Cold Storage

Cold Storage

Cold storage

 

B10 Cold Storage
The demand for cold storage facilities continues to surge across various industries, businesses are increasingly turning to innovative solutions to meet the needs of a rapidly evolving market. One of the most efficient and technologically advanced solutions is the construction of an automated rack supported cold storage warehouse. ABCO Systems can guide you through the intricate process of constructing an automated rack supported cold storage warehouse, highlighting its unique features, benefits, and how it is reshaping the world of temperature-controlled storage.

System Overview

 

What makes an automated rack supported cold storage warehouse unique? These facilities seamlessly combine high-density storage racks with advanced automation technology to efficiently manage and store temperature-sensitive products. The key components of these warehouses include:

High-Density Racking: High-density storage racks are the building blocks of this facility. Designed to maximize vertical space utilization, they can be customized to accommodate a vast volume of pallets or products, making them ideal for areas with limited land availability.

Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems (AS/RS): AS/RS systems are the workhorses of these warehouses, employing robotic mechanisms for the storage and retrieval of products within the racks. This minimizes human intervention in sub-zero temperatures, ensuring speed and accuracy.

Conveyor Systems: Automated conveyor systems are responsible for the smooth transportation of products within the facility. Engineered to operate seamlessly in cold storage environments, they facilitate efficient material flow.

Warehouse Management Software (WMS): WMS software is the brain of the operation, managing the warehouse’s processes. It optimizes storage locations, maintains inventory control, and monitors temperature control, ensuring precise and efficient operation.

Temperature Control Technology: Precise temperature control systems are essential for maintaining the cold storage environment. They ensure that products remain within their required temperature ranges throughout storage, preserving their quality and safety.

Construction Process of an Automated Rack Supported COld Storage Warehouse:

 

Planning and Design: The construction process begins with meticulous planning and design. Detailed blueprints are created, taking into consideration the size and layout of the facility, as well as the specific requirements of the products to be stored.

Foundation and Structural Frame: The construction kicks off with laying a solid foundation and erecting the structural frame of the warehouse. The structural frame supports the weight of the racks, automation systems, and the stored products.

High-Density Racking Installation: High-density storage racks are then installed within the warehouse. These racks are configured to maximize storage capacity, utilizing vertical space efficiently.

AS/RS Installation: The AS/RS system is carefully integrated into the facility. This involves setting up the robotic mechanisms that will handle the storage and retrieval of products within the racks.

Conveyor System Integration: Automated conveyor systems are installed to facilitate the smooth movement of products within the facility. These systems must be meticulously integrated to ensure efficient material flow.

Temperature Control Systems: Precise temperature control systems are installed to create the ideal cold storage environment. These systems ensure that the entire facility maintains the required temperature, preserving the quality and safety of temperature-sensitive products.

Warehouse Management Software Setup: The Warehouse Management Software (WMS) is implemented to control and optimize the operations of the facility. This software is essential for inventory management, order processing, and temperature monitoring.

Quality Control and Testing: Rigorous quality control checks and testing are conducted to ensure that all components of the automated rack supported cold storage warehouse are functioning optimally.

Employee Training: Employees are trained to operate and manage various systems effectively and safely in a cold storage environment. Safety protocols are established to protect workers from exposure to extreme cold temperatures.

Regular Maintenance and Support: Ongoing maintenance and support are essential to ensure that automation systems operate efficiently and reliably. This includes regular inspections, repairs, and software updates.

Benefits of an Automated Rack Supported Cold Storage Warehouse:

The construction of an automated rack supported cold storage warehouse offers a multitude of benefits, revolutionizing the industry:

Optimized Space Utilization: These facilities maximize vertical space, reducing the need for costly facility expansion.

Enhanced Efficiency: Automation minimizes the time required for storage and retrieval, resulting in faster throughput and order fulfillment.

Improved Product Quality: Precise temperature control and automation ensure that products maintain their integrity, quality, and safety throughout storage and retrieval.

