Mitsubishi Logisnext Co., Ltd., a part of MHI Group, has completed a demonstration of loading trucks utilizing automated guided forklifts (AGFs). The demonstration was conducted jointly with logistics services provider Konoike Transport Co., Ltd., which this month began utilizing the system for actual business operations in Japan.
Unlike cargo handling with fixed equipment such as the shelves and conveyers inside logistics centers, loading work for trucks requires adjustments to be made to loading positions according to the type of truck and its parked location. In addition, because of the need to minimize the turnaround time for trucks, loading work is currently conducted mainly with manned forklifts.
Through this demonstration, Mitsubishi Logisnext has developed new technologies related to control and sensing to address such issues, and has built an automated system that uses two AGFs to load any truck parked in a designated space. With this system the AGFs make their own determinations for optimal operations according to the varying loading position, allowing trucks to be loaded with a comparable accuracy and pace as manually operated forklifts. Under the loading conditions in the demonstration, a large truck can be loaded in less than 15 minutes. Mitsubishi Logisnext will continue to make improvements and add functions based on the knowledge gained from actual operation at Konoike Transport, and enhance the system’s capabilities.
Going forward, Mitsubishi Logisnext will continue to develop products that leverage technological expertise and provide solutions to address issues facing the logistics industry, most notably the regulatory changes that will limit truck drivers’ overtime from April 2024.
About MHI Group
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Group is one of the world’s leading industrial groups, spanning energy, smart infrastructure, industrial machinery, aerospace and defense. MHI Group combines cutting-edge technology with deep experience to deliver innovative, integrated solutions that help to realize a carbon neutral world, improve the quality of life and ensure a safer world. For more information, please visit www.mhi.com or follow our insights and stories on spectra.mhi.com.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) and Mitsubishi Logisnext Co., Ltd., a part of MHI Group, have received an order from Kirin Group companies Kirin Beverage Co., Ltd. and Kirin Group Logistics Co., Ltd. for an automated picking system(1) that utilizes the “ΣSynX” (Sigma Synx) solution concept(2) currently being developed by MHI to provide automation and intelligence to enhance the efficiency of picking work in beverage warehouses. The system will be implemented at the Ebina Logistics Center in Ebina, Kanagawa Prefecture, managed by Kirin Group Logistics (East Japan Regional Office, Shonan Branch Office). Full-scale operation is scheduled to begin in December 2024.
The automated picking system is the first automated system in Japan to utilize automated guided forklifts (AGFs), automated guided vehicles (AGVs), and palletizers(3) for the picking process. The system to be delivered to Kirin Group utilizes the ΣSynX solution concept to introduce automation and intelligence for the picking work that up to now has been performed manually by workers, who have also been responsible for considering how to improve efficiency in their picking operations. The system utilizes a proprietary optimization engine and integrated control system to efficiently coordinate multiple AGFs, AGVs, and palletizers in order to reduce the number of picking and transfer operations, optimize the picking process, and improve throughput (processing capacity).
In November 2022, MHI Group and Kirin Group began a joint demonstration project with the aim of introducing MHI Group’s automated picking solutions for beverage warehouses, which require heavy load handling operations by logistics operators(4). An operational process for an automated picking system was established at LogiQ X Lab, a demonstration facility located within Yokohama Hardtech Hub (YHH), MHI’s co-creation space in Honmoku, Yokohama. The project verified the effectiveness of the system for logistics centers, resulting in this order. Going forward, MHI and Mitsubishi Logisnext will continue to verify technologies aimed at the further evolution of automated picking solutions, and work to provide solutions for the challenges facing the logistics industry resulting from the sweeping regulatory changes related to working style reforms to be implemented in 2024.
Logistics operations at beverage warehouses rely mainly on manned forklifts and manual tasks carried out by workers, and companies face challenges for improving the working environment, such as measures to address the shortage of logistics operators, picking of heavy loads, and night work. In addition to the automated picking solutions to be introduced for this project, MHI Group is also developing a variety of solutions for the logistics industry, including the new AGF-X unmanned forklift equipped with ΣSynX to support automated warehousing and retrieval solutions, as well as receiving and shipping for trucks. Through the development of these solutions and their introduction at logistics centers, MHI Group will contribute to solutions for the various challenges facing the beverage industry.
