Storage/Staging: Vertical lift module saves space and strengthens ergonomics

Rimer Enterprises in Waterville, Ohio, produces precision investment castings for electrical, food processing, mechanical, marine, textile, machine tool and other commercial market applications. To improve the safety and productivity of die handling, the company installed a shuttle vertical lift module (VLM).

Until recently, smaller dies in the 5- to 40-pound range were stored in steel shelving 8 feet high, 40 to 45 feet long and about 20 feet wide. To locate a specific die, associates had to search the shelves and often climb a ladder for retrieval. Sometimes, associates had difficulty locating a die, particularly on lower shelves where lighting was dim. Then, associates would physically remove the die and carry it to the production area.

“The die retrieval process had the potential to result in an injury of some sort,” says Chuck Myers, president of Rimer Enterprises. “To protect our employees, we needed to find a better ergonomic way of storing and retrieving these dies.”
The new VLM automated storage and retrieval system has reduced the potential for work-related injuries and has recovered more than 90% of otherwise wasted floor space, from 900 square feet to 80 square feet. The VLM is an enclosed system of vertically arranged trays, an extraction platform and a series of controls that automatically delivers stored items to an ergonomically positioned work counter for employee retrieval.

“Because the VLM offers us a significant ergonomic improvement, we were able to secure a grant from the State of Ohio that helped offset our cost for the unit,” Myers says. “The reduction of the potential for just one back injury pays for the system.”
In the new system, an associate locates the die needed in the spreadsheet with its corresponding tray number and then keys the tray number into the storage unit using a keypad. The shuttle VLM automatically delivers the correct storage tray to the associate. Each tray has a capacity of 850 pounds and keeps stored molds cleaner than if they were stored on an open shelf.

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