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SSequence Logistics expands to Johannesburg

Sequence Logistics expands to Johannesburg

cold store, Featured, Mobile Racking, New Installation, News, Uncategorized /

Sequence Logistics built its first freezer in Hammarsdale, KwaZulu Natal, during 2008. In 2010 it rented freezer space in Joburg, expanding to Cape Town in 2014 as well as adding a second phase to the Hammarsdale freezer. As the strategy of providing refrigerated storage, both primary and secondary refrigerated transport, case picking and stock optimisation services proved successful, Sequence decided to build its own freezer store to service the Gauteng area.     The store, situated at Aeroton Johannesburg is equipped with a combination of mobile racking for storage and static racking for case picking and order make up.   Barpro, together with Universal Storage Systems, designed and installed the Storax mobiles and fixed racking to suit the Sequence requirements of storage and case picking. Equipped with cascade control it includes the ability to move the Storax mobiles remotely from inside the heated cabs of the reach trucks. Additional features include aisle light switching and night park which spaces the Storax bases out at night for better cooling. The Storax bases have 6 pallet levels each suitable for a 2000mm high pallet weighting 1200kgs. The total base weight when fully loaded is just under 400 tons, the same as an airbus A380 800 on take-off and is driven by 5 Nord electric motors with a maximum current of 5 Amps, about half the current it takes to boil an electric kettle. The aisle light switching function switches on the lights in the open aisles. Even with LED fittings this saves electricity by significantly reducing the number of lights on at any time and also reduces the heat load on the refrigeration system.     Safety Features Safety features include fixed photoelectric beams which stop the mobile in 20mms when the beam is broken, double PE safety beams across the front of each mobile bank to prevent pedestrians stepping into a moving aisle and yellow aisle clear scanners which clear the aisle in line of sight before the bases can be moved. Each base has emergency stop buttons which are hard wired to the control panel. The racking on the mobile bases which is designed for the dynamic loads is well protected by the base structure from forklift impacts. On the fixed racking, frame protection is essential. Sequence requested heavy duty frame protection on all static uprights. Additionally, bollards are installed to protect the racking from side impact in the door areas and tunnels through the fixed racking in the case picking room.   Barpro always suggests that wooden bumpers be installed on the front guide wheel unit of every mobile as they prevent damage to both the wheel unit itself and the rack mounted push button stations.     From a general design perspective, there was a conscious trade- off between capacity and operational capability. Mobile aisles are wide enough to allow easy turning by counterbalanced trucks, rack bay clear openings are generous and gangways have sufficient width allow access to the fixed racks while leaving sufficient space for high volume product movement.   The front and rear cantilevers were installed on each base adding additional pallet locations. Rear cantilevers also create an escape route and safe access for servicing the rack control panels.   When Storax systems are handed over to the client, part of the procedure consists of formal training for the various levels of user. All aspects are covered including opening and closing the aisles and fault finding. Barpro also encourages users to sign up for a Service Level Agreement. SLA automatic inspections identify any problems early and prevent costly downtime later on.   Need to optimise space in your storage facility? Contact us [gravityform id=”10″ title=”true” description=”true”] Read more: Stellenpak’s experience with Storax Mobiles Read more: Project Management of the Vision Meats New Cold Store Read more: New Pongola Cold Storage Facility

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Case picking solution

A space saving, efficient and cost effective solution to case picking in cold stores

Energy Savings, Featured, General Interest, Other Products, Pallet Racking, palletised goods, Pallets, Tips, Uncategorized /

