Food Logistics serves the entire food supply chain industry with targeted content for manufacturers, retailers, and distributors.
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22 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015 • FOOD LOGISTICS www.foodlogistics.com CaseStack, the Santa Monica, Calif.-based logistic solutions provider. "Hiring people just for seasons is not efficient, and it usually doesn't work well for associates. Automation presents solutions. We are all getting bet- ter at applying warehouse control systems, warehouse management system modules, and automated storage and retrieval systems. In addition, there is a consistent flow of new technology around voice-managed and light- directed order fulfillment; there are package sorters and pallet conveyors, and there are even new trailer loading tools." The need to manage a larger selection of products for more order sizes requires distri- bution centers (DCs) to manage outbound pallet loads differently. DCs are creating more mixed pallets that allow replenishment stock to be delivered directly to the appropri- ate store. In a manual DC operation, it is difficult to custom build pallets to unique store specifications. But with robotic pallet- izers deployed in an automated case picking system, the process is easily managed by ware- house management software. Through the use of various automation technologies, the sequencing and palletiza- tion of products for mixed SKU pallets can be done to satisfy client needs, notes Richard Lanpheare, director of business development at Retrotech Inc., the Rochester, N.Y.-based system engineering and integration firm. The sequencing process is not only accurate; it's considerably faster than manually creating pallets and minimizes product damage due to human-related incidents. Smaller orders also require sortation of smaller packages, says Mark Steinkamp, direc- tor of solutions development at Intelligrated, the Mason, Ohio-based material handling solutions provider. A cross-belt sorter can sort cases, totes and polybags without the touch of a human hand, preserving product integrity and increasing throughput. A cross-belt sorter is a conveyor sorting system that uses a series of carriers mounted on a conveyor to sort materials. Each carrier has a small belt convey- or mounted on top of it that runs perpendic- ular to the main conveyor. When it arrives at a sort point, the conveyor on the carrier will spin, moving the materials to the side of the main conveyor (usually onto another con- veyor, down a chute, or into a container). "The labor benefit is huge," Steinkamp says. "When customers want a specific stock keeping unit dropped on their floor, or are interested in executing a particular promo- tion, those are logistically complex requests," says Brandi Shortt, vice president of strategic execution and field operations at The Coca- Cola Co. "Thanks to warehouse automation, innovation becomes more cost-effective." "Across the system, customers want more variety," Shortt continues. "The trend toward more choices means we need to create mixed- product pallets. In turn, we need larger pick floors, which can cause congestion. An automated system alleviates the complexity that would otherwise result from such cus- tomization. Another advantage of warehouse automation is that we are able to build more stable pallets. For example, in our warehouse in Grand Rapids, Mich., pickers select the cases and place them on the belt; the belt brings them to the robots; and the robots build the pallets – all inside the warehouse." Automated technologies can also produce savings in inventory storage costs and can improve warehouse space by utilizing vertical and horizontal space more efficiently to offer greater storage density. Goods-to-person systems arrive Automated goods-to-person picking systems represent a leading area of warehouse investment. These solutions store cartons, totes and • A worker in a cold storage facility uses the viastore WMS via radio frequency for paperless picking. Viastore Motion Analysis Kit Offers Insight On Stacker Crane Performance P SI Technics' Motion Analysis Kit/Service identifies hidden performance issues that cause mechanical failures and low through- put in stacker cranes. "The kit is designed as a tool that can analyze the behavior of any crane system used in AS/RS in real time," says Tom Anderson, general manager for North America. The kit records a crane's actual motion path to determine how the system moves and positions with and without load. The analysis highlights motion-related conditions and weak spots, such as mast oscillations, undershooting or overshooting at the target position, unnecessary creeping speed and non-linear system behavior that can affect mechanical components like gear boxes, motors and drives, and offers insights into system posi- tioning performance. The motion analyzing software employed with the kit is the same software that is resident on PSI Technics' ARATEC intelligent positioning solution. "TheARATEC uses a self-learning algorithm that adapts to a user's stacker crane," Anderson says. "The system calculates motion profiles, placing particular emphasis on maximum speed and acceleration without filters or damping, and posi- tions stacker cranes fast yet gently to minimize system wear and tear. And the ARATEC com- pensates for issues that affect crane positioning over time, such as friction, load changes or wheel and rail wear. The ARATEC takes all the different conditions that affect how a crane positions into account," says Anderson. "We are actually optimiz- ing the movement of the crane." During system operation, the ARATEC uses real-time feedback from optical distance meters to monitor the stacker crane's movements. It opti- mizes the motion path in real time and completes storage and retrieval tasks within the shortest possible time, Anderson says. The Motion Analysis Kit/Service can be used to identify positioning dis- turbances and weaknesses of traditional PLC- and drive-based positioning approaches. ◆