Case study Automatic Container Unloading Logistics

 

Unique collaboration between Cartonmover and Qimarox

OMS saves manpower and improves health with Automatic Container Unloading 

OMS International saves costs by automating the unloading of containers. The logistics service provider from Oosterhout has installed a unique solution from Cartonmover in close cooperation with Qimarox for this purpose. With this solution, boxes are unloaded at high speed and automatically stacked on pallets. The key to success is the unique pattern generator from Qimarox that automatically generates stacking patterns and translates them into instructions for the palletizer.

Unloading containers is physically demanding work. Employees must bend deeply, reach high and constantly twist their bodies to pick up the often large and heavy boxes one by one and lift them onto a telescoping conveyor. More and more retailers and wholesalers who import their goods are looking for solutions that make the work more bearable. A large proportion of them end up with Cartonmover, the company that eight years ago brought the first semi-automatic solution for unloading shipping containers onto the market.

Unburdening employees

One of these companies is OMS International, which unloads about a hundred containers of non-food items every day for one of the largest supermarket chains. The logistics service provider from Oosterhout was looking for a solution to relieve the two hundred employees from Eastern Europe. Via the Internet, Jaroslaw Wiecha, operational director of OMS, stumbled upon Cartonmover. After a one-month test period, he was convinced of the usefulness and efficiency of the most popular model: the ERGO.

The Cartonmover Ergo is a mobile machine with a 900 mm wide conveyor belt and a 2000 mm wide platform that can move up and down. Employees therefore no longer have to stand on the bottom boxes to pick up the top boxes. Because the telescopic belt can be lowered to 30 centimeters from the bottom, they hardly have to lift the bottom boxes anymore. This leads to considerably less  physical complaints. Anyone can therefore start working with this machine immediately and process up to 1800 boxes per hour. There is a good reason why this machine is used in almost all of Amazon's European distribution centers.

Automatic palletizing of boxes

However, the Cartonmover Ergo only solves part of the problem. The boxes that, thanks to this machine, are unloaded out of the container with much less effort and at a higher speed, still have to be stacked on pallets: a manual and labor-intensive job that until now also led to many physical complaints. "That is why we started looking together with OMS for an additional solution for palletizing boxes. We have seen several palletizers and palletizing robots in practice," says Wiecha together with Tony Groters of Cartonmover.

The choice finally fell on the Highrunner HR9 from Qimarox. This palletizer offers more capacity than a palletizing robot, more than enough to handle the flow of boxes from the Cartonmover. An additional advantage is that, unlike a robot, the boxes are carried at the bottom, which limits the risk of product damage. Qimarox's special stacking method also ensures better stacked pallets. "With the people from Qimarox we immediately had a click. Unlike other suppliers, they were prepared to modify the design of the standard machine, enabling us to increase capacity by another 25 percent," says the warehouse management team at OMS.

New: Qimarox Pattern Generator

The decisive factor in choosing the Qimarox palletizer is the new pattern generator. This is particularly important when unloading containers. For each new container, the box size must first be determined and then a new stacking pattern must be created. "Manually measuring boxes and programming stacking patterns is a time-consuming task. The cost of this does not outweigh the benefits of automatic palletizing.".

The pattern generator developed by Qimarox works fully automatically. The employee only has to place the first three boxes in a 3D scanner to determine the dimensions. The underlying software automatically calculates the average box size including tolerances. Is the box size already in memory? Then the corresponding stacking pattern is called up. Is the box size not yet known? Then the software generates a number of new stacking patterns, from which the employee can select one. After the selection the pattern is automatically translated into instructions for the machine."

70 percent of box sizes

OMS is the first company to apply the pattern generator. An extensive test preceded this. Cartonmover first sent a file of 8,000 box sizes from OMS to Qimarox, 70 percent of which could be stacked automatically with the help of the pattern generator. "Then we sent a few test pallets with various box formats to Qimarox's demo center in Harderwijk. These could indeed be processed without any problems. That was enough proof to put the pattern generator into operation," Wiecha and Groters explain.

The Qimarox Highrunner HR9 is installed at a fixed location in the OMS International warehouse. The cartons are fed via roller conveyors and chain conveyors from Roltrax, which also supplied the integrated pallet wrapper and empty pallet buffer station. Flexible harmonica conveyors from Cartonmover connect this static setup with the mobile Cartonmover ERGO. The cabling, control and site management is in the hands of DH Automation. "All machines are built in the Netherlands. The entire system was installed on time according to plan." says Groters, who acted as the main contractor with his company Cartonmover.

