COCA-Cola Amatil is achieving record-breaking productivity rates of more than 1400 picks/hour at its new Eastern Creek DC thanks to a world-first order picking methodology developed by Dematic.
The new Negative-PUT process optimises case picking productivity by pairing suitable orders and fulfilling them through a high rate, integrated goods to the man pick module.
Dematic industry logistics manager David Rubie says the Negative-PUT process takes advantage of a practice sometimes used by experienced pickers to reduce their workload.
"Smart pickers will occasionally notice that among the orders they have there are a couple with which they can kill two birds with one stone, or, in this case, complete two orders with one pick," