IFOY Audit
Finalists undergo the three-stage IFOY Audit as part of the IFOY Audit, which takes place during the TEST CAMP INTRALOGISTICS. This consists of the scientific IFOY Innovation Check, the IFOY Test and the jury test.
OPX-L 16
STILL GmbH
Higher efficiency and fatigue free work by well-thought ergonomic improvements where the development focus of the new STILL OPX-L 16, the flagship of the new STILL OPX order picking series. As fast and efficient work is of particular importance for horizontal order picking, a special focus was put on technical innovations which were combined with optimum design of the work platform and the controls for the operator.
Product name and company
OPX-L 16 – STILL GmbH
Category
Special of the Year
Description
Nine horizontal OPX order pickers and a tow tractor LTX 50 form a series of unmatched variety on the market with a suitable model for virtually any application. The OPX truck family offers numerous new features, not only replacing, but extending it by additional models: new trucks are, e.g. the OPX 25 and the OPX 25 Plus with a load capacity of 2,500 kg, or the OPX-L 16 with a mast lift and short load arms for ergonomic order picking even in tightest spaces. Other variants are a double deck truck, a truck with pantograph lift, and a tow tractor. The load capacities reach from 1.2 to 2.5 tons. Battery capacities of up to 620 Ah and driving speeds of up to 14 km/h for the Plus models make these quick order pickers ideal for multi-shift applications.
The new OPX-L 16, an all-round talent, makes full use of its strengths in different areas of application, e.g. central warehouses for retailers, the automotive industry as well as distribution centres of the food industry or third party logistics (3PL) warehouse worlds. In brief: the OPX-L 16 plays its top cards wherever goods are picked at high rates, long distances need be covered and top efficiency is needed.
With the OPX series, Still does not only score with a user-friendly overall concept, but also with a number of unique selling points like the air-suspended seat and driver’s platform for long travel distances, the 5-wheel chassis for best traction and the new STILL EASY Drive steering wheel with the ergonomic STILL EASY Move controls.
Innovations
A central innovation of all truck variants is the STILL EASY Drive: a new ergonomic steering wheel with integrated display and optional height-adjustment. The display informs the driver about every truck condition, for example battery condition and operating hours. Its special contour allows a perfect hold of the steering wheel in all driving situations, increasing work safety easily and intuitively – even when reversing.
Another USP is STILL EASY Move: paddle switches placed behind the steering wheel. Depending on the configuration of the truck, they allow to operate the mast lift and raise the driver platform at the same time, without taking the hands off the steering wheel.
Unique in the market is the air-suspended, damped driver platform. Adjustable to the driver’s weight, it reduces body vibrations substantially. Another option is the foldaway seat integrated in the backrest for long driving distances. If ordered in combination with the air-suspended platform, the seat is also suspended, as both components are connected.
The OPX 20 Plus and OPX 25 Plus score with an innovative 5-wheel chassis with perfect traction of the drive wheel in every driving situation – also, and in particular, when slowing down with load, resulting in safe, comfortable and sensitive driving at all times. And this with only 50 % of the power consumption in comparison to its predecessor.
The LED daytime running light plus offers the operator helpful information besides better perception of the truck. Flashing lights at different frequencies inform the driver if the battery is low or an error occurred.
Market relevance
The OPX is at home in many industries. However, across the different industries, the applications as such are very similar. The trucks are mostly used in central warehouses and therefore move indoors only, often in very large halls with long order picking aisles. Order picking is possible from floor level as well as from the first rack level. Besides this, the trucks are also used to move materials over long transport distances. Main areas of applications are central retail warehouses and warehouses for the automotive industry as well as distribution centres of the food industry or third party logistics warehouse worlds.
In 2015, the European market for horizontal order pickers amounted to 19,000 units and in 2016 to 23,000 units and is continuously growing. At a service life of 5 – 7 years, this corresponds to an installed base of approximately 110,000 units in the market. The industry with the largest share are food retailers.
Customer benefits
The maximum driving speed of 14 km/h for the OPX 20 Plus and OPX 25 Plus ensures the enormous turnover performance characteristic for the complete range, also for long driving distances. Thanks to the 5-wheel chassis, both trucks score with unique traction of the drive wheel and safe driving characteristics when braking. The higher rated capacity of 2.5 tons allows moving more goods at the same time, increasing turnover performance even more.
