The economics of the airline industry make it critical that planes remain in service as much as possible. This requires well-managed maintenance facilities. Continental Airlines recently built a new maintenance building at its Newark hub to better serve the airline's growth.

Land is very expensive in metro New York, so finding a space-saving solution for storage of the service parts here was essential. The airline installed six vertical lift modules that hold these important parts and tools in a manner that makes them readily available and in proper condition as defined by Federal Aviation Administration requirements.

'By using these storage units, we have saved over 90% of our floor space and increased inventory accuracy,' says Frank Eliano, the materials storage manager for Continental.

Each of the modules is 32 feet high and can hold over 99,000 total pounds. Individual storage trays each have a capacity of 550 pounds. The internal picking bay makes it easy for workers to pick parts. And a user-friendly touch screen assures proper security so that only authorized personnel have access to the stocked parts.

Continental is so pleased with the storage systems that it has ordered six more units. Its ground service equipment group has also purchased and installed a smaller unit to store parts and tooling for the airport ground equipment. That unit is 18 feet high and has an overall capacity of 132,000 pounds, with each tray holding 1,100 pounds.