The Coca-Cola Amatil Victorian Distribution Centre in Mentone, Australia, is purpose built and one of the most automated warehouses found anywhere in the Coca-Cola empire. It
is fully automated with an Automatic Storage and Retrieval System (ASRS), stacker cranes, shuttle cart, monorail system, automated pallet wrappers, automated pallet conveyors and
features 26,000 pallet positions.
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Orders are either full or part pallet loads and once picked they are delivered to despatch via 10 flow storage lanes 15 pallet deep. The Coca-Cola business is seasonal and during
peak times such as summer months, these flow lanes are expected to handle up to 65 pallets an hour, 24 hours a day, 5 days a week. They are also expected to handle pallets that
vary between 300 kg to 1350 kg.
The Distribution Centre was commissioned in 2003 and according to Stuart Moore, Maintenance Manager for the entire DC, the performance of the flow lanes is critical to the overall
efficiency of the operation.
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| Safety and efficiendy called for a change
"It's pointless having all this technology automatically managing the movement of product throughout the DC if we can't get the pallets out of the facility safely
and efficiently", he said.
Stuart also confirmed that it was apparent that the flow lanes originally installed would not be up to the task. "Even during the commissioning period we could see the
original flow lanes weren't capable of handling the work load."
"The original technology had some fundamental problems", Stuart Moore says, "for example the braking system was in direct contact with the pallet so rollers were
quickly worn and the system featured 3 springs that supported the main roller structure. Due to the constant use and weight of the pallets the springs lost strength and/or fell
off, rendering the braking system almost useless", he adds.
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| Interroll/Sipa understood what we wanted
Coca-Cola experienced a number of issues with the original flow storage system which included pallets getting stuck on lanes, pallets descending uncontrolled causing damage to
product, excessive noise and generally they were seen as a significant occupational health and safety issue. The lanes were also maintenance intensive with staff having to work on
them almost hourly.
According to Stuart, Coca-Cola Amatil investigated a number of possible suppliers to replace the flow lanes and, following a recommendation, began discussions with Interroll
Dynamic Storage, represented in Australia by its distribution partner SIPA Roller Australia. "We were recommended to the Interroll/SIPA product and from our first meeting it
was apparent that they understood our problems and believed they had the right solution", says Stuart. "We installed a trial lane and monitored its performance over a
few months. Like anything new, it required some fine tuning but after extensive testing we were satisfied with the level of performance and results we obtained", he
underlines.
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| Interroll: All-Out efforts to get things done
An order was placed and approximately 12 weeks later the installation of the remaining lanes commenced. 2 to 3 lanes were retrofitted at a time, as it was critical to the overall
operation that the lanes were able to function throughout the installation period. It took close to 3 weeks to finish installing with Interroll / SIPA prepared to work around
Coca-Cola's work schedule to minimise disruption.
"The installation process was fairly seamless" said Stuart "with the installation team quick and tidy and prepared to work all hours to fit in with our work load,
they caused us minimum disruption" he said.
The new flow lanes, supported on Dexion racking, provide a much stronger structure and issues like strengthened splicing and high impact wheels ensure the new lanes are rugged and
more than capable of the work load. The lanes are also constructed on a slightly steeper slope to ensure lighter pallets flow effectively and even with the 15 pallet deep lanes
there is no problem with tracking and lateral movement of pallets is minimised due to the configuration of the rollers in the system.
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