Facilitator's Question:
What are the deciding factors for company to adopt carousel systems instead of other storage systems?
There are several factors for company to adopt carousel systems. The deciding factors include: High labour cost Excellent item protection and security High accuracy in order picking Excellent Supervision Fully automation Reduce picking time Reduce picker idle time
-High labour cost: If the company is facing high labour cost, using carousel systems can help to solve the problem, where less manpower is needed to perform order-picking work.
-Excellent item protection and security: In the vertical carousel, only one shelf items is exposed at one time, and the entire contents of the carousel can be secured. Thus if the company is storing high valued products or fragile items, carousel can be the right storage system to them. In addition, carousel system can be used for handling hazard goods which may be too dangerous for humans to handle.
-High accuracy in order picking: The chances of picking wrong part is very slim, thus company which demand high accuracy in order picking should adopt this storage system.
-Excellent supervision: In stock to picker systems, the picking takes place at the end of an ailse. Thus any operators should be visible to a supervisor in one quick glance at a picking line, this helps to prevent anyone having the idea of stealing the items. For company that is dealing with high valued items, carousel can be the ideal storage system.
-Fully automation: If the company is intending to go from a manual handling system to a fully automated handling system, carousel, a form of AS/RS can be a good choice to adopt (see its advantages at the post Carousel).
-Reduce picking time: Order picker does not need to search for the items or to travel a distance to get the items, as the orders are entered into the system and the items is auto picked and retrieved by the machinery to the picker. Therefore, it is suitable for companies who wish to have a faster order picking rate.
-Reduce picker idle time: The objective of stock to order picker systems is to keep the picker picking. By assigning the order picker to two or more carousels, he or she may pick from one carousel while the other is rotating to the next pick station. This can help to improve the operation efficiency.
-Faster return of investment: Carousel system will be suitable for companies who wish to obtain the return of investment as soon as possible. Thus, they could use this for other purposes such as purchase of new assest or expansion.
Companies should not consider only on one deciding factor when adopting carousel system. In addition, they should consider the impact on the profit, the requirement met, the benefits gains, and other factors.
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