Building Sustainability Through Mobile Automation
Reduce emissions and resource consumption by adding AGVs or AMRs to your operation.
Many issues are top of mind for manufacturing, warehouse and logistics managers – sustainability being one of the biggest. There’s pressure from all sides to make operations more sustainable and an economic case to be made for doing so. Plus, running more resource-efficient facilities is simply the right thing to do.
There’s a direct correlation between energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, thus seeking out equipment and operational approaches that help reduce both has become critical. The industry has several angles from which to attack these challenges – adding mobile automation in the form of automated guided vehicles (AGVs) and autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) is one of them.
Cycling-out forklift equipment powered by propane (LPG) and traditional lead acid batteries with more advanced energy options immediately lowers the amount of direct GHGs your facility emits. These advanced battery technologies include thin plate pure lead (TPPL) and lithium-ion (li-ion). In addition to being more energy efficient, they are also maintenance-free – helping you conserve water, which is needed to maintain traditional flooded lead acid batteries. So, you’re not only reducing GHGs, but also conserving energy and water as well.
Another option for AGVs and AMRs beginning to gain adoption is wireless charging. Wireless chargers frequently give you the flexibility to lay out your warehouse more efficiently, saving space and time. Charging stations can be distributed near the workspaces for AGVs or AMRs – minimizing travel distances, time and energy consumption to get charged, so you’re gaining several efficiencies by keeping your vehicles close to work areas and productive. They also don’t rely on workers to plug-in equipment, so your AGVs and AMRs can keep working around the clock and during breaks. With a labor shortage, that’s also important.
Looking toward the future, mobile automation and wireless charging will play an important role in totally automated “dark” warehousing. In these cases, automation will run nearly all aspects of the facility. This pays off both in energy savings and its correlated GHG emissions.
Automation helps eliminate unnecessary stops and sudden acceleration – reducing overall energy waste. AGVs and AMRs are gaining traction everywhere and will soon become a critical part of any sustainability strategy across a variety of industrial settings.
Electric-powered automation can be 80 percent to 90 percent more efficient than traditional combustion-powered equipment – leading to dramatic decreases in energy use, GHG emissions and even water consumption. Electricity generation continues to become cleaner as we move into the future—so these sustainability gains will only continue to grow as related sustainability requirements continue to grow in parallel.
Source: Interview with Sam Shiroff – Global Senior Director of Sustainability, EnerSys
To find out more about MHI’s MAG Industry Group: https://www.mhi.org/mag
For further articles/podcasts from MAG:
Podcast: Energizing Mobile Automation
Top Misconceptions Of Mobile Automation
Podcast: MAG – How To Get Started With Mobile Automation
Podcast: Sensors Revolutionizing Automated Material Movement: Efficiency And Safety Enhanced
Powering Tomorrow’s Mobile Automation
The Unexpected (Soft) Benefits Of Mobile Automation
Navigating The Mobile Automation Landscape
