INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS
Changing Spaces Combilift helping companies to rethink their facilities & floorplans so they meet the new postCOVID distancing requirements While COVID-19 social distancing has become a part of the day-to-day lives of most people on the planet, few would argue that in some situations, achieving the recommended 1.5 metre minimum spacing between people can be extremely difficult to achieve. This is especially true for large production and processing facilities, where a move to the ‘new post-COVID normal’ can be significantly
hampered by the amount of available floorspace. Thankfully one company, Combilift, has come up with an innovative solution that’s allowing factory owners and operators to rethink their floorplans and optimise the design of their facilities to meet the new distancing standards – for a fraction of what it would cost to either relocate or expand their current facilities.
SWAPPING COST CENTRES FOR PROFIT CENTRES Most production and processing facilities generally comprise three key areas, namely: materials receival and storage/warehousing areas (which are cost centres); and the production / processing / packaging area which is the profit centre for the facility. Unfortunately, the latter is also usually the area where the majority of employees are located, and where the new social distancing requirements will have the biggest impact. Given the high cost per-square-metre of floorspace, most facilities are designed to utilise every available square metre. In practical terms, that means that any required expansion of the production / processing / packaging area, would usually come at the expense of either the materials receival or warehousing/storage areas. And if all the available floorspace in a facility is being utilised (as is usually the case), that means one of two things: expanding the existing building; or constructing/relocating to an additional building – both of which carry a significant cost. With that in mind, Combilift’s approach focuses on optimising the existing receivals and warehousing areas (the cost centres) to free up additional room for the production / processing / packaging area (the profit centre).
REDUCING THE STORAGE FOOTPRINT BY UP TO 50%
Combilift forklifts and stackers only requires around half the aisle space of a standard forklift to operate, allowing for a significant reduction in aisle widths.
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Construction Engineering Australia • Jul/Aug 2020
The key to this reutilisation of existing floorspace lies with Combilift’s state-of-the-art range multi-directional forklifts and stackers. Renowned globally for both their unique design and robust, reliable performance, Combilift forklifts and stackers feature smart, multi-directional technology which enables the operator to change the direction of travel by 90 degrees at the flick of a switch. This allows them to manoeuvre even long loads down narrow aisles, through standard doorways and around obstacles safely and with ease. Together with the safety and manoeuvrability benefits, the other major benefit of Combilift’s unique design is that it only requires around half the aisle space of a standard forklift to operate. In practical terms, this enables racking to be placed much closer together, significantly reducing the amount of operational space required for storage. In fact, for the majority of locations, replacing traditional forklifts
