Product category:
Metals and materials, stockholding
News Release from: Kasto | Subject: Kasto automated storage and retrieval system
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 15 March 2002
Materials handling solution found for
metals
A West Midlands metals company has created a twin site operation capable of storing and supplying all of the stainless steel, aluminium, copper, brass and bronze products.
When Amari Metals wanted to create a twin site operation in the West Midlands capable of storing and supplying to UK stockholders all of the stainless steel, aluminium, copper, brass and bronze products in their range, they turned to Rivers Machinery for a materials handling solution "We were operating out of four sites at Tipton, Walsall, Barnsley and Bloxwich, which was difficult logistically as well as from a managerial standpoint, and also costly," said Chris Meredith, manager of The Metal Centre, the central stockholding division of Amari Metals
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 23 May 2001 at 8.00am (UK)
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"So a decision was taken to invest over GBP 1 million in a Kasto automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS) at our Tipton site, supplied by Rivers Machinery.
As a result of this investment, we were able to close our Barnsley and Bloxwich sites and substantially reduce our total floor area." Martin Betteridge, who is in charge of the Kasto operation at Tipton, commented, "Despite the reduction in floor area following the closure of Barnsley and Bloxwich, our overall stockholding capacity has remained the same, which is why we named the project 'Operation Tardis' after the Doctor Who telephone box." The ASRS is a high density storage system on 16 levels and comprises nearly two thousand storage positions.
Clever utilisation of space within each cassette is key to the success of the operation.
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Each of the 1948 cassettes, which measure 610mm wide by 330mm high by 7270mm long, is arranged internally as one of 12 types.
Type 1 is unaltered; types 2 to 7 are divided into two, four or six compartments; types 8 and 9 are rubber lined to protect polished material; and type 10 is divided into nine compartments for short bar and tube.
The remaining two types have fully boarded bases so that flimsy material cannot fall through the cross members which constitute the base of the other cassettes.
The system houses much of The Metal Centre's product in the form of bar, tube and angle from 3 to 6 metres, but exceptionally up to 7 metres.
Generally it is the smaller diameters and lengths that are held in the so-called 'Unicompact' ASRS from Kasto, as these may be handled by operators without the need for cranes.
Two input/output stations served by fork lift trucks suffice for putting away and retrieving more than four and a half thousand different stock items held in the system.
Average picking rate is 450 per 24 hour day, the night shift being responsible for around a quarter of those, plus putting into store all the material that has been delivered during the day shift.
Within each location, care is taken to mix material types to ensure maximum utilisation of space and facilitate picking.
For example, large diameter bar is combined with tube so that the maximum weight capacity of 2.5 tonnes is not reached before the volume occupied is at a reasonable level.
Additionally, it is easy to distinguish between the different stock types when picking.
For the same reason, dissimilar materials are often stored in the same cassette.
The storage system is 'live', meaning that the crane picks the next cassette and in the same operation replaces it with the one that has just been returned from one of the two picking stations, thereby ensuring minimal time loss.
The computer control always knows the location and content of each cassette.
Team Leader in charge of Unicompact ASRS operations is Steve Hemmings, who described a typical day's activities.
"The Aalco branches around the country, which are also part of Amari, are on-line with the host computer at Tipton and place orders directly onto the system every day.
We also receive from many other UK stockholders orders which are fed into the system by our staff here at Tipton.
"All orders are stacked onto a holding screen and sequentially released to the warehouse for picking.
The status of the order can be viewed at any time, giving a snapshot as to which items are still to be picked and the tonnage picked against the required total".
The computer system automatically lists the orders as they are received in the correct sequence according to the delivery priority for each departing vehicle.
For added flexibility, the Tipton team is able to reprioritise items to meet new agreed collection or delivery deadlines.
Last month, for example, out of over 11,000 items picked, only two failed to meet the exacting delivery requirements stipulated by The Metal Centre's customers.
Most picks are determined by weight using the built-in scales at each input/output station.
Picked weight is logged automatically and so is that of the remaining stock in the cassette.
This ensures consistent weight accuracy for the customer.
Occasionally the order is specified by meterage, in which case the length of product is measured by hand.
After each pick, a bar code label is printed which accompanies the material to its destination.
"All in all, the system has been a tremendous success," says Martin Betteridge.
"Our aim was to reduce costs, improve our logistics and give our customers speedy and accurate deliveries.
With the assistance of Kasto and Rivers Machinery, we have achieved all of these goals.".
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