Here’s a great video of an AGV being used in a Very Narrow Aisle Racking system. An AGV is an Automated Guidance Vehicle. AGV’s use laser guidance systems to follow predefined paths.

For VNA, or very narrow aisle racks, a forklift cannot turn around in the aisle to face each pallet. Usually special forklifts which load and unload from the side are used. With high racking systems it can be hard for the forklift operator to line up the forks to the pallet, especially when loading from the side.

This makes an automated forklift the perfect solution for VNA racks. An AGV will use it’s guidance system to load and unload from a precise location, with no guesswork required.

Additionally, with narrow aisles there’s plenty of opportunity for a forklift driver to make an error and hit the side of the rack. The smaller the aisle, the more risk there is. The whole purpose of VNA racking is to save space, so the aisles should be designed as small as possible.

Although an automated solution has different challenges with set-up and maintenance, when it’s running correctly, it doesn’t make mistakes. There’s no operator fatigue or driver error.

This video shows one example of an AGV operating within very narrow aisle racks. There are different automated systems that are used with VNA racks, and the video shows individual AGV’s. Some systems use large automated gantry-style lifts that are part of the rack system.

Check out the video and feel free to comment on whether you’ve used this type of AGV system. How accurate are they?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jr0H9CmSuic[/youtube]