Thinking about automation? Don't miss the mezzanine revolution!
Automation and robotics are all about creating competitive advantage, streamlining logistics, shipping and transport operations, eliminating errors, speeding up throughput and optimising space …
And optimising space is just what mezzanines are all about. Giving you two, three or four times the capacity by making full use of your headroom.
Hi-Level Mezzanines design, manufacture and install mezzanine floors built specifically to withstand the pressures of automation and robotics.
So if you are considering introducing automation, mezzanines can be an integral part of the process. Installed to maximise unused vertical space, providing additional room above and below, they are cost-effective space creators that can carry all types of material handling equipment.
If you are making the transition, you are certainly with the zeitgeist. Seven in ten organisations in the UK believe their warehouse operations and IT infrastructure require some or a lot of improvement, and the same proportion of IT and operational decision-makers believe partial automation or augmentation is the best way to optimise operational processes. [sources: Zebra Technologies and Manhattan Associates.]
Introducing automation to your business is not without its difficulties, of course. Six in ten agree that IT and technology use is their biggest operational challenge now and within the next five years.
The good news is that, whether you’re thinking about free-roaming autonomous mobile robots, mobile racking or automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS), installing a mezzanine can make everything easier.
Not enough room for automation?
If your challenge is to find space for robotics and automation, there is no need to move premises. While it might be tempting to start afresh and shift operations to a new warehouse or distribution centre, the costs and inconvenience can be prohibitive.
How mezzanines solve the challenge
Mezzanines allow your automation to expand upwards rather than being limited to the ground floor. Businesses introducing automation under pressure from competitors find that mezzanines are quicker and easier to install than moving to new premises, with all the costs, effort and hassle that hunting for a new building involves. Mezzanines mean more space and less trouble. They can also be far less disruptive than moving to a new location. For global online retail giant ASOS we installed mezzanines to create space for several new conveyor systems, provide additional storage and overall streamline the automation process inside a distribution centre in Yorkshire. ASOS was able to maintain production during the building work to ensure it continued to meet demand.
Hampered by labour shortages and spiralling labour costs?
With higher National Insurance and minimum wage rates, turning to automation and robotics can offer significant savings.
How mezzanines solve the challenge
Mezzanines help growing businesses make space for fully automated systems that can reduce labour costs by 50%, but some of the best value comes from better collaboration with a company’s human workforce, liberated to perform more engaging and higher-skilled tasks. Sportswear brand Puma was able to double productivity at its distribution centre in Phoenix, Arizona, using an AS/RS system. It has increased its warehouse inventory capacity tenfold, shortened priority shipping from days to hours and increased accuracy to 99%. Mezzanines – whether one tier, two or more – make this possible for ambitious companies.
Hi-Level Mezzanines client Jaguar Land Rover is investing in automation as it launches two new paints shops, one in the West Midlands and one in Slovakia, as part of a £65 million expansion. Fully automated spray robots are expected to reduce paint waste by 30% compared with painting by hand.
Daunted by hefty capital investment?
While the holy grail is affordable automation, it is wise to be selective when deploying capital expenditure. Automation can be expensive and there are also the complications of integrating new systems with current IT and equipment already in place.
How mezzanines can solve the challenge
Mezzanines can be designed and installed to allow scope for more tiers to be added as a business develops. You can future-proof your premises as technology and automation evolve, while avoiding higher up-front costs. Mezzanines can be reshaped, extended and reduced quickly as required, as well as providing flexibility for changes in product storage and production capacity.
“Space utilisation sees remarkable improvements through automation with most facilities reporting 40% to 60% better use of vertical space,” Dan Myers, Managing Director for UK and Ireland at XPO Logistics told Logistics Manager. Mezzanines are key to reaping maximum benefits.
Need help taking the weight?
Heavy-duty equipment such as conveyor systems and robotic machinery place a substantial load on ground slabs and mezzanines floors.
How mezzanines solve the challenge
Hi-Level Mezzanines can design mezzanine floors for most static and dynamic loads produced by automated equipment. Our unrivalled experience within the sector (with a collective +200 years’ experience across Hi-Level’s personnel), the technical expertise of our Structural Engineers and our continuous dedication to raising the standards of the industry mean we can solve challenges that others cannot.
When Next, one of the UK’s best-known fashion retailers, wanted to convert a warehouse into a new distribution centre near Rotherham, Hi-Level Mezzanines had the expertise needed. The project included a two-tier, 24,000m² mezzanine floor capable of bearing a load of 6kN/m² to support a specialist conveyor belt sortation system that transports goods around the warehouse in preparation for dispatch to stores and mail-order customers.
Not ready for full automation yet?
If the outlay, logistics or your company’s current needs mean you are not yet ready for full automation, hybrid operations can be the answer. Robots can assist with picking to meet spikes in demand, streamlining systems and reducing lead times for happier customers. Many companies begin with a small quantity of robots and as their business grows, add more. But how do you plan the capacity to do this?
How mezzanines solve the challenge
Just as robots are eminently scalable, so are mezzanines, and they can be installed just as easily.
Pharmaceutical client Chemist 4 U has installed a half-automated, half-manual system, where robots pick items from the mezzanine storage area and deliver them downstairs to be checked manually by a pharmacist. If you are thinking of starting your journey with automated solutions without converting your whole operation straight away, mezzanines can add value.
Worried about floor damage?
Heavy equipment for automation and the tracks left by busy robots can wreak havoc with the wrong flooring.
How mezzanines solve the challenge
Our revolutionary robot-ready Hi-Tile flooring has been purposely designed to withstand the weight and wear of automation. Its seamless interlocking joints, electrostatic resistance and anti-slip surface make it the perfect partner to robotics solutions. We will collaborate with you to ensure your ground slabs, mezzanine decks and flooring are all fit for purpose.
Planning to work at grand scale?
Complex automation installations need outstanding technical expertise. Who can you trust to get it right?
How mezzanines solve the challenge
Hi-Level is extremely proud to have designed, manufactured and installed bespoke mezzanine solutions at multiple Amazon sites, completing over 25 projects since 2006. These have included an open support structure in the company’s Derby sortation facility where thousands of robot drive units pick up mobile shelves of products and take them to employees who select the items they need for each order. Items are placed in plastic crates that are carried to the packaging areas on conveyors running on our mezzanine floors. In all, we have installed 22 various-sized mezzanine platforms to carry different conveyors at the site.
When the stakes are high and you need exceptional engineering expertise, trust Hi-Level Mezzanines.
