Automated material handling equipment: choosing the right system

Automated material handling equipment should solve a specific movement problem: carrying a pallet between areas, presenting a tote to a workstation, or turning a loose part into a controlled machine input. Those are different jobs. Start by writing the required handoff in one sentence, including the object, origin, destination, orientation, and production rate. That sentence will narrow the equipment shortlist more effectively than an arm payload or warehouse technology brochure.

Separate movement from manipulation

A conveyor can move material along an established route. A mobile robot can transport a load between changing destinations. An automated storage and retrieval system manages storage access. A robot arm changes an item's position or orientation within a working area. Many projects need two of these functions, but they should have separate requirements and separate acceptance measurements.

Dematic's mobile robot overview distinguishes goods-to-person and pallet-transport functions. Use that distinction when asking suppliers whether their proposal delivers the item to the work area or actually presents it ready for the next operation. If an employee still has to unpack, identify, and orient every part, include that work in the proposed staffing plan.

Record a useful flow sample

Collect a time-stamped sample of actual moves across representative shifts. Record quantity, load dimensions, travel route, origin waiting time, delivery waiting time, and any manual correction. Include the awkward loads that operators quietly accommodate today. An average delivery count hides bursts, and an average object size hides the SKU that cannot pass a transfer point.

Keep a separate exception column for damaged containers, missing labels, incorrect quantities, and unavailable destinations. Then calculate how much handling belongs to a predictable flow and how much belongs to problem solving. A first project covering the predictable majority may be more manageable than a system expected to absorb every exception immediately. Our piece-picking feasibility guide develops this distinction for individual items.

Measure the complete handoff

Suppose, hypothetically, a station consumes one tote every four minutes. A delivery vehicle completing a route every three minutes appears adequate. But if docking and tote exchange add two minutes that were omitted from the route timing, that single delivery loop supplies one tote every five minutes. The station needs either a different operating sequence, additional delivery capacity, or a buffer sized around the resulting mismatch. These are planning figures, not equipment performance claims.

Draw the responsibility boundary at each transfer: who detects presence, who confirms identity, who authorizes movement, and who owns the load after completion? Dematic's receiving overview connects inbound handling with onward storage and production. In a purchase specification, turn that system view into explicit acceptance tests for the actual transfer points. For storage-connected work, use the AS/RS handoff checklist.

Compare installation and operating effort

Ask each supplier to identify building changes, floor requirements, utilities, network access, charging or air supply, and maintenance clearances. Include the space used by empty containers and rejected material. A compact machine can create a large operating footprint when replenishment carts and recovery access are included.

If reducing manual lifting is an objective, collect ergonomic measurements alongside production data. NIOSH's lifting equation considers two-handed lifting frequency and geometry as well as weight. Have a qualified practitioner evaluate the relevant tasks and the work that remains after automation. Moving the repetitive lift to a replenishment station would change where the burden occurs.

OSHA's robot guidance covers application-level hazards and risk assessment.

Buy a verifiable result

• Define delivered good loads per scheduled hour, using the proposed product mix.
• State permitted human interventions and record their duration during trials.
• Test a blocked destination, missing load, unreadable identity, and restart after interruption.
• Assign responsibility for interface software, operating instructions, training, and spares.
• Require application risk assessment and validation of access and recovery arrangements.

Quote the FAIRINO handling station

Where your material flow needs a part picked, oriented, or transferred into a machine, include a FAIRINO arm in the equipment comparison. Use the FAIRINO model comparison to start with the combined part-and-tool load and required reach, then have the complete motion and cycle reviewed. For a value-focused purchase, compare installed scope and remaining operator work. Request a FAIRINO material-handling quote with your flow map, representative loads, delivery rate, and interface requirements so the proposal addresses the station you actually need.