Inventory Accuracy: Automation guarantees precise tracking and inventory control, minimizing errors and ensuring stock accuracy.

Cost Savings: High-density storage and automation reduce labor requirements, minimize product damage, and offer better space utilization, resulting in substantial cost savings over time.

Safety and Reduced Health Risks: Automation reduces worker exposure to extreme cold temperatures, enhancing safety and minimizing health risks.

Scalability: Automated rack supported cold storage warehouses are highly scalable, allowing businesses to adapt to fluctuating product volumes without disruptions.

Pioneering Cold Storage Efficiency

 

The construction of an automated rack supported cold storage warehouse is a comprehensive and technologically advanced process. It brings a multitude of benefits, making it an essential solution for businesses looking to meet the demands of a dynamic marketplace while ensuring product quality and safety. In an evolving cold storage industry, automation is not merely an advantage; it’s a necessity. Embracing these transformative technologies is key to maintaining a competitive edge in the critical realm of cold storage, ensuring the safety and quality of temperature-sensitive goods.

Addverb-Quadron

Carton Shuttle

Addverb-Quadron

Addverb-Quadron
Pick to Light Solutions

Addverb’s versatile carton shuttle, Quadron automates storage and retrieval of goods in cartons, crates, and totes up to 30 kg. The shuttle-based storage system equipped with vertical lifts and specialised racking enables high throughput and storage density. Quadron allows double deep storage thereby enabling you to store, buffer, and sequence the inventory to increase the productivity of your warehousing operations.

Carton Shuttle is a versatile automated storage and retrieval system for cartons, crates, and totes. This innovative shuttle-based storage solution, equipped with vertical lifts and specialised racking, enables efficient high-throughput operations. By allowing double-deep storage, it enhances productivity and maximises storage density in your distribution centre by effortlessly storing, buffering, and sequencing inventory.

Enhancing warehouse efficiency with our shuttle-based automated storage and retrieval system. With its advanced technology and intelligent design, the Carton Shuttle maximises space utilisation, accelerates order fulfilment, and enhances inventory management, delivering streamlined and optimised warehouse operations.

Quadron

Designed to transport goods from one point to another quickly and efficiently, allowing for greater productivity and streamlined processes. Carton shuttles can help to organize products in the warehouse, making it easier for workers to locate and retrieve items as needed.

  • Max Payload: 50 kg
  • Space Utilization: 36 Totes/sq. m
  • Speed: 4 m/s
  • Throughput: 115 Totes/hour (for 30 m track)

Storage Optimization

 

Quadron can help optimise storage space by organising goods in a compact and efficient manner. They can be used to stack and store cartons in high-density storage systems.

Order Picking

 

Quadron can be used to facilitate the order picking process by bringing goods to the pick stations. This can help to reduce the time and effort required for order picking and increase productivity.

Sequencing

 

Quadron can be used for sequencing by transporting and organising products in a specific order. This can be done by programming the shuttle system to follow a particular sequence for storing or retrieving products.

Addverb-Veloce

Multi-Carton Picking Mobile Robot

Addverb-Veloce

Addverb-veloce
Pick to Light Solutions

Veloce is a guided robot that enables multi-level storage and retrieval of cartons, crates and cases without additional storage infrastructure. The robot fleet operates on a grid-based navigation path, working together to store and pick case and carton loads.

A Multi-Carton Picking Robot is a game-changer fulfilment robot with industry-leading picking capabilities. It operates by bringing the required cartons or totes directly to the order picker, eliminating the need for manual searching and travelling within the warehouse.

Reducing labour costs and enhancing overall picking accuracy and speed to streamline order fulfilment in warehouses with our innovative picking mobile robot. Their goods-to-person approach brings the required cartons or totes directly to the order picker, eliminating the need for manual searching and travelling within the warehouse.

Veloce

A fleet of Veloce navigates through grid-based paths to the pre-decided locations for storing and picking carton loads, and work in perfect sync with one another.

