Flying a helicopter to a remote oil rig 200 miles out at sea is a risky business. The pilots who fly these high-tech choppers need to know they have dependable machines. They rely on skilled maintenance people to keep them in the air.

Petroleum Helicopters Inc. (PHI) is one of the world's leading helicopter service companies. The Lafayette, La.-based firm provides routine maintenance and repair work for helicopter fleets that work on oil rigs, mining operations, medical transport, and technical services industries.

The company has based its service operations at the Lafayette Regional Airport since 1949. Recent expansion of the terminal there forced PHI to relocate to an adjacent 27-acre site, where it built a navigation and communication work area, engine overhaul facilities and a parts warehouse.

At the heart of the warehouse are storage systems that handle the wide variety of the company's repair parts, including a combination of solutions that save space and processing time, while increasing productivity.

'Eighty percent of our parts are small aircraft parts,' says Wayne LeBlanc, manager of the warehouse department at PHI. 'We purchased 110 cabinets to store them and to keep them free from dust. The cabinets also help us control the climate in which they are stored. This is important, as aircraft parts can be very sensitive to the elements. We also purchased a STAK system for the larger parts.'

The STAK system is composed of flexible storage shelves erected on either side of an aisle. The spacing between shelves can be adjusted according to the product stored, which provides very dense storage. Items are stored on the shelves upon removable pallets that are lifted into place using a powered ergonomic assist device. The device rides on rails positioned above the aisle. Together, the rails and the assist device provide full four-axis-positioning.

One person operates the system, lifting the product and pallet into the assigned location. Picks are made in reverse, as the operator moves the capture-and-handling device to the precise position and pulls the pallet.

The assist device requires much less space to operate than that needed by a lift truck, providing this system with very dense storage in a small footprint. The system also increases productivity, as picks can be made much quicker than those performed using a lift truck.

In addition to the storage, the facility also purchased workbenches for repairing navigation and communications equipment such as radar, transponders and radios. These units are very susceptible to damage by static, which is a constant threat in the Louisiana humidity. The new benches are designed to provide complete static discharge for both the work and the repairman.