Intelligent forklifts reshape the warehouse

Ron D'Ambrosio -
Your Focus
- 12 Jun 2014 ( #671 )
3 min read
Ron D'Ambrosio
Ron D'Ambrosio
Ron D'Ambrosio is President and CEO of Glacier Computer.
Ron D'Ambrosio has been in the electronics field for the past 30 years after attaining his BBA in Finance from Ohio University. The early stages of his professional career were in printed circuit boards and contract manufacturing. Since 1989 he has started and been a hands-on owner of two other companies besides Glacier.

Modern intelligent forklifts include diagnostics that allow the equipment to signal when it needs to be serviced, control speed, prevent slipping by monitoring wheel spin and traction on slick floors, avoid collisions - and much more.

Intelligent forklifts promote new process flows in the warehouse. When integrated to a warehouse management system (WMS), the forklift's fork can be raised or lowered more quickly. The WMS directs a forklift to a pick location. Once at the location, the forklift knows whether the pallet to be picked is being stored at a height of three feet, six feet, or whatever. The operator pushes a button on the console and the forks move at the maximum safe speed, a speed considerably faster than the operator would be apt to move them.

Speed controls can be used to help ensure safety. For example, RFID tags placed in the floor can signal the forklift that this is a busy section of a warehouse traversed by people. The forklift automatically knows it cannot exceed a set speed, for example 2 mph, and the governor automatically limits the top speed in those sections of the warehouse.

In mixed case picking, forklifts can integrate with pickers wearing voice systems, follow them up an aisle, lift the pallet to the correct ergonomic height for picking, based upon the location of the inventory in the warehouse racking, and then, when ordered to do so, autonomously (without a human driver) make the trip to a shipping dock for unloading.

The most intelligent forklifts today are built with real-time location systems that allow drivers to proceed to a specified location and pick up (or put down) a load without the need for the driver to scan the location to prove that they have picked up (or delivered) the right load. This solution is designed for full pallet moves in either a warehouse with racks or a bulk warehouse in which pallets are stacked on top of each other.

When logistics professionals have thought about warehouse management (WMS) and warehouse control systems (WCS), we have traditionally visualised a WCS as the system controlling the move logic for conveyors, sortation devices, carousals and other forms of stationary materials handling. We have not seen a WCS as playing a role in controlling/influencing forklift moves. But a forklift that integrates through a control layer to some of the logic in a WMS to move its forks faster and more efficiently is engaged in a move activity. That means intelligent forklifts need to be part of a larger warehouse control solution.

In an era of distributed intelligence, a robotic revolution and an environment in which new forms of "goods-to-man" automation are arising, it is inevitable that we will see value migrate from certain types of solution providers to others. Value is beginning to migrate toward more mobile (non-bolted down) forms of materials handling used in goods-to-man processes.

WMS and materials handling suppliers providing WCS solutions which can treat a forklift as an advanced form of automation, allow companies to add new forms of automation while protecting the WMS upgrade path and provide logic that helps optimise throughput (even in warehouses where bottlenecks may shift over time between manual and materials handling system choke points) will be the winners in this brave new world.
Also Read:
End of the line for diesel?
Bill redmond
4 minute read
End of the line for diesel? Your Focus - 26 Jun 2014 (#673) With increasing controls on emissions, Bill Redmond argues it's time to look seriously at electric forklifts.
Could an agency worker wreck your recovery?
Richard Shore
3 minute read
Could an agency worker wreck your recovery? Your Focus - 5 Jun 2014 (#670) Economic recovery means more temporary staff, and Richard Shore warns that this increases safety concerns.
For more unique stories and expert insights: read our industry blogs
Blog articles provide perspectives and opinions and therefore may contain inaccurate or incomplete information. Forkliftaction Media accepts no responsibility for errors or omissions. If you feel that significant facts are overlooked, or have a different viewpoint on a topic addressed, we invite you to open a conversation in our Discussion Forums.

Are you recruiting? Find your ideal candidate among a diverse range of materials handling professionals:

Forkliftaction's JOB MARKET

Inside The News
In this week’s Forkliftaction News , we look at one of the biggest talking points coming out of the LogiMAT event in Stuttgart last week and ProMat in Chicago this week – US tariffs on Chinese, Mexican and Canadian imports, and the uncertainty they are creating in the market... Continue reading

Showcased in the Virtual Expo

Upcoming industry events …
May 21-22, 2025 - Melbourne, Australia
June 3-4, 2025 - Warwickshire, United Kingdom
July 9-10, 2025 - Birmingham, United Kingdom
Inside The News
In this week’s Forkliftaction News , we look at one of the biggest talking points coming out of the LogiMAT event in Stuttgart last week and ProMat in Chicago this week – US tariffs on Chinese, Mexican and Canadian imports, and the uncertainty they are creating in the market... Continue reading

Are you recruiting? Find your ideal candidate among a diverse range of materials handling professionals:

Forkliftaction's JOB MARKET

Inside The News
In this week’s Forkliftaction News , we look at one of the biggest talking points coming out of the LogiMAT event in Stuttgart last week and ProMat in Chicago this week – US tariffs on Chinese, Mexican and Canadian imports, and the uncertainty they are creating in the market... Continue reading

PREMIUM business

VETTER Industrie GmbH
The world's most comprehensive range of forks and the most intelligent sensor fork for more safety and efficiency.
Upcoming in the editorial calendar
MATERIALS HANDLING ATTACHMENTS
Apr 2025
ARTIFICAL INTELLIGENCE
May 2025
Upcoming industry events …
May 21-22, 2025 - Melbourne, Australia
June 3-4, 2025 - Warwickshire, United Kingdom
July 9-10, 2025 - Birmingham, United Kingdom