(1) For more information on the automated picking solution developed by MHI Group, please refer to the following press release.https://www.mhi.com/news/22083102.html (2) ΣSynX is MHI’s standard platform for synchronizing and coordinating various types of machinery systems. It brings together a range of digital technologies to make machinery systems intelligent and allow for optimized operation. (3) A palletizer is a device that performs automated placement and stacking of products, such as beverage cases, on pallets. (4) For more information on the start of the joint demonstration of an automated picking solution with Kirin Group, please refer to the following press release.https://www.mhi.com/news/22112101.html
About MHI Group
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Group is one of the world’s leading industrial groups, spanning energy, smart infrastructure, industrial machinery, aerospace and defense. MHI Group combines cutting-edge technology with deep experience to deliver innovative, integrated solutions that help to realize a carbon neutral world, improve the quality of life and ensure a safer world. For more information, please visit www.mhi.com or follow our insights and stories on spectra.mhi.com.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) and Mitsubishi Logisnext Co., Ltd., part of MHI Group, have completed development of an automated picking system. This system integrates automated guided forklifts (AGFs), automated guided vehicles (AGVs) and palletizers(1). “LogiQ X Labo”, a demonstration facility for this new logistics solution, has also opened at Yokohama Hardtech Hub (YHH), a co-creation space operated by MHI in Yokohama. Tours of the demonstration facility will be open to customers from October, to support their consideration of adopting automation and reducing manual labor within their warehouses.
“LogiQ X Labo”, a demonstration facility at YHH
Until now, picking operations in warehouses have depended on workers pursuing efficiency through intense concentration. The newly developed picking system introduces automation and intelligence into the picking process through application of MHI’s “∑SynX” (Sigma Synx) solution(2) concept currently under development. Customized application developed in-house together with an integrated control system enable efficient coordination of multiple AGFs, AGVs and palletizers. This results in fewer picking and transfer operations, optimized picking processing, and higher throughput.
By automating and introducing intelligence into picking operations conventionally performed by numerous workers, the new solution helps to alleviate current shortages of logistics operators, frees workers from the arduous labor of picking heavy items, and contributes to reducing human error.
Because the new solution does not require any large-scale floor construction or modifications, it can be adopted for today’s increasingly prevalent multi-tenant warehouses, and can also respond to sudden changes in customer requirements.
Mitsubishi Logisnext is scheduled to demonstrate how the system feeds stock pallets and delivers palletized pallets using an automated picking system comprising an AGF and AGV at Logis-Tech Tokyo 2022(3), to be held at Tokyo Big Sight commencing September 13.
In the future, MHI and Mitsubishi Logisnext will continue applying the full complement of MHI Group’s capabilities to the development of advanced products, including automated warehousing and shipment systems enabled by ∑SynX, providing optimal solutions to the diverse challenges facing the distribution industry.
(1) A palletizer is a device that performs automated placement and stacking of products on pallets. (2) ∑SynX is MHI’s standard platform for synchronizing and coordinating various machinery systems. It is a consolidation of digital technologies that enable optimized operation by making machinery systems intelligent. (3) For details, visit: https://www.logis-tech-tokyo.com/ltt/index.html
Major Characteristics
– Automated picking system centered on AGFs In this fully automated work system, the AGF supplies items removed from storage shelves to the AGV and palletizer. After picking, finished items are retrieved by AGV and AGF and transferred to storage shelves.
– Proposal of optimum equipment configuration through logistics simulation prior to system adoption Distribution flow is simulated prior to system installation based on the customer’s historical picking data. A proposal is made of the optimal equipment configuration and layout to satisfy the customer’s needs.
– Optimal equipment coordination through adoption of MHI’s integrated control system AGFs, AGVs and palletizers are coordinated efficiently through use of MHI’s integrated control system. The adoption of optimized logic responds to needs using the minimal number of palletizing operations.
About MHI Group
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Group is one of the world’s leading industrial groups, spanning energy, smart infrastructure, industrial machinery, aerospace and defense. MHI Group combines cutting-edge technology with deep experience to deliver innovative, integrated solutions that help to realize a carbon neutral world, improve the quality of life and ensure a safer world. For more information, please visit www.mhi.com or follow our insights and stories on spectra.mhi.com.
Unlike cargo handling with fixed equipment such as the shelves and conveyers inside logistics centers, loading work for trucks requires adjustments to be made to loading positions according to the type of truck and its parked location. In addition, because of the need to minimize the turnaround time for trucks, loading work is currently conducted mainly with manned forklifts.