With the rising platform, the operator can reach to a height of 2,800 mm. Designed so that it lifts together with the STILL EASY Drive steering wheel, it allows the driver to move the truck while the platform is lifted, maximising turnover performance.
The particularly ergonomic workspace and the good damping of the stand-on platform with the optional seat protect the driver’s back from strain, leading to fewer sickness leaves and fewer absences of operators.
Safe and sensitive driving characteristics and the intuitive control by the STILL EASY Drive and the STILL EASY Move prevent damage by force and respective costs.
Better visibility in the warehouse due to the LED daytime running lights and the Safety Light substantially reduce the risk of accidents.
The option to fit the OPX models with Li-Ion batteries increases the availability of the trucks due to fast charging and opportunity charging to further accelerate turnover. These features make the OPX family a perfect symbiosis of ergonomic driving comfort and maximum turnover performance.
Test report
With the new OPX series, Still aims to increase efficiency and reduce picking fatigue.
The large variety of models with a total of nine new order pickers is unique. Combined with numerous new functions, Still offers the right solution for every application. During the test week, the Still OPX-L 16 was put to the test.
During the development of the OPX series, the focus was on the ergonomics of the order picker. The aim was to increase picking performance and to meet the ever-increasing demands of the market for example with regard to demographic change. For example, vibrations that are harmful to the body should be minimized by means of a pneumatic platform without having to increase the ascent and descent height drastically. Compared to the predecessor models of the COP and CX series, the difference is a maximum of 5 mm.
The workplace can also be individually adapted to the needs of the operator in order to ensure a comfortable and efficient working environment. The height of the steering column can be adjusted, as well as the backrest with seat option (which is not available on the test vehicle). The freedom of movement on the platform is sufficient.
For high cornering stability, the four-wheel suspension was chosen for almost all models. For trucks with platform lifts, the four wheels offer the additional advantage that they can be lifted safely to a height of 1,200 mm (300 mm more). In addition, the Curve Speed Control automatically reduces cornering speed and provides additional safety while driving.
The new OPX 20 Plus and OPX 25 Plus high-speed order pickers are equipped with a 5-wheel chassis, in that the drive wheel always has sufficient traction, especially when cornering.
Thanks to Still EASY Drive, a newly developed ergonomic and optionally height-adjustable steering wheel with integrated control and display, the order picker always has an overview of all information such as battery status and operating hours during work. EASY Drive was also nominated for an IFOY Award in the “Special of the Year” category. Further information on this concept can be found in the corresponding test report.
A powerful and low-maintenance 24V/3 kW AC motor gives the truck the desired power for high performance with low energy consumption and long maintenance intervals.
Still has succeeded in reducing energy consumption by more than 50 percent for all models (according to VDI measurements). The proven Blue-Q energy efficiency mode can save up to seven percent energy without significantly reducing performance. During the IFOY measurement, the saving of Blue-Q seems to be significantly greater and varies between 11 and 18 percent, depending on the layout of the test track. The OPX performance is slightly below the class average, partly due to high deceleration from Curve Speed Control and low acceleration.
The versatile order pickers with battery capacities up to 620 Ah are suitable for multi-shift operation. On request, the vehicles are also available with lithium-ion batteries, gel batteries and integrated charger. All batteries can be changed sideways or with the help of a crane.
IFOY test verdict
The new OPX series impresses with the Still EASY Drive steering wheel, which gives a new dimension to an existing concept. The steering wheel makes the operation of the truck even more intuitive and user-friendly. The productivity performance of the OPX is slightly below average due to the optimized security settings. Energy consumption is better than the market average, especially at maximum performance. Improvements can be made to the OPX when it comes to the sharp-edged surface and the noise generated by the chassis and wheels when driving on less even surfaces.