  • Payload: 240 kg
  • Charging Time: Up to 15 minutes
  • Max. Speed: 1.5 m/s
  • Run Time: Up to 3 hours

Picking

 

Veloce can aid Goods-to-Person picking of cartons and totes, reducing the overall picking time required to enable faster fulfilment

Storage

 

The robot can efficiently and accurately store cartons and totes in a warehouse in its designated location

Reverse Logistics

 

Veloce enables the storage of returned goods by storing the carton or tote in its designated location.

Addverb-Zippy

Robotics Sorter

Addverb-Zippy

Addverb-Zippy
Pick to Light Solutions

Zippy, Addverb’s high-speed robotic sorter, works on the concept of obstacle detection and avoidance, using grid-based ground markers, to perform SKU wise intelligent sortation at very high speeds. The flexible system can match surge in demands and optimise operations to be cost-efficient.

Robotic Sorters are AI-enabled robots that perform intelligent sortation using obstacle detection and avoidance system. These robots utilise advanced algorithms and sensors to accurately identify and transfer items to their designated locations, optimising overall warehouse operations.

Minimising manual labour and increasing operational speed with our Robotic Sorter. The system’s flexibility allows for easy integration and removal of robots and sorting destinations, effectively addressing demand fluctuations with accuracy and speed, ultimately enhancing overall efficiency.

Zippy 6

 

Our ultra-fast moving Sorting Robot, with a payload capacity of 6 kg, performs 100% accurate SKU level sortation up to 30,000 sorts/hour.

  • Payload: 6 kg
  • Charging Time: Up to 20 minutes
  • Max. Speed: 1.5 m/s
  • Run Time: Up to 4 hours

 

Sortation

 

Zippy can help optimise the efficiency of a warehouse by reducing manual labour, increasing accuracy, and improving the speed of order fulfilment

Reverse Logistics

 

Zippy can help automate the sorting and routing of returned items, making the reverse logistics process more efficient, reducing costs, and improving the customer experience.

Material Movement

 

Zippy can follow specific paths and perform specific tasks automatically, without the need for human intervention. This can reduce the time and effort required for material movement, resulting in increased efficiency.

Pick-to-Light Solutions

Pick-to-Light Solutions

Simple, Efficient, Affordable Order Fulfillment

Pick-to-light solutions
Pick to Light Solutions
Pick to Light Solutions

Pick-to-light technology is widely accepted as a means of improving the speed and accuracy of order fulfillment. With a pick-to-light strategy, light modules with numerical displays are placed adjacent to product locations. Picking areas are typically divided into zones, and a picker is assigned to handle all picking tasks within a zone. Zones operate like independent work cells on an assembly line.

When a tote representing a customer order arrives in a picking zone—often on a conveyor—the picker scans a barcode on the tote to signal that the tote has arrived. At this point, numerical displays in the zone show the quantities of the various products that should be picked and placed into the tote.

After completing a pick, the picker confirms the pick with a “touchless” proximity switch by waving his hand near a flashing light on the light module. This “touchless” proximity switch eliminates problems caused by mechanical buttons that wear out.

System Overview

 

  • the picking area is divided into zones, and a picker is assigned to each zone.
  • All product locations must employ lights to highlight pick locations and display pick quantities.
  • Picking within a zone is typically limited to one order at a time.
  • Pick-to-light systems work well when all products in an order are fast movers.

Features

 

  • Uses a light-sensitive proximity switch to confirm picks rather than a mechanical button
  • Optionally supports displays of text and graphics on a monitor within each zone

Benefits

 

  • Fast and accurate order fulfillment
  • Paperless operation
  • Easy to learn, easy to use, and easy to maintain
  • Lights and ancillary hardware can be sealed in water-light channels for operations in harsh environments
  • Orders can be customized based upon special instructions displayed when an order reaches a zone

ABCO Systems has been acquired by Element Logic.

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