FEATURE SMART FACTORIES Moving towards leaner processes
The company’s investment in automated storage and retrieval systems meant that it had an efficient solution in place that delivered high picking speed and precision. Hydravalve has increased its capacity by 45
per cent through the utilisation of five Kardex Remstar Shuttle XP high-density storage units, while also cutting the size of the storage unit footprint required by 80 per cent. The company has significantly cut retrieval
C
ustomer demand is changing the way products are delivered. More and more
companies today are offering 24/7 deliveries and this is putting greater strain on the factories that have to manage these processes. Flexibility is key here as instead of continuing to rely on rigid logistics concepts, businesses are turning to flexible systems to effectively manage their internal warehouse. One such company that has invested in a
more efficient infrastructure is Hydravalve, a UK company that stores and delivers thousands of products across the UK. With a warehouse of over 1,000 square meters, storage space needed to be optimised alongside its warehouse processes for maximum efficiency. Machinery and spare parts are being shipped daily and the focus was on a comprehensive
customer service and fast delivery of orders. A flexible operation was focused around the use of automated storage and retrieval systems that would be characterised by an ability to adapt to the current and any future developments. Hydravalve also had a requirement to link its Sage accounting software directly to the systems, which sped up its ordering processes and the company has been able to locate stock quickly, delivering a seamless operation.
HIGH PICKING SPEED AND PRECISION Growth is an essential part of any business and no less for Hydravalve, as its inventory grew to more than two million items as a result of additions to its product range. This growth meant there was an urgent need to increase capacity and process orders even more quickly.
Reasons to invest in cross-site data reporting
Martyn Williams, managing director of industrial software company, COPA-DATA UK, explains why manufacturers should consider remote monitoring and invest in cross-site data reporting. One of the biggest challenges caused by globalisation is that manufacturing
plants have historically been run as self-serving operations and business decisions have been insular. Naturally, when insight is limited to just one manufacturing facility, decisions will be made based on what is best for that specific plant, not the entire business network. Informed decisions cannot be made if you do not have the data to hand, and without insight to the entire supply chain, it is almost impossible for
manufacturers to pinpoint where improvements need to be made. Consider a handful of sources and the data produced — energy consumption, waste, productivity levels and inventory data — the human brain simply cannot digest all of this information. Often, decisions are made based on the preferences or priorities of the employee with the sign-off sheet. Using smart factory software, this responsibility is based on actual data. Using cider production as an example, consumers tend to drink more cider
when they can sit out in the sunshine; by acknowledging consumer trend data and including it in their decision-making framework, manufacturers can prepare for this by planning extra production during the summer. However, this has a knock-on effect for the entire supply chain. Using cross-site data reporting, businesses can decide on how to begin this production in the most effective way. For example, it may be faster to
source apples from a specific supplier, as the site’s current productivity levels are much higher than others. Also, could one facility be holding too much inventory? Are there ways to reduce logistics costs? Are there opportunities to save energy? Software can automatically weigh up the positives and negatives of each situation using collated data and automatically generate the best method for production. zenon from COPA-DATA supports over 300 drivers and protocols that have all been developed in-house. This ensures that, regardless of the make
or model of the equipment being monitored, manufacturers can thoroughly compare multi-site data from anywhere in the world. COPA-DATA UK
www.copadata.com T: 0292 0329175
1 NOVEMBER 2017 | FACTORY EQUIPMENT 2 / FACTORYEQUIPMENT
times, too; whilst orders were previously worked through manually, the effective interaction between the automated storage units and the Sage ERP system has now created a perfectly integrated retrieval process. The Sage software assigns clear ID numbers to items, which the system uses to automatically identify and then begins the automated retrieval process. This method has halved batch picking times, whilst increasing picking accuracy to over 99 per cent. Eddie Newham, managing director of
Hydravalve, talks about the solution: “We are continually seeking to improve efficiencies and with the addition of new products for our next catalogue we will be offering our customers a wider range of products of the highest quality at the lowest price possible.” Successful intralogistics solutions need to be
flexible, proactive and fit the needs of the changing B2B customer. Automated storage and retrieval systems are becoming the way forward for increased productivity and greater operational processes.
Kardex Remstar
www.kardex-remstar.co.uk T: 0844 9390800
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