Tugger Train Systems for Material Handling
Fuelled by rapid innovation in material handling equipment, tugger train systems are increasingly used by businesses to maximise efficiency in internal logistics.
In this blog, we’ll explore what tugger trains are, and how they continue to revolutionise the way factories and distribution centres handle materials and manage their internal transportation, leading to enhanced productivity, reduced costs, and more efficient operations.
The Benefits of Tugger Trains
Tugger train systems offer a range of benefits over traditional material handling methods and systems. They efficiently move heavy loads, reduce manual labour, and improve material flow – becoming increasingly popular with companies looking to streamline their operations and increase productivity.
A tugger train system also naturally reduces internal traffic by moving multiple loads at once. Combining tugger train systems with lean principles and milk-run logistics enables businesses to implement a cyclical work process, ensuring internal transport runs smoothly.
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Increased Efficiency
Tugger trains enable batch transportation of materials, allowing operators to move multiple loads at once. This approach is far more efficient than shuttling individual items back and forth. With a tugger train system, businesses can reduce travel time, the number of trips required and increase the number of materials moved per trip.
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Maximise staff productivity and safety
Using electric tugs empowers highly skilled staff to focus on tasks of greater value add, improving productivity and eliminating manual handling.
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Unlock greater flexibility
Tugger trains can handle a wide range of loads, making them ideal for handling different types of materials such as components, work-in-progress, or finished products.
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Improved Safety
Tugger train systems often come with advanced safety features, including collision avoidance technology and ergonomic design, reducing the risk of accidents and injuries in the workplace, particularly where loads were previously moved using forklifts or through manual handling.
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Reduced Costs
Tugger trains can replace multiple forklifts or other manual transportation methods, leading to reduced labour costs and lower maintenance expenses.
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Space Optimisation
Tugger trains can manoeuvre through tight spaces more effectively than traditional vehicles like forklifts, optimising floor space within factories and warehouses.
Electric tugs are a crucial type of material handling equipment relied on by businesses to reduce manual handling and forklift use in tight areas. Trusted to deliver the safe movement of trailer trains, electric tugs are used by manufacturing companies to support:
- A more efficient logistics process
- Just-in-time delivery of parts throughout a production facility
- Flexible operations
Available as pedestrian operated, remote control or as autonomous solutions (AGVs), electric tugs are compact – guaranteeing maximum manoeuvrability and safe movement in congested areas. With no operator license required, they boost operational efficiency and staff productivity.
Electric Tow Tractors
Available as ride-on towing tractors and stand-on designs, electric tow tractors are synonymous with warehouse environments. With a driver operating the vehicle, tow tractors are best suited to pulling trains of carts over longer distances.
Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs)
An automated guided vehicle (AGV) is a material handling system that travels autonomously without the need for an operator. With AGVs delivering significant efficiency gains, manufacturers across a range of industries are increasingly adopting the technology to mobilise their operations.
AGVs are available with line follow navigation (following a pre-defined path on the floor) or using natural navigation. The most sophisticated form of AGV, natural navigation machines use sensors and scanning systems to navigate autonomously by detecting and mapping the environment around them to move around obstacles.
