Industrial Storage Equipment Chart

Equipment Type>

Automated Systems/Vertical Lifts & Carousels

Mobile
Storage
Systems

Fixed Shelving
Systems

Small Parts Cabinets

Material Control Software

Space Savings

Excellent: uses all available floor to ceiling space.

Excellent: eliminates wasted aisle space.

Average

Good: ability to properly organize materials results in good space efficiency

Not applicable

Speed

Excellent: best cost of labor ratio.

Poor: limited access to materials reduces productivity.

Average: upper & lower tiers are hard to use reducing overall speed.

Average: lower tiers are hard to use reducing overall speed.

Excellent: software speeds all applications.

Excellent: best of all types of equipment. All materials brought to counter height, permitting operators to handle heavier loads safely.

Poor for lower & top tiers, good for middle tiers. Heavy materials are difficult to handle.

Poor for lower & top tiers, good for middle tiers. Heavy materials are difficult to handle

Poor for lower tiers, good for waist high tiers. Heavy materials are difficult to handle

Not applicable

Accuracy

Excellent: superior ergonomics eliminates fatigue related errors. Ability to interface with software also adds to accuracy.

Average: bending, stretching and standing increase fatigue levels resulting in errors.

Average: bending, stretching and standing increase fatigue levels resulting in errors.

Good: materials that are properly organized result in higher accuracy rates.

Excellent: properly implemented and maintained systems are extremely accurate.

Cost

High: more expensive than manual storage options. Cost is typically offset by lower operating costs.

Average: space savings can partially offset increased operational costs.

Excellent: least expensive storage system.

Average to above average depending upon configuration.

Low to average depends on scope of system.

Flexibility

Very flexible: can house virtually all types of materials. Interfaces to other m/h equipment for added flexibility.

Good: a wide range of options makes it very flexible.

Good: a wide range of options makes it very flexible.

Excellent for small parts, limited for larger materials.

Good: systems can be applied to all sorts of media and can interface with host systems.