What is a high-bay warehouse?
A high-bay warehouse is a warehouse with shelving, or more precisely, a storage system featuring high-bay racks. It can range in height from 12 to a maximum of 50 meters. This results in highly efficient use of space and storage capacity for anywhere from a few hundred to tens of thousands of pallet spaces. High-bay warehouses—also known as HRL for short—are usually steel structures, but in some cases they can also be made of wood.
Variants
There are various types of high-bay warehouses: for example, fully automated high-bay warehouses with a silo-style design, but manually operated racking systems are also possible. In between, there are several other design variations and configurations. For instance, the term “silo-style design” is used when the racking is constructed in such a way that it supports both the roof and the facade.
Single-depth storage is the most commonly used storage method because, unlike double-depth racking, it allows direct access to the picking stations and thus to the goods. This is the most common storage principle, as only one storage unit is stored at a time in the depth of the racks. Therefore, single-depth storage is very well suited for automation, for example, for an automated small parts warehouse (AKL).
What is a high-bay warehouse used for?
A high-bay warehouse is used for storing goods and merchandise. A distinction is made between long goods and flat goods. When storing goods on pallets in the pallet warehouse, care should be taken to ensure optimal use of space in order to maximize the capacity of all storage areas.
How does a high-bay warehouse work?
The process of storing and retrieving pallets in a high-bay warehouse is managed by a warehouse management system (WMS) or warehouse management software. This system communicates with a material flow computer and controls the flow of materials, including the conveyor systems, stacker cranes (RBG), and any other equipment operated by various trades within the building (warehouse or high-bay warehouse).
In every aisle between two rows of racks, there is both a putaway and a retrieval area. Here, in the so-called pre-zone of a high-bay warehouse, goods are delivered and picked up by the stacker crane for putaway or set down for retrieval.
Storing and retrieving goods is accomplished by moving the stacker crane in the longitudinal direction, e.g., on rails. Stacker cranes can be controlled automatically or manually. Stacker cranes are operated manually when “person-to-goods” picking takes place in the pre-zone. When “goods-to-person” picking is performed, the stacker crane is controlled automatically. In automatic mode, this part of the warehouse must be secured against access by people using fences, light barriers, etc.
In an automated high-bay warehouse, the movement of individual load units to the forklift transfer points is handled by the conveyor system. Conveyor systems also include components such as chain conveyors, lift tables, vertical conveyors, and automated guided vehicles. If the high-bay warehouse is manually operated, the frontmost bays in the racks are designated as forklift transfer points.
Advantages
- Minimal use of staff
- Optimal use of space
- Quick loading and unloading of goods
- Direct access to individual pallets
- Easy adaptation to changes in the product range
- Multiple application and integration options with other systems are available, particularly for order processing at picking stations, such as with Pick-by-Light, Voice Picking, etc.
Disadvantages
- Very high investment costs
- Extensive planning is required even before the system goes live
- Risk of total failure
- High-bay warehouses have limited expansion potential
Conclusion
Although implementing this warehousing solution requires a significant investment, high-bay warehouses have become indispensable in both logistics and intralogistics.
Thanks to the use and flexibility of various picking systems and solutions, combined with an effective warehouse management and material flow system, a high-bay warehouse is ideally suited for storage and order picking.