24 hours a day, 5 days a week

Meanwhile, the Cartonmover Ergo in combination with the Qimarox Highrunner HR9 runs no less than 24 hours a day, 5 days a week. OMS is now able to process 10,000 cartons per day. Groters: "Originally, the Cartonmover ERGO was designed to serve three docks. By supplying additional flexible conveyors, OMS is able to deploy the machine at four docks, enabling the company to work through the night without having to move containers. The entire system has been running successfully for over a year now and has saved several FTEs. Partly because of this, the Return on Investment period is short."

Qimarox: heeft een logistieke oplossing ontwikkeld voor het automatiseren van het ontladen van containers.

Qimarox introduceert een splinternieuwe palletiseermachine die speciaal is ontwikkeld voor het palletiseren van goederen uit containers. Dankzij de unieke patroongenerator kan de Qimarox Highrunner HR9 dozen van nagenoeg elk formaat razendsnel stapelen op pallets. Met deze innovatie zijn importeurs van uiteenlopende producten in staat om het lossen van containers voor een groot deel te automatiseren. Het resultaat: verbetering van de ergonomie en besparing op personeelskosten.

Het lossen van ‘loose loaded’ containers is fysiek zwaar, tijdrovend en onaantrekkelijk werk. De dozen moeten stuk voor stuk handmatig uit de containers worden gehaald en op pallets worden gestapeld. Dat leidt tot fysieke klachten bij het personeel en tot schade aan goederen als dozen vallen of slordig worden gestapeld. Nu het steeds lastiger wordt om personeel te vinden en de druk uit de supply chain toeneemt om containers sneller te legen, zoeken meer en meer bedrijven naar oplossingen om het proces te automatiseren.

Slimme patroongenerator met 3D-scanner

Qimarox speelt daarop in met de Highrunner HR9. Deze razendsnelle, innovatieve palletiseermachine is in staat om dozen van nagenoeg elk formaat automatisch te stapelen op pallets. Uniek is de slimme patroongenerator die op basis van de dimensies van een doos automatisch meerdere stapelpatronen genereert. Het enige dat de operator hoeft te doen, is het gewenste stapelpatroon selecteren. De Qimarox Highrunner HR9 doet de rest en vertaalt het geselecteerde stapelpatroon naar instructies voor de machine.

De Qimarox Highrunner HR9 is voorzien van een volledig geïntegreerde 3D-productscanner, waarmee automatisch de contouren en afmetingen van de dozen kunnen worden vastgelegd. Deze data vormen de input voor de patroongenerator, die op basis daarvan meerdere stapelpatronen berekent. Het intuïtief vormgegeven bedieningspaneel toont de stapelpatronen en geeft aan welk stapelpatroon de voorkeur verdient. De keuze van de operator wordt in het geheugen vastgelegd, zodat de volgende keer automatisch het juiste stapelpatroon wordt geselecteerd. Het lossen van containers was nog nooit zo gemakkelijk.

Minimale kans op productschade

Qimarox ontwikkelt al jarenlang palletiseermachines, die wereldwijd worden ingezet door tientallen fabrikanten van consumentenproducten. Omdat deze robuuste, onderhoudsarme plaatpalletisers de producten aan de onderkant dragen, blijft de kans op productschade tot een minimum beperkt. Nu Qimarox een slimme patroongenerator met geïntegreerde 3D-scanner heeft ontwikkeld, is het niet langer nodig om dozen handmatig op te meten en eigenhandig stapelpatronen te ontwerpen en programmeren. Dat scheelt veel tijd bij het lossen van containers, waarbij vooraf vaak onduidelijk hoe de goederen zijn verpakt.

