Simplifying Intralogistics: Overcoming Complexity with Automated Guided Vehicles
When companies introduce automation and emerging technologies to streamline material movement, they often find unexpected complexities that disrupt operations. Brice Bucher, Senior Manager of Products at Flexware Innovation, steps up to the whiteboard in this informative video to break down these challenges and offer insights into how to overcome them.
Understanding Intralogistics
Intralogistics refers to the movement of materials within a facility, from the moment they arrive at receiving until they leave through shipping. The processes involved are conceptually simple, but can become increasingly complex as automation is introduced.
The Intralogistics Model
The model outlined in the video, while applied to manufacturing, is versatile enough to be relevant to warehousing and distribution industries as well.
The three main process areas within a manufacturing facility are:
- Receiving: Where raw materials arrive, are off-loaded, stored and then staged for manufacturing.
- Manufacturing: Where materials are processed into finished goods sometimes involving several sub-processes and interactions of various equipment.
- Shipping: The final process where finished goods are either stored or loaded onto trucks for shipment and delivery.
The Systems Behind the Processes
Bucher outlined a five level hierarchy adapted from the ISA-95 model in explaining the systems that manage these processes:
- ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning): Top-level systems that integrate business processes, financials, and high-level planning across the organization.
- Operational Management: Translates ERP data to plans that can be executed on the shop floor and in logistics; it includes MES and WMS.
- SCADA: This layer provides interfaces to control equipment and monitor the processes. This layer is critical to dispatching tasks and managing automated vehicles.
- Control Systems: These systems control the shop floor equipment, including PLCs which automate machinery and ensure smooth operations.
- Resources: This is the foundation of the model and consists of the vehicles, machines, and sensors that undertake the actual work of moving material .
The Challenge of Complexity
Moving material from receiving to manufacturing and on to shipping seems straightforward, but quickly becomes complex. Many organizations realize this with the addition of AGVs, AMRs, and other automation that must be integrated with existing systems described above. Each must communicate well to run seamlessly; but in reality, these systems are often disconnected.
Bridging the Gap
Many automated intralogistics challenges are based on two root causes: disconnected systems and process complexity. After years of on-the-ground consulting and integration, Flexware Innovation experts advocate for the use of middleware to connect isolated systems and simplify processes.
Integration ensures that systems communicate with one another, closing the gaps that inevitably disrupt operations. And simplification addresses the need to define complex business logic in the movement of materials and then easily make changes, all without deep technical expertise.
The Way Forward
By implementing middleware that connects systems and simplifies processes, manufacturers can unlock hidden value and ROI. This approach not only facilitates automation but also makes it scalable across the organization, enabling manufacturers to realize the full benefits of their intralogistics systems.
As automation evolves, the ability to integrate and simplify systems will be key to maintaining efficiency and competitiveness in manufacturing. Future discussions will delve deeper into these topics, exploring how to maximize the value of intralogistics automation.
Let’s Talk
Since 1996, Flexware Innovation has helped some of the world’s largest, most complex, and highest regulated manufacturers with the challenges you’ll face. If you’d like to learn how we can save significant time and investment in your AGV / AMR implementation, let’s talk.