Aerospace MRO - Maintenance Bay Space Utilization

Carousels and VLMs don't just compress storage—they reshape aerospace environments to be more efficient, safer, and more responsive

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Maintenance hangar for passenger airliners

Aerospace environments, whether MRO hangars, component repair shops, or manufacturing floors, occupy extremely valuable real estate. Aircraft bays, tooling, stands, carts, and staging areas have enormous footprints, while thousands of SKUs compete for limited storage space. Traditional shelving storage strategies sprawl outward, eating valuable floor area that could otherwise support production or maintenance tasks. Carousels and vertical lift modules solve that problem: they use vertical space.

Aerospace facility footage is expensive and in demand

Illustration - comparing VLMs to standard shelving systems

Hänel automated storage systems solve this by shifting storage upward. These solutions use the full height of hangars and production buildings, creating dense, enclosed inventory zones that recover floor space and place critical parts and tools closer to where technicians need them.

Do you have the vertical space for vertical carousels?

For most aerospace facilities, the answer tends to be yes.

Narrow-body commercial aircraft typically used in civilian MRO operations for craft such as Boeing 737s or Airbus A320s typically require 28 to 40 feet hangars
Wide body aircraft requires even more: up to 70 feet
Depending on the aircraft in service, military maintenance facilities require similar heights, ranging from 25 to 40 feet—and sometimes taller depending on the aircraft in service
Smaller civilian maintenance spaces tend to have less than 25 feet of space (depending on the facility's overall design)
Manufacturing facilities tend to operate in or near warehouse facilities, which can be more than 30 feet tall

Layout optimization for hangars and aerospace production floors

Improvement focus	Layout improvement	Benefits for aerospace
Floor Space Recovery	Replaces shelving rows with compact vertical storage. This reduces aisle space and walking or parts gathering time. Since the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median hourly wage of about $38.05 for aircraft and avionics equipment mechanics and technicians, this is time you need to recoup.	Opens room for engine stands and maintenance bays Creates space for tooling, carts, and test equipment Supports expansion of production or inspection zones
Optimal Storage Placement	Allows storage units to be positioned directly next to work areas due to smaller footprints. This means more time for skilled technicians to do the job and less time fetching and finding.	Reduced walking/transport time Faster response during engine teardown or avionics work Improved access for technicians during AOG situations
Improved Traffic Flow	Eliminates aisles and reduces clutter created by sprawling shelving systems. Even for shelf-supported mezzanines or modular systems can't match the density of a VLM.	Safer, more open work zones Less congestion for technicians and vehicles Smoother staging and material movement
Multi-Level Integration	VLMs and carousels can serve multiple floors or mezzanine levels via pass-through openings. This can allow you to extend your vertical storage into a separate floor for higher density storage.	Centralized storage serving multiple departments Reduced duplication of inventory More efficient use of upper-level space

Carousels and vertical lift modules: ideal for aerospace

Carousels/VLMs are ideal for most aerospace facilities

Aerospace facilities are typically built with high ceilings to accommodate aircraft, cranes and large assembly fixtures. Your vertical volume goes unused when storage is limited to low-profile shelving or racks. VLMs and carousels leverage overhead space, storing inventory from floor to ceiling.

Parts consolidation based on real height data

Hundreds of trays are consolidated into a single vertical footprint. Each tray is automatically measured, and the system uses intelligent algorithms to place items optimally based on height. See height sensors for more information

Storage density and speed in a fraction of the space

Instead of spreading horizontally across aisles, the carousels store everything in a vertical footprint and deliver components to ergonomic access points. Large quantities of tools, avionics modules, fasteners, consumables, or documentation using only a fraction of the footprint of shelving or modular drawer systems. See How Carousels and VLMs Optimize Space for more information.

Don't waste your tech's time: bring them the goods

Space savings in aerospace isn't just about recovering floor area—it's about creating shorter paths and more efficient workflows. Every foot of distance between storage and the point of use creates non-value time: walking, searching, transporting, and returning items. See Aircraft Engine MRO: Space and Time for more information.

Count on the Hänel x Cisco-Eagle partnership to optimize your process

For operators seeking to add new work bays, reduce aircraft-on-ground delays, expand production output or simply make better use of hangar or plant space, automated vertical storage is one of the most effective and proven tools available.

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Aerospace MRO Space Utilization