| IFOY Test Report | Low Level Order Pick Trucks | ||||
| Truck name | STILL | ||||
| Truck Type | OPX-L 16 | ||||
| Date of test | 2/2/2018 | ||||
| Hard facts | Test Truck IFOY Test | Average other trucks | Value 1 to 10 | ||
| Productivity Max | 261 | 303 | picks per hour | 6 | |
| Productivitiy Eco | 252 | 270 | picks per hour | 6 | |
| Energy level Max | 2.8 | 3.3 | kwh 1000 picks | 8 | |
| Energy level Eco | 2.4 | 2.6 | kwh 1000 picks | 7.5 | |
| Driving speed Max | 13 | 12.9 | km/hr | ||
| Driving speed Eco | 8.3 | 8 | km/hr | ||
| Sprint speed Max | 5.5 | 5 | Time 10 mtrs | ||
| Sprint speed Eco | 6.1 | 6.2 | Time 10 mtrs | ||
| Averages soft facts | |||||
| First impression | 7.20 | ||||
| Load Safety | 7.50 | ||||
| Entry / exit truck | 7.25 | ||||
| Working position | 7.00 | ||||
| Activate truck | 7.50 | ||||
| Hydraulics | 7.60 | ||||
| Steering | 8.57 | ||||
| Sight | 8.00 | ||||
| Driving & Turning | 7.86 | ||||
| Parking truck | 7.50 | ||||
| Safety elements | 6.50 | ||||
| General after test | 7.13 | ||||
| Sustainability | 8.00 | ||||
| Totals | |||||
| Total average soft facts | 7.51 | ||||
| Total productivity | 6.00 | ||||
| Total Energy consumption | 7.75 | ||||
IFOY Innovation Check
Market Relevance
The OPX-L 16 from Still represents the new development and expansion of an established series. A new feature of this horizontal order picker is its focus on high performance and the ergonomic details of the special equipment. With these two fields of activity, Still seeks to achieve a higher throughput rate in the company by challenging operations in retail companies and central warehouses and by relieving the workload of the staff. A variant with shortened wheel arms is also available, which can be used for tighter bend radii, making it suitable for narrow picking aisles and limited traffic as well as shunting areas.
Since the OPX-L 16 is largely identical to conventional horizontal order pickers, it can be used in existing systems without requiring staff training. Nevertheless, the market relevance can only be estimated as a medium, because in the face of tough competition from the trade, only few costs for the ergonomic design of industrial trucks are accepted. The development of the OPX-L 16 was mainly driven by the requirements of the French market, where ergonomics is more important. The market relevance of the shortened wheel arms and the associated maneuverability are also considered to be only of medium importance, since in the areas of application described above, there are usually sufficient traffic areas for high performance.
Customer Benefit
By using the OPX-L 16, the operator is relieved from individual work details. However, the effectiveness by actually shortening work cycles due to the higher speed or simplified processes was not clear. Nevertheless, one clear benefit is that customers can tailor the device to their needs through the numerous equipment options. This includes the ergonomic equipment and the increased maneuverability due to the shortened wheel arms.
Degree of Novelty
Most of the ergonomic details of the OPX-L 16 are not fundamentally new. It is important to highlight the shortened wheel arms for more maneuverability, which in such a compact device with long forks and different equipment variants (especially the lifting functions) represents a great challenge for the implementation.
Functionality / Type of Implementation
The OPX-L 16 gives a solid and robust impression. The development was made in terms of longevity and freedom from maintenance. As far as the ergonomics of the OPX-L 16 is concerned, it is noticeable that the pneumatic damping of the operator’s platform can only be adjusted at a stationary compressed air supply. This does not take into account the operating conditions in a central warehouse, where the devices are used for frequent replacements. In addition, the spring accumulator restricts the foot space for the horizontal order picker’s operator, which reduces the utility value of this equipment feature, as frequently ascending and descending is part of the usage profile of this equipment’s category.
| Functionality / type of implementation | Ø |
| Novelty / Innovation | Ø |
| Customer benefits | Ø |
| Market relevance | Ø |
| ++ very good / + good / Ø balanced / – less / — not available | |
Videos
Playlist
1 Videos
Playlist
2 Videos
Image/video credits: STILL GmbH
Auch interessant
Statutes
In den Statuten sind die Grundwerte und die Standards des IFOY AWARD festgelegt, nach denen die Organisation handelt. Dazu gehören unter anderem Gremien, Wahlomodus, Bewertungskriterien sowie der Code of Conduct.
Committees
The International Intralogistics and Forklift Truck of the Year has three bodies: Jury, sponsors, and advisory board.