Since storage space is becoming increasingly expensive, it is necessary to use it as efficiently as possible with high bay systems. For Kiefel GmbH, a member of the Brückner Group, phil-vision worked closely with Kardex to develop the VIS.tray system, a solution for maximum utilisation of available space that is optimally integrated into the Kardex high-bay towers.

For example, Kiefel GmbH stocks up to 14,000 parts in a high-bay system at the Freilassing site on around 1400 m² of storage space with a footprint of 120 m². The main objectives for switching to a Kardex high-bay tower system were to achieve more storage space on a smaller footprint than before and to make the warehouse more comfortable. One challenge in designing the system was the variety of goods to be stored, which vary greatly in type and size and range from labels and small parts to tools, motors, and bulk materials.

The images of the trays as well as the present loading status are stored in a database so that the employees can easily decide which tray has enough space to accommodate new parts by scrolling through the images. If the sum of the weight already stored and the new parts to be added still lies below the maximum permissible load, the employee can request the selected tray via a connected touch panel PC with one click and store the new parts.

Shortly before the tray with the new goods is put back into the high rack, a new image is captured and stored in the database, overwriting the previous image in the process. This way the images are always up to date.