SCDigest Editorial Staff

As one of the last areas to become automated in distribution, improved management of fork trucks using  a new generation of technology has become a fast growing application space, with technology solutions coming from both fork truck vendors themselves as well as a number of independent software providers.

Generally called Vehicle Management Systems (VMS), these applications in general combine on-board tracking technology and a variety of sensors to help DC managers better understand how lift trucks and drivers are actually operating in the facility. The systems can help improve areas ranging from maintenance to driver productivity to traffic patterns and congestion points in the facility.

But are today's VMS solutions really enough to deliver optimal levels of lift truck performance in the distribution center?

For many companies the answer is no, says Toby Rush, president of Rush Tracking Systems. He argues that unless companies also look at inventory accuracy at the load and location level, they are missing substantial opportunities to improve lift truck performance by eliminating wasted time making unnecessary moves or searching for product.

Rush Tracking has been focused on using RFID, positioning systems and other technologies to provide comprehensive, real-time inventory visibility. It increasingly found, however, that those kinds of capabilities can deliver not only near perfect levels of inventory accuracy, but also advanced lift truck management and performance optimization as well.

During a recent Videocast on The Supply Chain Television Channel, Rush said there were three key factors to optimizing total DC performance:

• Inventory Management
• Lift Truck of Vehicle Management
• Labor Management

All three areas, he noted, impact the others in terms of DC efficiency and cost. Rush provided a simple video example using scaled down floor stacked loads of how easy it is for fork truck movements to increase and inventory to become misplaced when relying on traditional bar code scanning techniques. When moving loads in a floor stacked area, those movements are rarely tracked, Rush said, because of the time required to scan the loads and the fact that to the Warehouse Management System, it is all one location.

(The full videocast is available here: Videocast:  Achieving Real-Time Inventory Visibility + Optimizing Lift Truck Performance in the DC.)

A real-time RFID positioning system can identify the load and location to within just an inch or two anywhere in the DC automatically, without operator action, Rush said.

"With traditional bar code and RF, you only scan the stuff the WMS wants you to move," Rush said. "If there is something in the way, and I have to move a load over here, or dig or shuffle loads, or as I am taking things to staging and putting them down, you won't pick up any of those moves through the WMS, and inventory becomes misplaced."

(Distribution Article - Continued Below)

Lift Truck Management Maturity Model

Rush offered a set of distribution center maturity models across inventory, vehicle and labor management, with much of the conversation focused on the vehicle management side.

Rush sees four levels of lift truck management maturity:

Level 1: Basic supervisor observation, using manual/experienced-based approaches

Level 2: Maintenance and safety focused vehicle management, where some electronic tools are used, but they are limited in scope to the vehicles themselves, not broader DC performance

Level 3: Productivity Analytics, which use more advanced software tools to understand some of what in going on in terms of lift truck and driver efficiency, generally by looking at reports about how much time drivers spent driving, stopped, etc., and some understanding of movement paths.

Level 4: Real-time vehicle tracking, which integrates vehicle management with real-time inventory tracking.

Source: Rush Tracking

"The impact of knowing exactly where your inventory is in the DC within an inch or two can have a significant impact on lift truck productivity," Rush says. "When you add these kinds of capabilities, the traditional vehicle management capabilities come along almost for free."

Rush noted, for example, that the detailed, real-time positioning systems will offer the capability for "accident avoidance" by sending instant audio and visual signals to drivers if it appears there is a risk, for example, of two trucks colliding.

One challenge, of course, is defining the scope of the problem/opportunity to begin with. Vehicle Management System projects often do arise from the maintenance organization, and in some cases that may be the appropriate level of system and capabilities for a given organization.

However, Rush said, when such a project arises it should often be a catalyst to take a deeper look at what kinds of capabilities the distribution center really needs, and to better understand what factors - such as inventory accuracy and current handling processes - really drive lift truck performance.

What are your thoughts on Vehicle Management Systems? Do you like this maturity model? What would you add or change? Let us know your thoughts at the Feedback button below.

SCDigest is Twittering!

Follow us now at https://twitter.com/scdigest