St. Luke’s Health System, a not-for-profit US healthcare provider based in Idaho, has collaborated with Equipment Depot, Inc., a material handling and equipment rental source and warehouse automation firm Hai Robotics. The partnership is intended to improve order picking for medical and surgical merchandise at the warehouse.
Hai Robotics flagship product is its automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS), which will be used alongside solutions from Equipment Depot’s systems integration division to improve space utilisation and operational efficiency as St. Luke’s looks to optimise various distribution networks under one roof.
The HaiPick System will cover 14,000ft2 within St. Luke’s facility and operate 28 HaiPick autonomous case-handling mobile robots (ACRs) that transport inbound and outbound containers within a system of storage racking and conveyor workstations.
According to Hai, the robots are capable of transporting up to eight containers at once and delivering them to human-operated workstations equipped with pick-to-light technology.
Both an intuitive interface and check systems are integrated into the workstations, with St Luke hoping that process automation via the HaiPick System will help it achieve 99.99% order-picking accuracy.
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“Our forward-looking supply chain has successfully identified a strategic partner that aligns perfectly with our vision of advanced distribution and consolidated services,” said Jason Merrill, senior director at St. Luke’s Health System.
“Hai excels in delivering top-tier automation products and value-added solutions. Their cutting-edge, adaptable technology met our scalability requirements to meet the ever-growing demands of providing health care products efficiently and safely to patients and caregivers, all while optimising the cost to deliver care.”
The solution’s vertical reach extends ‘up to 32+ feet’, according to Hai, meaning it can be adapted to meet demand fluctuations and reducing human travel time to pick orders.
“Collaborating with St. Luke’s and Equipment Depot on this project has been a fantastic experience,” said Hunter Senn, director of sales for Hai Robotics US.
“They’ve presented us with the opportunity to engineer a creative and cutting-edge system that leverages our full suite of robust capabilities and the flexibility we’re known for. With Equipment Depot’s collaborative engineering and St. Luke’s expertise over their operations, we are poised for success all around.”
