Industrial Manufacturing

Industrial production is facing major upheavals. Industry standard 4.0 and the associated increase in digitalisation, automation and networking will completely change industrial production. In smart production, all components are networked with each other via the Internet of Things and exchange data. Cyber-physical systems enable self-organisation and adaptation to changing production conditions and the order situation in the company. Production is fully automated, making human intervention much less necessary. Even batch size 1 - i.e. customised products for mass production - is possible. Smart manufacturing encompasses many different technologies such as the exchange of data between machines, sensors and people via the internet (Industrial Internet of Things, IIdD), the processing and analysis possibilities of big data, advanced robotics, rapid prototyping, 3D printing, augmented reality and much more.

Industrial production is facing major upheavals. Industry standard 4.0 and the associated increase in digitalisation, automation and networking will completely change industrial production. In smart production, all components are networked with each other via the Internet of Things and exchange data. Cyber-physical systems enable self-organisation and adaptation to changing production conditions and the order situation in the company. Production is fully automated, making human intervention much less necessary. Even batch size 1 - i.e. customised products for mass production - is possible. Smart manufacturing encompasses many different technologies such as the exchange of data between machines, sensors and people via the internet (Industrial Internet of Things, IIdD), the processing and analysis possibilities of big data, advanced robotics, rapid prototyping, 3D printing, augmented reality and much more.

Of course, intelligent manufacturing only makes sense in the context of "lean production" and "lean logistics", as in all cases it is about efficiency. Lean logistics can be described as a way of eliminating wasteful processes from supply chains in order to increase product flow and speed. Kanban is a system for controlling the flow of materials and production according to the pull principle. Production control is decentralised with the help of data cards - known as Kanban in Japanese. They are used to trigger individual production and logistics processes. Nowadays, however, storage media such as barcodes or RFID chips are used instead of Kanban cards. The data or production order is transmitted via WIFI to the warehouse management system, ERP system or the relevant component supplier. The Kanban system also means that items and components are only delivered when they are needed (just-in-time (JIT) delivery). This in turn leads to a lean warehouse in the company.

In industrial production - whether metal processing, the chemical industry or large-scale plant construction - reliable, robust and flexible logistics systems are essential. Raw materials and semi-finished products must be available on time (JIT). Transparent stocks and material flows using RFID and barcodes are one of many important elements in production logistics. Just as development cycles are becoming shorter and shorter, intralogistics must also coordinate quantities and variants with increasing flexibility. In industrial production, perfectly coordinated logistics is the basis for maintaining a competitive edge in international competition.

BITO has special shelving systems and containers for Kanban systems and logistics in its programme. These include C-parts bins, which combine the advantages of shelving and open-fronted storage bins, and Euromodule bins. Naturally, all containers can be equipped with barcodes or RFID. The mobile pallet racking system PROmobile and PROmobile synchro is particularly suitable when storage space needs to be utilised to the maximum and access to all individual containers must be guaranteed. It is particularly ideal for a wide range of goods and for batch size 1. Other good applications and use cases include changing product ranges or seasonal fluctuations in manufacturing and production. The driverless container transport system LEO Locative from BITO is particularly suitable for use in automated processes and automated production due to its flexibility, plug-and-play application, independent commissioning, low acquisition costs and decentralised control. LEO saves a lot of walking distances and minimises the strain on employees.

Of course, BITO offers many other warehouse technology components for industrial production, such as static and dynamic racking systems, single racking and multi-storey racking systems, storage, transport and picking containers.