Articulated efficiency
February 1st 2009 How Bendi articulated trucks could halve your energy costs
Heating, lighting and maintenance all
play their part in the increasing costs
of operating a warehouse, as well as
the costs of the property and staffing. Under
increasing pressure to trim these costs and
reduce carbon emissions, warehouse
operators are recognising that the spacesaving
abilities of Bendi articulated trucks also
create opportunities for very significant
energy savings compared to premises using
counterbalance, VNA or reach trucks.
As a rule, warehouses designed for
counterbalance or reach trucks with
adjustable pallet racking are the least space
efficient, with typical aisle widths from 2.8m
to 4m+ in common use. However, aisle width
is only part of the equation.
Turning and loading/
unloading space at the ends
of the aisles also means for
lost space. Many VNA (Very
Narrow Aisle) machines
achieve the same aisle widths
as Bendis but require on
average 30% of the
warehouse to be dedicated to
transfer aisles, marshalling
areas and P&D stations (to
hold stock going to and from
the VNA racking). This wasted
space costs money to build, heat,
light, maintain, plus rent and rates.
Fresh air in your warehouse costs you!
Take a look in your warehouse. How much of
it is fresh air? Imagine a 100m x 120m
warehouse, 10m high block stacked to the
roof with 100,000 off 1m tall blue Chep
pallets stacked floor to ceiling, back to front. If
the rates, rent, lights, staff and equipment
costs etc, come to X£ per month, then the
cost per pallet stored is X/100,000 per month.
This storage method is utopian and rarely
suits real life warehousing in terms of stock
rotation, accessibility or the ability of products
to support themselves whilst stacked this way.
More often than not, product has to be 100%
accessible. This is why APR is so prevalent.
Using APR and a standard counterbalance,
the building will only store 10,496 pallets
(assuming a 4m aisle and counterbalances
being limited to about 6m of lift, so the
product can only be stacked 4 high allowing
for clearances). In this example, the
warehouse is only utilising a miniscule 10% of
its total cubic space, leaving 90% as very
costly fresh air! The storage cost per pallet is
X£/10,496, of which energy for light and heat
makes a significant percentage.
A reach truck, working in a 2.85m aisle but
allowing a 15m marshalling/drop area for the
counterbalance, because the reach is
unsuitable to go outside, will store 20,720
pallets, if stored 7 high. This is almost twice
the storage capacity of a standard
counterbalance, cutting the storage cost per
pallet by almost half – and this is why they are
so popular throughout the world.
The next step up in efficiency is brought by
wire guided VNA's working in 1850mm aisles,
with a 7m end of aisle transfer (the space
required to move from aisle to aisle). This
solution requires an additional 15m
marshalling/drop area for the pallet trucks or
counterbalance trucks to take pallets
to and from the system, so storing 7
high will squeeze in 24,500 racked
pallets. This equates to 3,780 more
pallets or 18% more than the
warehouse with reach trucks, with
the corresponding improvements in
building energy utilisation.
In the 1960s this was the state-ofthe
art warehouse solution.
However, the need for flat floors,
guidance systems, slow throughputs
and additional equipment adds cost
and complexity. These were the
factors which inspired Freddy Brown, the
pioneer of man-up VNA, to develop a better
and more cost-effective solution:
the Bendi.
Save space, time and energy
A Bendi truck working in 1696mm
aisles (1,600mm is the minimum
aisle width – building permitting)
will also store 7 high but only
requires a transfer aisle of 2.6m, which unlike
VNA's can be bridged*. This configuration
achieves 30,680 pallets stored. That's almost
50% more than the reach truck and 25%
more than the VNA – therefore offering
significantly lower costs and a much smaller
carbon footprint per pallet stored. In fact the
Bendi offers the same storage capacity as a
warehouse operating counterbalance trucks
in just 33% of the space! That makes the
warehouse with Bendis 66% more energy
efficient.
More versatility, less compromise
As described previously, 'lost' storage space at
the end of aisles can be greatly reduced when
operating articulated trucks. This is not only
because the trucks are more manoeuvrable,
but also because there's no requirement for
other types of vehicle within the warehouse,
to load and unload alongside the warehouse
trucks. Bendi articulated trucks can stack and
de-stack pallets and load or unload them to or
from lorries in your yard, saving space and
time – and reducing carbon emissions.
No specialist floor requirements
The outstanding stability and improved point
loading characteristics of Bendi articulated
trucks allows their immediate use in all
warehouses, including those with standard
floor finishes and speculatively built flatness
grades as commonly in use with
counterbalance trucks – even where racking
up to 12m high is used. This eliminates the
requirement for costly specialist flooring or
grinding of existing floors. There is also no
requirement for guidance rails or wires as is
usually the case with VNA systems.
Additionally, Bendi articulated trucks are
able to operate in external yards – even
where the ground is uneven or broken.
Efficient warehousing? We wrote the
book
Translift Bendi has produced a comprehensive
guidebook, covering all aspects of articulated
truck theory and practice. Entitled The
Warehouse Revolution, the book is available
from Translift Bendi.
* Bridging (or often referred to as 'tunnel') is a
term used to describe an area at the end or
middle of the racking that allows the truck to
drive through the racks whilst products are
stored overhead. More articles from Bendi: | 