De Highrunner HR9 palletiseermachine stelt bedrijven in staat om hun ontladingsproces te automatiseren. Dit brengt een aantal voordelen met zich mee:

- Minder personeel nodig voor deze werkzaamheden

- Een sneller ontladingsproces (1,000 producten per uur gebaseerd op 4 producten per laag)

- Geen (kostbare en tijdrovende) manuele handelingen meer nodig

- Geen risico's meer op RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury) bij het personeel

- Geen risico's meer om geraakt te worden door vallende voorwerpen

- Geen risico's meer van vallen van hoogte

- Geen risico's meer op uitglijden, struikelen en/of vallen van het personeel

De Qimarox Highrunner HR9 is inmiddels succesvol in gebruik bij OMS International, een Nederlandse logistiek dienstverlener die elke dag circa honderd containers met non-food-artikelen lost voor één van Europa’s grootste supermarktketens. Met de palletiseermachine inclusief stapelgenerator is OMS in staat om 10.000 dozen per dag te verwerken., wat een besparing van meerdere FTE’s oplevert

Qimarox ha desarrollado una solución logística para automatizar la descarga de contenedores.

Qimarox presenta una nueva paletizadora, especialmente desarrollada para un entorno logístico en el que es frecuente la paletización de mercancías a partir de contenedores. Gracias a su exclusivo generador de patrones, la Qimarox Highrunner HR9 puede apilar cajas de casi cualquier tamaño en palets a la velocidad del rayo. Con esta innovación, los importadores de diversos productos pueden automatizar en gran medida la descarga de los contenedores. El resultado es una mejora de la ergonomía y un ahorro en tiempo y costes de personal.

La descarga de contenedores «con carga suelta» es un trabajo físicamente exigente, que requiere mucho tiempo y es poco atractivo. Las cajas deben sacarse manualmente de los contenedores una a una y apilarse en palés. Esto provoca quejas físicas entre el personal y daños en la mercancía si las cajas se apilan sin cuidado o se caen. Como cada vez es más difícil encontrar personal y aumenta la presión de la cadena de suministro para vaciar los contenedores más rápidamente, las empresas buscan nuevas soluciones para automatizar el proceso.

Generador de patrones inteligente con escáner 3D

Qimarox responde a esta petición de las empresas con la paletizadora Highrunner HR9 Logistic. Esta rápida e innovadora paletizadora es capaz de apilar automáticamente cajas de casi cualquier tamaño en palés. Una característica única es el generador de patrones inteligentes que crea automáticamente múltiples patrones de apilamiento basados en las dimensiones de una caja. Lo único que tiene que hacer el operario es seleccionar el patrón de apilado deseado, aunque también esto puede automatizarse. La Qimarox Highrunner HR9 hace el resto y traduce el patrón de apilado seleccionado en instrucciones para la máquina.

La Highrunner HR9 de Qimarox está equipada con un escáner de productos en 3D totalmente integrado, que captura automáticamente los contornos y las dimensiones de las cajas. Estos datos constituyen la entrada para el generador de patrones, que calcula múltiples patrones de apilamiento basados en ellos. El panel de control de diseño intuitivo muestra los patrones de apilado e indica el patrón de apilado preferido. Las opciones del operario se registran en la memoria, de modo que la próxima vez se selecciona automáticamente el patrón de apilado correcto. Descargar contenedores nunca había sido tan fácil.

Riesgo mínimo de daños al producto

Qimarox lleva muchos años desarrollando paletizadoras utilizadas por decenas (¿o cientos?) de fabricantes de productos de consumo de todo el mundo. Como estas robustas paletizadoras de placas de bajo mantenimiento llevan los productos en la parte inferior, la posibilidad de que se dañen los productos se reduce al mínimo. Ahora que Qimarox ha desarrollado un generador de patrones inteligente con un escáner 3D integrado, ya no es necesario medir las cajas manualmente ni diseñar y programar los patrones de apilado manualmente. Esto ahorra mucho tiempo a la hora de descargar los contenedores, donde a menudo no está claro de antemano cómo se embala la mercancía.

Con la paletizadora Highrunner HR9, las empresas pueden automatizar sus procesos de descarga. Esto aporta claras ventajas:

- Se necesita menos personal para estas operaciones

- Un proceso de paletización más rápido (1000 productos por hora sobre la base de 4 productos por capa)

- Fin de la manipulación manual (costosa y lenta)

- No más riesgos de lesiones por esfuerzo repetitivo de la mano de obra

- Fin de los riesgos de golpearse por la caída de objetos

- Se acabaron los riesgos de caídas de altura

- Se acabaron los riesgos de resbalones, tropiezos y/o caídas

La Highrunner HR9 de Qimarox ya se utiliza con éxito en OMS International, un proveedor de servicios logísticos holandés que descarga diariamente un centenar de contenedores de artículos no alimentarios para una de las mayores cadenas de supermercados de Europa. Con la paletizadora que incluye el generador de apilado, OMS puede procesar 10 000 cajas al día, lo que ahorra varios empleados a tiempo completo.

