Applications
The environment sets the constraints
Equipment does not fail because it was underspecified on paper. It fails because the paper described a different building, a different load or a different shift pattern. These four environments describe how we approach each one, and the questions we ask before proposing anything.
A1
Warehousing & distribution
Ambient storage, mixed pallet profiles, multi-shift operation
Storage density is added until the truck fleet, the aisle width or the pick rate becomes the constraint. Fixing one of those in isolation usually moves the bottleneck instead of removing it.
Categories usually involved
Selection factors
A2
Fulfilment & e-commerce
High order counts, small units, sharp seasonal peaks
Piece and case picking dominate, and peak throughput can be several times the annual average. Equipment specified to the average fails in the peak week.
Categories usually involved
Selection factors
A3
Chilled & cold storage
Temperature-controlled rooms, condensation, restricted access
Low temperature affects batteries, hydraulics, operators and steel behaviour. Equipment chosen for an ambient warehouse rarely performs the same way inside a cold store.
Categories usually involved
Selection factors
A4
Manufacturing & line supply
Production lines, work-in-progress buffers, mixed load types
Material handling has to match takt time and line-side space, and awkward or non-palletised loads are the norm rather than the exception.