Conveying and lifting technology
System tuning for fresh produce logistics
Maximum efficiency, performance and system availability - Stöcklin Logistik has expanded and modernized the existing, fully automated high-bay warehouse in Oensingen in accordance with these requirements of the Bell Food Group.
Three new storage and retrieval machines were installed and four outdated ones were replaced with the latest Boxer technology including anti-sway software. In addition, new conveyor technology sections with integrated container stackers were installed as a carousel.
The project is part of a large-scale investment program for the Oensingen site in the canton of Solothurn. With this program, the Bell Food Group is pursuing the goal of further increasing its performance in the meat products sector. Among other things, the focus is on increased automation of production processes and more efficient fresh produce logistics. As a result, the expansion and modernization of the high-bay warehouse, which has been in operation since 2005 and where portioned fresh meat products are temporarily stored until delivery, has begun.
"The continuing growth brought intralogistics increasingly to its performance limits," reports Stöcklin project manager Remo Cueni. "Bell therefore considered the option of expanding the existing high-bay warehouse for fresh products. At the same time, it became apparent that a retrofit of the four stacker cranes that had been in use from the start would not provide the desired performance. Instead, a complete replacement was necessary to achieve the required system availability."
In this context, both the modular, energy-efficient and high-performance Boxer small parts machines and the anti-oscillation software used for the first time at Bell Switzerland were convincing. It prevents performance-impairing mast vibrations on the 20-metre-high storage and retrieval machines and eliminates the need for anti-sway drives, which the existing stacker cranes were previously equipped with. "This saving enables fast commissioning - in Bell's case, it only took three days including system tests," emphasizes Remo Cueni. As a result, there are also lower costs for the purchase and future maintenance work.
3 + 4 automatic small parts devices connected to external WMS
The expansion included the installation of a new three-aisle racking system over a length of almost 20 meters with storage capacity for 29,232 containers with double-deep storage. At peak times, the small parts units equipped with an auxiliary mast, a camera-monitored load handling device with 2 x 50 kilogram payloads, anti-vibration software, fine compartment positioning and power recovery each achieve 65 double cycles per hour. Coupling to the ERP and Warehouse Management System (WMS) from CSB-Systems was carried out via interface software, ensuring an unhindered flow of information and communication. The status of the devices can also be called up at any time via a stand-alone visualization system.
Before installing the analogously designed Boxer D1 storage and retrieval machines, which are also around 20 meters high, in the existing warehouse, new rails were first laid after dismantling the existing third-party SRMs. In order to maintain production and ensure high availability, the SRMs were replaced in stages.
High-performance conveyor technology as a connecting element across two levels
Know-how and experience were also required for the expansion of the connected container conveyor system, which connects the fully automated high-bay warehouse, which has been extended by three aisles, with both the cutting room and the outgoing goods department. New features include a carousel on the ground floor and a carousel on the upper floor with a connection to the existing conveyor system. The carousel on the upper floor has two container stackers for storage and one container destacker for retrieval.
On straight lines and in curves, a throughput of around 1,200 containers per hour is possible on the conveyor technology, and around 1,000 load carriers in the same period for the lift transfer units. Peak values of 410 are also achieved when stacking containers. All E2 containers, measuring 600 x 400 x 200 millimetres, are marked with two RFID tags, which are also printed with a barcode and the container number, and are therefore clearly traceable. The transponder and container numbers are linked via the warehouse management system (WMS). In the case of stacked containers, the lower of the two is always read. The linking of the stacks is also stored in the WMS.
Mastering growing requirements with agility and reliability
For the Bell Food Group, the modernization and expansion of the existing high-bay warehouse is an important step towards securing its performance and competitiveness in its main market, Switzerland. Further strategic optimization and expansion measures in the production and logistics environment will follow.
"In addition to high performance, maximum system availability was particularly relevant for Bell," says project manager Remo Cueni. "At Stöcklin Logistik AG, we guarantee this thanks to the high degree of in-house production of the proven, robustly designed products, which are manufactured at the Laufen production site with the usual Swiss precision." No less important are the short response times in the event of a fault, with 24-hour availability 365 days a year. Bell is also relying on Stöcklin's extremely important industry know-how, which was once again demonstrated in this project, to equip the new fresh and frozen food center in Oensingen.
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