
Outside of implementation, the system proved unable to accomplish certain tasks well. Certain material types – such
as extremely long stock, angle-bars, and sheet stock would not fit in the compartments in the system. In addition,
Cold-Rolled and short stock material required modification of the compartments to add base-plates and side-plates
to prevent cold-rolled lubrication from leaking onto other material and small stock from falling through the holes in
the device.
Due to the size of the material, one of the features of the system – a self-bundling application – resisted
implementation. Finally, Kasto installed the retrieval system cranes too close to each other. As a result, when the
cranes attempt to access the material at the same time, they trigger limit switches; slowing the system significantly.
As such, Klein has limited use of the two unloading stations at the same time.
Between the two systems, Klein chose to implement the Kasto Linear Bar System because of the many advantages
the system offered to help increase delivery yield to customers. Even with the high initial capital costs, the long-term
reliability and repeatability the system presented aligned with the corporate goals of growth for the future of Klein
Steel.
Throughout the implementation process, both Kasto and Klein subject matter experts were involved in each step of
the build. This allowed for the experts from Kasto to not only build the system designed for Klein, but for them to
teach the experts from Klein to learn how to use and maintain the system properly. Kasto and Klein went back and
forth discussing possible designs, visiting companies with existing systems, and going over every “what-if” scenario
Atkinson, Daya, Harlan
to create the best design to fit Klein. Kasto was used to building custom designs for the needs of the customer, and
Klein was able to design the system with Kasto to meet the needs of the facility.
During the implementation, Klein and Kasto faced some challenges and benefits throughout the build of the system.
One of the challenges was the crane design. Kasto went ahead and installed a magnet style crane without the green
light from Klein. Klein did not like the magnet style pickup crane and asked Kasto to convert the crane back to a
chain style pickup. In the early months after implementation, Klein found that the magnet style crane showed more
benefits and converted back to the original crane layout and style. One benefit during the build that Klein and Kasto
found was the building was constructed on bedrock. The concrete structure needed to support the Kasto system is
rated to handle earthquakes as extreme as ones seen along the San Andreas Fault. Finding bedrock meant less
excavation and not as much concrete was needed to create a stable and suitable structure for the system. The
utilization of the bedrock for the structure allowed for time, money, and material savings for Klein.
implementation when the engineers decided the machine could handle all full-length steel products to increase
utilization of the system. The third learning curve happened six years after when the engineers decided to put all
shape and size steel stock into the system to maximize the utilization of the system. These helped the engineers at
Klein to develop and robust storage and retrieval process for the high variety of material that passes through the
facility.
Another important aspect of cassette utilization is the storage of all the varieties of steel processed through Klein.
The cassettes were originally designed to carry bar and round stock of 20 to 24 foot steel lengths. As the variety of
customer demands increased, Klein retrofitted the cassettes to hold shorter lengths and various shaped parts. Along
with a color-coded system for visual grouping, the new cassettes allowed for a wider range of product variety to be
stored in multiple cassettes and in turn a shorter time to the production floor.
Another feature added to the system was storage buffers. Slots in the system are left open so that if the crane has idle
time, it will gather the next items in the queue and place them in a central location for easy access when that specific
cassette is called upon. The built in storage buffer allows for faster delivery of the product waiting in the queue.
Atkinson, Daya, Harlan
9. Conclusion
The automated and storage retrieval system was a great improvement for the materials handling needs of Klein
Steel. The Kasto Linear Bar system allowed Klein to increase customer delivery yields and to grow overall as a
company. Klein saw an opportunity for growth and chose the right system, which aligned with the corporate goals of
the company. Today, the automated storage and retrieval system that was put in place at Klein Steel holds
approximately 60% of the company’s revenue, which continues to grow as more satisfied customers return for
business with Klein Steel. Just as Arnold Klein saw the need for a steel service in the early 1970’s, the current team
at Klein saw a need for newer technologies to continue the company’s growth and to progress the vision of Arnold
Klein.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank and acknowledge Brad Cooper, Dan Sile, and Jim Sloan of Klein Steel for their
cooperation and assistance in completing this study. Their continued support made this paper and information
possible. In addition, the authors would like to thank Klein Steel for their continued support and work with
Rochester Institute of Technology.
Atkinson, Daya, Harlan
References
1. Daya, Andrew and Harlan, Michael. 2013. “Improvements in Manufacturing Systems: Automated Storage and
Retrieval Systems” Rochester Institute of Technology. Rochester, NY.
2. Groover, Mikell P. 2008, Automation, Production Systems, and Computer-Integrated Manufacturing, 3rd
Edition, Prentice Hall, New Jersey.
3. Roodbergen, Kees Jan, and Iris F. A. Vis. 2009, "A Survey of Literature on Automated Storage and Retrieval
Systems." European Journal of Operational Research 194.2 : 343-62.
4. "Klein Steel Service, Rochester, Buffalo, Syracuse, Albany, Metals, Plate Processing, Sawing, and Stainless
Steel." Klein Steel Service, Rochester, Buffalo, Syracuse, Albany, Metals, Plate Processing, Sawing, and
Stainless Steel. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2013.
5. Cooper, Brad, Jim Sloan, and Dan Sile. "Discussion about Klein Steel's Kasto System." Personal interview. 2
Dec. 2013.
6. Photo curtsey of Klein Steel Services, Rochester, NY. December 2 nd, 2013.