Qimarox ha sviluppato una soluzione logistica per l’automatizzazione dello scarico dei container.

Qimarox presenta un nuovissimo pallettizzatore progettato appositamente per l’uso in ambienti logistici dove avviene spesso la pallettizzazione delle merci scaricate dai container. Grazie al suo esclusivo generatore di modelli, il Qimarox Highrunner HR9 è in grado di impilare scatole di quasi ogni dimensione su pallet in modo rapidissimo. Grazie a questa innovazione, gli importatori di diversi prodotti saranno in grado di automatizzare la maggior parte dello scarico dei container. Il risultato: ergonomia migliorata e risparmio di tempo e costi del personale.

Lo scarico dei container che contengono colli “sfusi” è un lavoro fisicamente impegnativo, dispendioso in termini di tempo e poco desiderabile. Le scatole devono essere prelevate manualmente dai container una ad una e impilate sui pallet. Ciò comporta malessere fisico per il personale e danni alle merci in caso di caduta o noncuranza nella fase di impilamento. La difficoltà di trovare personale e l’aumento della pressione da parte della catena di approvvigionamento che chiede di svuotare i container sempre più velocemente, fanno sì che sempre più aziende siano alla ricerca di soluzioni per automatizzare questo processo.

Generatore di modelli con scanner 3D

Qimarox risponde a questa esigenza delle aziende con il suo pallettizzatore Highrunner HR9 Logistic. Questo velocissimo e innovativo pallettizzatore è in grado di impilare automaticamente scatole di quasi ogni dimensione sui pallet. Ciò che lo rende unico è il generatore di modelli intelligente che genera automaticamente modelli di impilamento multipli in base alle dimensioni di ogni scatola. Tutto ciò che l'operatore dovrà fare, sarà selezionare il modello di impilamento desiderato, che può anche essere automatizzato! Di tutto il resto si occupa il Qimarox Highrunner HR9, traducendo il modello di impilamento selezionato in istruzioni per la macchina.

Il Qimarox Highrunner HR9 è dotato di uno scanner 3D per prodotti completamente integrato, che acquisisce automaticamente la sagoma e le dimensioni dei colli. Questi dati costituiscono le informazioni necessarie al generatore di modelli per calcolare modelli multipli di impilamento. Il pannello di controllo dal design intuitivo mostra all’operatore i modelli di impilamento, indicando quello consigliato. La scelta dell'operatore viene memorizzata, in modo che la volta successiva venga selezionato automaticamente il modello di impilamento corretto. Scaricare i container non è mai stato così facile.

Rischio minimo di danni al prodotto

Da molti anni, Qimarox sviluppa pallettizzatori utilizzati da decine (o forse centinaia) di produttori di merci di consumo in tutto il mondo. Siccome questi pallettizzatori, robusti e a manutenzione limitata, trasportano i prodotti dalla parte inferiore, la possibilità di danni al prodotto è ridotta al minimo. Ora che Qimarox ha sviluppato un generatore di modelli intelligente con scanner 3D integrato, misurare le scatole manualmente, progettare e programmare personalmente i modelli di impilamento non è più necessario. Ciò consente di risparmiare molto tempo durante lo scarico dei container, operazione per cui spesso non è chiaro in anticipo come sono stipate le merci.

Il pallettizzatore Highrunner HR9 permette alle aziende di automatizzare i processi di scarico approfittando così di una serie di vantaggi:

- Meno personale impegnato in queste attività

- Un processo di pallettizzazione più rapido (1.000 prodotti all'ora sulla base di 4 prodotti per strato)

- Niente più movimentazione manuale (costosa e dispendiosa in termini di tempo)

- Niente più rischi di lesioni da sforzo ripetuto della forza lavoro

- Niente più rischi di essere colpiti da oggetti in caduta

- Niente più rischi di cadute dall'alto

- Niente più rischi di scivolamento, inciampo e/o caduta

Il Qimarox Highrunner HR9 è attualmente utilizzato con successo dalla OMS International, un fornitore di servizi logistici olandese che scarica circa un centinaio di container di articoli non alimentari ogni giorno per una delle più grandi catene di supermercati d'Europa. Grazie al pallettizzatore con generatore di modelli di impilamento integrato, l’OMS è in grado di gestire 10.000 scatole al giorno, risparmiando diversi FTE (Equivalenti a tempo pieno).

