Vertical Lift Modules or Horizontal Carousels: Which ASRS Systems are Right for Your Facility?Horizontal Carousels and Vertical Lift Modules are ASRS Systems

Which automated storage and retrieval systems are right for your facility, Vertical Lift Modules or Horizontal Carousels? It’s a question that comes up a lot, and because both automated storage and retrieval systems offer many of the same benefits it can be hard to decide. However, there are some key differences that we are going to explore that will help you in deciding what is most important to you so that we can ultimately help you find an answer to the question: Vertical Lift Modules  or Horizontal Carousels?

Differences Between Vertical Lift Modules and Horizontal Carousels

Vertical Lift Modules are a space saving small parts storage systemFloor Space Savings: Vertical Lift Modules extend up into overhead space, which means they have a very small footprint and will save up to 80% of your storage floor space over traditional bins and shelves. On the other hand, Horizontal Carousels will save space, but only up to 40%. Both systems save floor space; it’s just a matter of how much space savings you require.

Batch Order Picking: Both Vertical Lift Modules and Horizontal Carousels will speed up the batch order picking process; however, Horizontal Carousels work much faster and more efficiently for batch order picking because they turn almost twice as fast as Vertical Lift Modules.

Environmental and Security Control: Vertical Lift Modules are entirely contained, which means they can be used very easily in clean room environments and protect stored items from dust and other contaminates. In addition, the Vertical Lift Modules can be locked to keep stored items protected from pilferage. Vertical Lift Modules are the better choice if you are looking for control over stored items.Batch order picking is made easy with Horizontal Carousels

Cost: Because of what they can do, each of these automated storage and retrieval systems offer a good return on your investment. But if you are thinking about the initial investment, Horizontal Carousels are significantly less expensive than Vertical Lift Modules.

Ergonomics: Vertical Lift Modules deliver stored items to an ergonomically positioned waist-high counter. The operator will not have to bend over, reach up, or contort their body in any way to retrieve an item. With a Horizontal Carousel, items are stored from the floor to the top of the machine, which means the operator will still have to reach for items. You can optimize the Horizontal Carousel to store the most frequently picked items in the most ergonomically ideal positions; however, in some situations that takes more work than is worth it. If ergonomics is a top priority, then Vertical Lift Modules excel in that regard over Horizontal Carousels.

Contact Us for More Information on Vertical Lift Modules and Horizontal Carousels

Southwest Solutions Group’s material handling experts can provide more information on both Vertical Lift Modules and Horizontal Carousels to help you determine which automated storage and retrieval system would be best for your facility. Give us a call at 1-800-803-1083 or send us a message to speak with the expert in your area.