Glossary · Packaging and intralogistics
Shuttle system
Also known as: Shuttle AS/RS, Multi-shuttle system
German: Shuttle-System
In intralogistics, a shuttle system is an automated storage and retrieval system in which rail-guided vehicles travel along the rack levels to store and retrieve loads, while lifts move the loads between levels.
- Intralogistics
In one sentence
A shuttle system stores and retrieves loads with rail vehicles on each rack level and lifts between levels, for high throughput.
Example
The shuttle system with one shuttle per level and two lifts per aisle supplies 1,200 totes per hour to the picking stations.
How it applies
- Engineering: Throughput scales with the number of shuttles and lifts, not with one crane per aisle. Shuttles can be fixed to a level or change levels via lifts, depending on the design. Systems exist for totes and for pallets.
- Operation: A failed shuttle affects only its level or area; the control can reroute orders, which adds operational Redundancy.
- Safety: Maintenance on a level usually requires locking out that level and securing access; shuttles must not enter the area where people work. Rescue of a stuck shuttle is a planned procedure.
- Documentation: Explain the access concept per level, the procedure to remove a shuttle for maintenance, and how to restart the system afterward. Provide consistent IDs for aisles, levels and shuttles in manual, HMI and drawings.
Shuttle system vs. stacker crane
A Stacker crane serves a whole aisle with one machine; a shuttle system distributes the work over many vehicles.