Qimarox hat eine Logistiklösung für die Automatisierung des Entladens von Containern entwickelt.

Qimarox stellt einen brandneuen Palettierer vor, der speziell für ein logistisches Umfeld entwickelt wurde, in dem das Palettieren von Waren aus Containern häufig vorkommt. Dank eines einzigartigen Mustergenerators kann der Qimarox Highrunner HR9 Kartons fast jeder Größe blitzschnell auf Paletten stapeln. Diese Innovation ermöglicht es Importeuren verschiedener Produkte, das Entladen von Containern weitgehend zu automatisieren. Das Ergebnis: verbesserte Ergonomie und Einsparungen bei Zeit und Personalkosten.

Das Entladen von „lose beladenen“ Containern ist eine körperlich anstrengende, zeitraubende und unattraktive Arbeit. Die Kartons müssen per Hand einzeln aus den Containern genommen und auf Paletten gestapelt werden. Dies führt zu körperlichen Beschwerden beim Personal - und zu Schäden an der Ware, wenn Kisten unachtsam gestapelt oder fallen gelassen werden. Da es immer schwieriger wird Personal zu finden, und der Druck von Seiten der Lieferkette steigt die Container schneller zu leeren, suchen immer mehr Unternehmen nach Lösungen um den Prozess zu automatisieren.

Intelligenter Mustergenerator mit 3D-Scanner

Qimarox antwortet auf diesen Wunsch der Unternehmen mit dem Palettierer Highrunner HR9 Logistic. Dieser blitzschnelle, innovative Palettierer ist in der Lage, Kartons von nahezu beliebiger Größe automatisch auf Paletten zu stapeln. Eine besondere Funktion ist der intelligente Mustergenerator, der automatisch mehrere Stapelmuster auf der Grundlage der Abmessungen eines Kartons erzeugt. Der Bediener muss lediglich das gewünschte Stapelmuster auswählen, aber auch dies kann automatisiert werden! Der Qimarox Highrunner HR9 erledigt den Rest und setzt das ausgewählte Stapelmuster in Anweisungen für die Maschine um.

Der Qimarox Highrunner HR9 ist mit einem vollständig integrierten 3D-Produktscanner ausgestattet, der automatisch die Konturen und Abmessungen der Kartons erfasst. Diese Daten bilden die Eingabedaten für den Mustergenerator, der daraus mehrere Stapelmuster errechnet. Das intuitiv verständlich gestaltete Bedienfeld zeigt die Stapelbilder an und gibt das bevorzugte Stapelbild an. Die Auswahl des Bedieners wird gespeichert, sodass beim nächsten Mal automatisch das richtige Stapelmuster gewählt wird. Das Entladen von Containern war noch nie so einfach.

Minimales Risiko von Produktbeschädigungen

Qimarox entwickelt seit vielen Jahren Palettierer, die von Dutzenden (oder Hunderten) von Konsumgüterherstellern weltweit eingesetzt werden. Da diese robusten und wartungsarmen Plattenpalettierer die Produkte an deren Boden tragen, ist das Risiko von Produktbeschädigungen minimiert. Mit dem von Qimarox entwickelten intelligenten Mustergenerator mit integriertem 3D-Scanner ist es nun nicht mehr notwendig, Kartons manuell zu vermessen und Stapelmuster selbst zu entwerfen und zu programmieren. Das spart viel Zeit beim Entladen von Containern, bei denen oft im Vorfeld nicht klar ist wie die Ware gepackt wird.

