DHL has announced its largest ever single implementation of autonomous forklifts, with 15 embedded in its warehouse operations at Tyrefort in the UK’s West Midlands.

The autonomous forklifts form part of DHL’s operation for a major customer in the automotive sector, taking over picking, put-away and replenishment of products and empty media in the warehouse. The vehicles reduce the number of manual pallet transfers without requiring significant changes in warehouse infrastructure.

The forklifts work safely up to 11.5m high – believed to be a first in the logistics industry – easily reaching the highest warehousing racks to handle a range of pallets, stillages and waste cages. Safety features, including lidar and camera obstacle detection, bumper tip sensors and side bumper bars, all reduce interaction with manual trucks operating in the same facility. The forklifts are integrated with the Blue Yonder warehouse management system and charge autonomously when required.

Maintaining a quality service to the customer throughout the implementation was critical, with DHL working closely with Swedish company Max AGV to ensure the deployment was completed without any interruption to just-in-time operations in the live warehouse.

The investment marks the next step in DHL’s accelerated digitalisation strategy, which seeks to roll out the most innovative technologies to benefit its customers and colleagues, while lowering the operation’s carbon footprint.

“Indoor robotics have the potential to bring huge benefits to our warehouse environments, and this is no exception,” said Simon Woodward, head of innovation at DHL Supply Chain in the UK and Ireland. “Autonomous forklifts can be safely deployed and make a difference immediately, creating capacity and increasing efficiencies. They are also helping us manage skilled worker shortages at a time when we are struggling to recruit.

“Working closely with Max AGV, we’ve been able to seamlessly deploy a fleet of significant size with no downtime for the customer, which is testament to the strength of our partnership and the hard work of the team. Excitingly, we’re already reaping the rewards and now plan to accelerate their rollout with more to follow in 2022.”

With round-the-clock operation, DHL calculates that a fleet of just a dozen autonomous forklifts can handle more than a million pallets per year in one facility. Automated indoor robotic transport increases efficiency and improves workplace safety by taking over the repetitive task of driving pallets around. Improvements of this kind are helping DHL increase operational excellence for its customers while making its operations more effective.