As a company's needs change, its facilities and systems must be able to adapt and accommodate the change. Five years ago when Panasonic Canada Inc saw the need to increase capacity at its Toronto-area consumer products warehouse in Mississauga, ON, company management decided to remodel part of the 100,000 sq ft structure to accommodate very narrow aisle racking.

Panasonic's staff studied various options and by 1998 had already developed plans to change from random to directed putaway using 90 degree pivoting mast trucks and in-floor guide wires when Hansler Industries showed them a simpler, less expensive, and more versatile solution.

Hansler Industries Ltd, a multi-line lift truck and material handling equipment distributor in Eastern Canada, was showing Bendi™ models at trade expos in 1998, when its exhibit caught the attention of Ron Merk, now Panasonic's corporate manager of warehouse operations. Merk immediately recognized the forklift's potential for his Toronto-area warehouse: "We were storing a lot of product off-site, especially during peak season. So we lacked good inventory control. We had looked over our options and decided to go with a 90 degree pivoting-mast unit and all the changes that entailed. But when we saw the Bendi, we decided to hold off making any purchases until we could study the Bendi and evaluate what it could do for us."

The Right Fit

Hansler's Lawrie Wharton knew the Panasonic warehouse and was confident the Bendi forklift was the right machine for the job. Wharton notes, "The Bendi has strong ergonomics and great maneuverability. But when you're talking to someone who's reconfiguring a warehouse, you need to focus on creating extra storage space and saving expense. 90 degree pivoting-mast trucks can work in the narrowest aisles, but the Bendi forklift's ability to turn the mast 180 degrees (90 degrees right and left) and service racks on both sides of an aisle offsets some of this advantage. In addition, 90 degree pivoting-mast trucks need wider 12 to 14 ft intersecting aisles and waste some space on dead-end aisles. With 90 degree pivoting-mast trucks, you normally have to use a computerized directed putaway and pick system and bury guide wires in the floor for automated steering in order to avoid collisions with the racking in those very narrow aisles. Once you've done that, you cannot change rack positions without changing the in-floor guide wires to match. In addition, you'll need to outfit the trucks with front and rear sensors and automated steering -- at an extra cost of about $10,000 per unit. So while it's close to a tie on space issues, the Bendi wins handily on cost."

The Bendi Forklifts did, in fact, win: In 1998 Panasonic ordered three of them. "We compared the Bendis with 90 degree pivoting-mast trucks on an efficiency basis. They [90 degree pivoting-mast trucks] work well for directed putaway or storage slots. For the random storage we prefer, however, you need greater versatility, and that's where the Bendis have a big advantage," Merk explains. "In our application they make the most sense."

The Bendi models at Panasonic are the B30E, with 3,000 lb capacity at a 24 in. load center. Travel speed, lift speed, and down-rating characteristics are much the same as on a standard counterbalance truck. They feature an extremely tight turning radius, enabling them to steer easily around obstacles and narrow aisles.

Hansler collaborated with International Storage Systems to develop the new warehouse racking layout for random putaway. The final plans called for installation of the Redirack brand of narrow-aisle racking plus a section of pushback racking in the section of the warehouse where the Bendi trucks would operate. The double-deep pushback racking solved a problem caused by column spacing in the warehouse that might otherwise have wasted about 4 ft of storage space along several aisles.

Bendi Versatility

Bendi Forklift Trucks are manufactured by Landoll Corp in Marysville, KS. Unlike other lift trucks, Bendi forklifts offer the stability and safety of standard counterbalanced trucks, yet operate with the maneuverability of a reach/turret truck combination in narrow aisles. Their unique agility comes from center-point articulation. This gives the Bendi forklift the ability to pick and store pallet loads in aisles not much wider than the length of the load.

The Bendi rides on four wheels and has an articulating front end that enables the mast and front axle assembly to rotate and steer through a full 180 degree arc, so it can work both sides of an aisle in a single pass. In contrast, a 90 degree pivoting-mast truck must exit the aisle and either reenter from the opposite end of the aisle or drive into the aisle backwards to service both sides. According to Wharton, "the Bendi forklift's ambidextrous maneuverability adds up to savings in time and money. It saves space, too. While most sit-down counterbalance trucks require 12 ft aisles and stand-up reach trucks usually need 9 ½ ft aisles, Bendi forklifts can easily navigate 6 ½ ft or 7 ½ ft aisles, depending on the Bendi model selected and the load carried. So for the same rent or building costs, you can turn 20% to 40% of the space you'd normally dedicate to aisles into additional storage."