Mit dem Palettierer Highrunner HR9 automatisieren Unternehmen ihre Entladevorgänge. Das bringt mehrere Vorteile mit sich:

- Weniger Personal erforderlich für diese Vorgänge

- Schnellerer Palettierprozess (1000 Produkte pro Stunde bei 4 Produkten pro Lage)

- Keine (teure und zeitaufwändige) Handhabung per Hand mehr

- Kein Verletzungsrisiko der Mitarbeiter mehr

- Keine Gefahr mehr, von herabfallenden Gegenständen getroffen zu werden

- Kein Risiko von Stürzen aus der Höhe mehr

- Keine Risiken mehr durch Ausrutschen, Stolpern oder Stürze

Der Qimarox Highrunner HR9 ist jetzt erfolgreich bei OMS International im Einsatz, einem niederländischen Logistikdienstleister, der täglich etwa hundert Container mit Nicht-Lebensmittel-Artikeln für eine der größten Supermarktketten Europas entlädt. Mit dem Palettierer einschließlich des Stapelgenerators kann OMS 10.000 Kartons pro Tag verarbeiten, wodurch mehrere Vollzeitstellen eingespart werden.

Qimarox a développé une solution logistique pour automatiser le déchargement des containeurs.

 Qimarox présente un tout nouveau palettiseur spécialement conçu pour les environnements logistiques où le transfert de marchandises d’un containeur à des palettes est une tâche fréquente. Grâce à son générateur de plans de palettisation, le Qimarox Highrunner HR9 peut empiler les colis sur des palettes à la vitesse de l’éclair. Grâce à cette innovation, les importateurs de divers produits sont capables d’automatiser une grande partie du déchargement des containeurs. Le résultat : une meilleure économie et des économies de temps et de frais de personnel.

Le déchargement des containeurs chargés en vrac est une tâche éprouvante physiquement, chronophage et ingrate. Les cartons doivent être retirés manuellement des containeurs un par un et empilés sur des palettes. Cela entraîne des blessures chez le personnel et les marchandises peuvent être endommagées si elles sont mal empilées ou si elles tombent. Comme il devient de plus en plus difficile de trouver du personnel et que la chaîne d’approvisionnement exige de vider les containeurs de plus en plus vite, de plus en plus de sociétés cherchent à automatiser le processus.

Générateur intelligent de plans de palettisation avec scanner 3D

Qimarox répond à cette demande des entreprises avec le palettiseur Highrunner HR9. Ce palettiseur innovant et extrêmement rapide est capable d’empiler automatiquement des cartons de toutes tailles sur des palettes. Une caractéristique unique de la machine est son générateur intelligent de plans de palettisation en fonctions des dimensions des cartons. L’opérateur doit seulement choisir le plan de palettisation souhaité, mais même cela peut être automatisé ! Le palettiseur Qimarox Highrunner HR9 fait le reste et transforme le plan de palettisation sélectionné en instructions pour la machine.

Le palettiseur Qimarox Highrunner HR9 est équipé d’un scanner 3D intégré qui capture automatiquement les contours et les dimensions des cartons. Les données recueillies par le scanner sont transmises au générateur de schémas de palettisation qui calcule différents plans en fonction de ces données. La console de commande intuitive affiche les plans de palettisation possible et indique le plan préféré. Le choix de l’opérateur est enregistré pour que le schéma de palettisation correct soit sélectionné automatiquement la prochaine fois. Il n’a jamais été aussi facile de décharger des containeurs.

Risque minime d’endommager les produits

Qimarox conçoit des palettiseurs depuis des années, ils sont utilisés par des douzaines (ou même des centaines) de fabricants de produits de consommation à travers le monde. Comme ces palettiseurs robustes et peu gourmands en maintenance transportent le produit jusqu’à son point de pose, les risques d’endommager le produit sont minimes. Maintenant que Qimarox a développé un générateur intelligent de schémas de palettisation avec scanner 3D intégré, il n’est plus nécessaire de mesurer les cartons à la main et de concevoir le schéma de palettisation vous-même. Cela vous permet de gagner énormément de temps quand vous déchargez un containeur car il difficile de savoir à l’avance comment les produits seront emballés.