Article by Rob Kershaw, Sales and Marketing Manager, Barpro Joburg. One of the biggest challenges in managing and running a cold store facility is how do we pick individual cases as opposed to full pallets. In the past most cold store facilities were set up for full pallet distribution. In and out. However over the last decade or so retailers are moving away from carrying large quantities of stock on pallets rather ordering cases in line with demand freeing up capital investment in stock. So cold store facilities have to be set up to handle case picking as well as full pallets and very often at the same time. As the leading supplier of high dense mobile racking systems into the cold store sector at Barpro we have seen an increasing demand for case picking. Seeking solutions for our customers Barpro approached our principals STORAX based in the UK, to see now how their industry had coped with the challenge. The idea of multi-tier structural mezzanines is growing rapidly in the UK as a cost effective, space saving and super-efficient case picking solution, in mobile racking freezer stores. STORAX UK has installed a number of structural mezzanines in freezers and confirm that this solution offers great benefits for cold store operators.     How do they work? 4 or 5 levels of flooring interconnected by stairwells installed in a corner or outside the cold store taking up the least space possible. Reach trucks retrieve full pallets from the mobile racking and feed them onto the floors via 1 or 2 pallet gates. Staff with pallet jacks to transport them to dedicated picking locations. From here cases are picked to pallet jacks and transported back to the pallet gates for the reach truck to remove and place in the staging area, which could be static racks alongside the mezzanine or the floor on the bottom level. 1 picker works each floor and gets to know the location of the different SKUs. Knowing the products on his floor allows him to pick the heaviest products first to go on the bottom of the pallet and lightest at the top. This prevents crushing. On a recent trip to Europe I went to investigate mezzanine case picking solutions at one of the largest cold storage facilities in the UK and a long standing customer of STORAX. It is a massive operation and the volumes speak for themselves: One site. 52 acres. 135 000 pallet positions on high dense STORAX mobile racking in cold storage. 1000 pallet movements per day 400 – 500 trucks / day, pallets double stacked. 30 000 cases / day picked over a double shift. 10 pickers each picking 3000 cases a day. Case picking is approximately 2-3% of total throughput.     On average his client used to pick from the bottom level of the mobile racks but as demand for case picking grew needed a more efficient solution was required. The client is satisfied that the 2 x 5 level mezzanines are meeting their expectations and identify the following benefits:   Efficiency Dedicated picking area where pickers can pick uninterrupted by reach trucks moving in the aisles. In Australia it’s now illegal to have pickers and reachtrucks operating in the same area. Reach trucks can get on with their work not worrying about pickers. Safety Reduced accidents between pickers and reach trucks due to 1 and 2 above. No chance of product from upper static racks falling on pickers walking in the open static rack aisles. Best solution to achieve the amount of pick faces required which is a challenge with growing product ranges and new customers. All pick faces on floor level. No need for costly material handling equipment to pick from 2nd, 3rd or even 4th pallet level. Smooth and efficient replenishment of the pick face between reach-truck and pallet jack operators. Space saving The whole volume of the cold store is being used. With floor pitch around 2.5m very little space is wasted. Mezzanines are tucked into the side or corner of the cold room only I aisle is required for the reach truck to feed it. Reducing number of aisles required and increasing income generating storage capacity.   Another potential benefit of this solution is the opportunity to implement to ‘pick by voice’ technology. This would take picking efficiency to an even higher level.   Some of the technical features Heavy duty structural I Beams for vertical and horizontal support. 6mm thick steel plates as flooring creates a solid floor for smooth pallet jack movement. Bolted construction allowing movement and flexibility for dynamic and evolving business needs. The structure can be mounted on mobile racking rails. This increases strength and also allows for the possibility to install high dense storage mobiles in the future offering flexibility should demand for case picking drop. Energy saving LED lighting. Black polished steel reducing glare and floor reflections on pickers. Cold air distribution socks over blowers to circulate and distribute cold air above top floor.   To make maximum use of the picking efficiencies multitier mezzanines offer, picking staff need to be equipped with high quality freezer clothing. This significantly increases the amount of time they can spend in the cold store without taking breaks. Barpro offers the DELF range of high quality freezer wear which is a must for cold store picking.   There is increasing interest among South African cold stores who can see the potential benefits. Multi-tier mezzanines can give a significant edge over competitors especially in the field of 3rd party cold storage distribution. Being able to case pick more cost effectively while using less volume gives an edge in this price sensitive market.   Let us help you create that edge. Call Barpro for more information. Cape Town: 021 552 9190 Johannesburg: 011 450 1075 Email: info@barpro.co.za [gravityform id=”5″ title=”true” description=”true”] Read more: Changing Load Parameters in Mobile Pallet Racking Read more: Storax Ramada Ranger Shuttle launches in SA Read more: How to choose the right storage system

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cold store floor rising

Why is your cold store floor rising?

Blog, cold store, Featured, Freezer store, Ice, Uncategorized /

Above Image: Heater mat being covered by a thin concrete layer at a newly built freezer store in the UK. In a newly commissioned Danish freezer some years ago, a Storax mobile refused to move. After some initial panic, it was found that the obstacle was a ridge in the concrete floor. As the floor had been checked for level after initial curing, the newly formed ridge was surprising. The floor had a glycol heater mat beneath the underfloor insulation and every circuit had a flow meter outside the building so that movement of the glycol mixture heated by the refrigeration system condensers could be easily checked. A bumblebee had become lodged in a flow meter obstructing the flow of glycol and allowing ice to form in the subfloor and creating the problematic ridge through “frost heave”. The bee was removed, the ice melted and the ridge disappeared without cracking the concrete floor.   In Australia, 200mm pipes are laid under freezer floors and air pumped through them to stop ice from forming in the subfloor. At one freezer the pipe did not have sufficient fall, condensation puddled and froze obstructing the pipe eventually causing the cold store floor to rise. At one local store, similar air vents were blocked to prevent rat ingress. That floor rose by 900mms……..     In South Africa, while some recent stores have installed glycol systems, most rely on electrical heater mats which normally consist of three circuits of wire a little like a hot blanket on a bed. The wires lie in a sand bed which may or may not be held together with a weak cement mix. The circuits end in a control box which turns them on only if the temperature beneath the cold store floor dips beneath 4 degrees C.   4 degrees C is interesting as water with impurities can freeze at higher temperatures than zero. Some chill stores have found this out to their cost, as heater mats were considered unnecessary. As the business changed temperatures were dropped to minus 0.5 degrees C and the rooms kept running year round instead of being switched off in the summer months. After several stores experienced frost heave, heater mats and underfloor insulation have now become part of the building design.   While it may sound obvious, check that the heater mats are on when the chamber is commissioned. We have seen at least three stores where the floor rose through frost heave because the heater mats had not been turned on. In one instance the floor subsided. In the others the movement had already cut the wires.   I have visited one store where the heat mat cables had been cut by accident and attempts were made to drill right under the floor in the insulation to replace the wires. I don’t know if the plan worked.   What I have found somewhat surprising is the number of times when management don’t immediately know where the heater mat control panel is situated and how it works.  Only last week we had to help a customer who found that his heater mat control panel needed fixing. This was only identified after the floor began to rise. It is critical that heater mats get checked regularly and that management understands their purpose. In freezer stores, especially those with mobile racking systems, keeping the floor level is so essential that annual floor level checks are recommended.   Need a storage solution for your new facility? Contact us: [gravityform id=”10″ title=”true” description=”true”]   Read more: How to choose the right storage system Read more: What’s so different about cold store floors? Read more: The Strange History of Insulated Cold Store Panels  

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