Businesses require various efficient energy solutions to increase uptime, reduce costs and meet consumer demands for speed and sustainability. The right partner can provide an energy solution for not only where your operation needs to be now but where you want to be in the future.
Maximize your current operations first
It’s essential to understand your current power consumption before looking at ways to optimize energy solutions. Optimization is critical for any warehouse, but even more so when a facility looks to upgrade technologies. Warehouse operations data collected during the optimization process can reveal inefficiencies to guide future decisions about implementing solutions to solve existing problems.
Taking steps to determine a clear picture of things like duty-cycle requirements or how much equipment is being used during the day can help you understand the energy you need and what type of energy best fits your needs. It is possible to optimize and improve energy efficiency by taking a step back to evaluate your current operation in relation to where you want to be. Utilizing an energy consultant can help you further identify inefficiencies and implement small changes that make a large impact on your energy consumption.
Implementing solutions beyond batteries
Beyond batteries, there are other ways to address your energy needs. For example, data reports can provide insights around operator utilization, their productivity, the age of your equipment and batteries, and projected business growth.
Telematics solutions, labor management tools, and similar data analysis systems can measure and interpret data collected from your warehouse to establish a baseline efficiency. With the baseline established, you can identify critical operating inefficiencies, leading to new labor and fleet optimization opportunities. In addition, data can provide the insights needed to understand operations better and find solutions to maximize uptime and productivity.
Finding the right provider
When making energy decisions, it’s essential to work with an energy provider who understands material handling equipment and sustainability needs since energy is not a “one size fits all” solution. A good partner will evaluate your operation to help determine the right energy solutions for your unique needs.
It’s also essential to make sure your chosen partner has the most reliable energy solutions offerings that meet nationally recognized safety standards like UL listing, among other things. It’s important to understand that not all lithium-ion batteries are created the same. Chemistries, manufacturing processes, materials, and testing protocols will differ from offering to offering. Underwriters Laboratories (UL) assists in navigating these complexities.
Growth and change in the material-handling industry have been — and continue to be — a tremendous driving force for new technology and its integration.
To satisfy growing customer expectations of increased product availability, faster response times, and overall lowered delivery costs, warehouses and distribution centers are investing in advanced technologies to address these needs. Lithium-ion batteries are more efficient than lead-acid batteries, helping reduce the overall cost of ownership. With proper use, operators can extend the useful life of lithium-ion batteries and improve productivity with opportunity charging, which eliminates much of the need for recharging mid-shift and associated operator downtime.
In an industry that is constantly evolving, making small, but instrumental changes, is the key to maintaining profitable, productive, and sustainable operations.