Le palettiseur Highrunner HR9 permet aux entreprises d’automatiser leur processus de déchargement. Cela engendre quelques avantages :

- Moins de personnel est requis pour ces opérations

- Le processus de palettisation est plus rapide(1 000 cartons à l’heure sur une base de 4 cartons par couche)

- Plus de manipulations manuelles (chères et chronophages)

- Plus de risques de voir le personnel développer des troubles musculo-squelettiques

- Plus de risque d’être heurté par un objet qui tombe

- Plus de risque de chute de hauteur

- Plus de risque de glisser, trébucher ou tomber

Le palettiseur Qimarox Highrunner HR9 est actuellement utilisé avec succès par OMS International, un prestataire de services logistiques néerlandais qui décharge une centaine de containeurs de produits non-alimentaires par jour pour l’une des plus grandes chaînes de supermarchés d’Europe. Comme le palettiseur inclus un générateur de schéma de palettisation, OMS peut traiter 10 000 cartons par jour, et n’a pas besoin d’autant d’employés à temps plein.

Qimarox simplifies integration with PackML guidelines

Qimarox adopts the PackML guidelines for the integration of machines into production and packaging lines. This means that the components of Qimarox are now even easier to integrate, operate and maintain. With PackML, the manufacturer of palletising modules and vertical conveyors, among other things, is responding to an increasing demand from the market. Almost all major consumer product manufacturers – including Nestlé, Procter & Gamble and PepsiCo – set PackML as a prerequisite for new production and packaging lines.

‘PackML’ stands for Packaging Machine Language, a guideline drawn up by the Organization for Machine Automation and Control (OMAC). This organisation is supported by large, globally operating manufacturers of consumer products  such as Nestlé, Procter & Gamble and PepsiCo. In collaboration with system integrators, machine builders and technology suppliers, they want to create open standards for the vertical and horizontal integration of machines. ‘Horizontal integration’ refers to the interaction between the machines themselves (machine-to-machine communication), and ‘vertical integration’ to linking this with central control systems.

Qimarox’s alignment with PackML means that its palletisers, vertical conveyors and other machines are now even easier to integrate, operate and maintain. Manufacturers of consumer products using PackML as a guideline succeed in bringing new production and/or packaging lines into use three to four months earlier. They are seeing the total cost of ownership (TCO) of their systems fall significantly, while the overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) increases. System integrators and machine builders who incorporate Qimarox modules into their solutions also benefit from the simplified integration and acceleration of test procedures.

Conditions for innovation

Standardisation in the realisation of production and packaging lines is desperately needed. Standards allow manufacturers to shift gears quickly and adapt their production processes to the rapid changes in the market. OMAC is currently preparing to enable concepts such as plug-and-play and plug-and-produce in due course. ‘PackML increases the possibilities for innovation. If manufacturers want to update a system, they don’t need to modify the control system of an entire packaging line. They only need to concentrate on the parts that need to be updated,’ says Uwe Keiter, chairman of the OMAC Packaging Workgroup.

In order to take full advantage of new technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) or artificial intelligence (AI), standards are also indispensable. ‘Today, we can store and analyse data from different machines in the cloud. However, this is only really useful if we record the data identically, so that we can for example compare the performance of machines and calculate the OEE unequivocally. PackML makes that possible,’ says Keiter, who in his everyday life works as Business Development Director / Consumer Goods for technology provider Lenze.

Agreements in three areas

PackML comprises agreements in three areas. The first area concerns the status of the machine. If the status is ‘idle’, then it is ready to produce. With a start button, the operator can then actually start the machine, after which the status will change to ‘execute’. If there is a fault, the status will switch to ‘held’. Thanks to the uniform set of agreements, operators can operate a new machine without any training and service engineers can quickly find out which part of the production or packaging line has the problem.

The second area concerns the mode of operation of the machine. Is it set to ‘automatic’, ‘manual’ or ‘maintenance’? Thirdly and lastly, agreements have been made about the way in which data is exchanged between the machines themselves and with the overlying control system. This could include, for example, the speed of the machine: will it be specified in metres per second or in units per hour? It has also been established that each machine will only exchange data with the machines immediately before and after it in the line. ‘If machine B has a fault and the status jumps to ‘held’, this is only passed on to machine A and C, but not to machine D. Machines A and C can respond to this by reducing their speed, which means that the status will change to ‘suspended’. Machine C in turn passes this status on to machine D’, explains Keiter.

PackML as a prerequisite

PackML offers advantages not only for end users and system integrators, but also for Qimarox and other machine builders. The OMAC guidelines make it easier to also design the control system of machines in a modular way. When upgrading, they only need to modify the module, not the complete machine. This reduces the time needed for testing and troubleshooting. In a factory acceptance test, there is no longer any need to test the communication with other machines, which can result in time savings of 60%. There is also no need to keep reinventing the wheel when programming the machine: 80% of the software can be reused.

