Designing Floors for G2P Automation
Structural design and detailing for Automated Warehouse Floors
When first starting with the automation of a warehouse, it is worth noting that technology alone cannot create a perfect operation, the basics need to be in place first. These must start with the working platform of your operation – the warehouse floor.
The growth in the adoption of automated technology within warehouses has dictated specialist services be available for the floors on which the operation is dependent.
Face Consultants have the facilities and expertise to design the ground floor slabs for automated warehouses.
Using tools such as Finite Element Analysis software, we can assess how your warehouse floor may react to the operational loading from the use of automated technology such as Automated Mobile Robots (AMRs), Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems (ASRS), Collaborative Robots (Cobots) and Goods-to-Person (G2P) technology. We can, therefore, design ground floor slabs for automated warehouse floors which consider all interfaces, are fit for purpose and are bespoke to your requirements.
Considerations for the design of your warehouse floor must first look at the automation which will be used, and how it is being used.
Methods of Automation
Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs)
AGVs such as automated forklift trucks for loading and unloading, robotic palletizing solutions, or the transportation of inventory, typically follow magnetic stripes, or a track laid in the warehouse.
The floor serviceability requirements, including joint design / load transfer are key design considerations.
Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs)
AMRs don’t follow a set track between locations. Instead they create their own routes based on information given and will reroute when necessary to avoid obstacles on the warehouse floor, such as other AMR’s.
Finished floor surface characteristics are usually crucial to the successful operation of this type of robotics system, such as surface gloss, friction, abrasion resistance, and micro roughness.
Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems (ASRS)
ASRS appear in a multitude of formats including, but not limited to cranes, carousels, vertical lift modules (VLMs), shuttles, micro-loads and ‘Modular Cube Based Storage Systems’.
With ASRS systems, heavy and dynamic loadings are a major consideration for the floor design. It is also important that the floor complies with settlement and differential settlement to FEM limits.
Automated systems, robots, and vehicles are utilised to increase delivery speed, decrease human error, and improve customer satisfaction – the golden grail of any automated warehouse. However, the floor design is imperative for an efficient and effective automated warehouse.
Automated Warehouse Floor Design Review
Face Consultants also provide completely independent critical reviews of Design Engineers’ automated warehouse flooring proposals.
Each project is evaluated independently, but typically encompass the evaluation of:
- All loadings, including interfaces with one another / joints / slab edge etc.
- The design thickness and methods / appropriateness of proposed reinforcement.
- The joint layout and how the slab will be constructed.
- The design of the joints and isolation details.
- The detailed specification document, particularly in regard to the performance requirements / surface characteristics of the slab.
- The concrete mix design and technical data sheets for all products to be used in the construction of the floor.
- Recommendations / findings by the Geotechnical Engineer and how that might impact on the slab design and function in use.