Bendi forklifts are available with three- and four-stage masts with lift heights up to 26 ft. This gives the Bendi high stacking ability, while allowing the low retracted mast height necessary to work in highway trailers or travel through low doorways and under low obstructions. Load capacities range up to 4,500 lb. Several hydraulic attachments, such as a paper roll clamp, side shifter, fork positioner, drum clamp, and a carton clamp are available to further enhance the unit's versatility.

The Bendi has been designed to work efficiently in a variety of environments. Its four-wheel stability, dual rear-wheel drive, and powerful electric motors enable it to negotiate inclines and rough surfaces and to move material directly from highway trailers to storage racks. Loading and unloading trucks and rail cars and working outdoors comes easy for the Bendi. By eliminating staging, the Bendi forklift cuts pallet-handling time and eliminates the need for an extra lift truck.

Warehouse Redo Number One

In the initial reconfiguration at Mississauga, the Bendi trucks operated in a 40,000 sq ft section of the warehouse. They were equipped with triplex masts since the clear stack height where they operate is only 15 ft, under an 18 ft roof. The section was racked three levels high and had aisles measuring just 76 in. pallet-to-pallet. The racks were designed for storing and retrieving full pallet loads of such consumer items as telephone products, video monitors, and big-screen TVs. In the logistics plan, the Bendi forklifts were used mainly for inbound putaways and full-pallet picks.

• 40% Storage Gain: "In terms of versatility and productivity alone, the Bendi trucks have been a huge success," Merk reported in a magazine article written just months after they were placed in service. "The trucks allowed us to take a section of our warehouse, which was a mix of conventional racking and floor storage, and convert it entirely into a very narrow aisle environment and achieve a 40% storage space gain. We cut 10 ft aisles down to 76 in. and greatly increased our storage density."
  
• Easy Operation: To deposit a load in the racking, the Bendi operator simply pulls up alongside an empty storage slot on the first, second, or third rack level, turns the mast assembly toward the slot, elevates the load to the proper height, then eases the load into the target slot by inching the truck forward. The swivel action of the mast assembly allows for correct load orientation throughout the maneuver. Picking a full pallet load is simply the same operation in reverse.

To keep track of products and locations, drivers simply use wireless scanners to enter both the product code and the pallet location into the warehouse computer. As stock is off-loaded, it's input to the system in real time so that sales can immediately release it for order fulfillment. Scanners communicate via radio frequency with the central computer, and the picking environment is entirely paperless except for manifests and shipping lists.

Warehouse Redo Number Two

In the fast-paced electronics industry, no change is permanent. Less than three years after reconfiguring 40,000 sq ft of the warehouse for VNA storage of consumer products, Panasonic's Mississauga facility was reallocated for industrial goods, and its VNA section was downsized to 28,000 sq ft. Merk was doubly glad he didn't have swing-mast trucks run by in-floor guide wires to deal with. The Bendi trucks were just as capable of stacking and transporting the industrial inventory as they had been moving consumer lines. The transition to copiers, laptop computers, security equipment, and fax machines was seamless -- even though a completely new warehouse team was imported to handle the new products.

• Fast Integration: "Except for their front-wheel steering, the Bendi has the same attributes as a standard counterbalance truck. This is extremely important for training purposes and related safety issues," Merk emphasizes. "When they first came into service in 1998, our Bendi forklifts were handling the work flow seamlessly within just four hours. After less than one day, operators were using Bendi trucks to near 100% efficiency. We had the same positive experience when the new industrial products crew took charge of the warehouse. Landoll even offers training kits with everything required for an instructor-led safety and operator training course -- including a video, training handbooks, and tests. Of course, we have outstanding drivers, but the control layout and handling of the Bendi trucks deserve much of the credit." This contrasts with operator training for swing-mast trucks: according to Merk, it takes several weeks for an operator to become used to the hydraulic controls, the wait time for the mast to swing out, and other operating functions.
  
• Operator Acceptance: "The operator's compartment is ergonomically designed and there's also lots of leg room. There's a full complement of standard features including an adjustable seat and effortless electronic steering. Drivers of all heights find the Bendi trucks comfortable. They rapidly became the truck of preference among our operators."
  
• Reliability: After four years of operation, the Bendi trucks have established an excellent service record. "I continue to be extremely pleased with their reliability, superior on-the-job performance, and their productivity," Merk says. "The Bendi forklifts have been the right match for our VNA layout, our warehouse management system, and our existing fleet of counterbalance clamp and fork trucks, pallet trucks, reach trucks, and Gofers. I'm as sold on the Bendi trucks today as I was when I reported on them in 1999. Through all the changes we've made in this warehouse, they continue to be the right fit for our operation."