By adhering to PackML, Qimarox is responding to market demand. ‘More and more manufacturers of consumer products are including PackML as a precondition in their request for a quotation. By meeting PackML’s specifications as standard, we make it easier for our own customers – system integrators and machine builders – to meet these requirements,’ says Jaco Hooijer, Operations Manager at Qimarox. ‘In addition, we recognise the importance of standardisation in the industry. By becoming a member of OMAC we want to contribute to the further spread and adoption of PackML’.

Everyone benefits

OMAC is happy with the registration of Qimarox. More and more machine builders are adopting PackML, according to Keiter. ‘We can buy machines anywhere and link them together to form a production or packaging line. However, most machines’ software is not consistent, simply because it was created by different programmers. This makes it difficult to connect these machines to, for example, a MES (Manufacturing Execution System). It also means that operators and service engineers have to be re-trained for each machine. Everyone in the industry benefits from guidelines like PackML, both users and suppliers of production resources’.

About Qimarox

Qimarox is a leading manufacturer of components for material handling systems characterised by ruggedness and reliability. Innovative concepts, patented technologies and continuous development allow Qimarox (which emerged from Nedpack) to manufacture product lifts and palletisers that combine flexibility and productivity with a low total cost of ownership. System integrators and original equipment manufacturers from across the globe use the machinery of Qimarox in end-of-line systems and storage and order picking systems in various industries. Please visit www.qimarox.com for more information.

Qimarox examines the use of drones for palletising

Qimarox has launched a study into the possibilities around using drones for product palletising. Manufacturers of consumer products can use these flying robots to design a very compact, flexible and scalable palletising process. Qimarox will be continuing along the path embarked upon by Amazon.com and others.

Online store Amazon.com and parcel carriers UPS and DHL have announced they wish to start using drones to distribute parcels to consumers. These drones could make it possible to solve the problem of the expensive last few miles in the delivery of online orders to consumers. There are already videos on YouTube showing the first test flights of drones collecting packages in a distribution centre and flying them out towards residential areas.

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Flexibility and Scalability

After using drones for external logistics processes, the next step is to use them for internal logistics processes. Qimarox has launched an investigation into the possibilities. As a manufacturer of components for material handling systems, naturally Quimarox’s initial idea would be to apply this to product palletising. According to Operational Manager Jaco Hooijer of Qimarox: ‘Because of the limitations in terms of capacity and ergonomics, using people to stack goods on pallets is no longer an option for most manufacturers of Fast-Moving Consumer Goods. Using drones, they can fully automate the palletising process, while retaining the much greater level of flexibility and scalability entailed by using real people.’

Drones Can Be Switched On and Off

The great thing about palletising with drones is that the process can be redesigned at any time without having to move or adjust any of your machines. All that is needed is to change the coordinates in the software that controls the drones. Another advantage is that capacity can easily be increased or decreased by simply switching more drones on or off. It is even possible to use a single drone to operate multiple end-of-line packaging lines.

The biggest limitation is currently the weight that a drone can carry. Currently, drones are being tested that can lift products of up to 2.3 kilograms. However, the technology is developing so rapidly that weights of up to 10 kilograms should be possible within the foreseeable future.

Short payback period

Qimarox doesn’t expect palletising systems using drones to be the ideal solution for every manufacturer of consumer products. Quimarox will therefore also continue to focus on the Highrunner mk7, its innovative, ultra-fast, flexible palletiser that was recently introduced. According to Hooijer: ‘For standardised processes with high demands on the capacity and quality of the stack, this machine still remains the best solution. Thanks to its modular design, the cost of purchase, installation, use and maintenance of this machine are extremely low, meaning an investment in the Highrunner will pay for itself in no time at all.’

About Qimarox

Qimarox is a leading manufacturer of components for material handling systems characterised by robustness and reliability. Innovative concepts, patented technologies and continuous development allow Qimarox (which emerged from Nedpack) to manufacture product elevators and palletisers that combine flexibility and productivity with a low total cost of ownership. System integrators and original equipment manufacturers from across the globe use the machinery of Qimarox in end-of-line systems and storage and order picking systems in various industries. Please visit www.qimarox.com for more information.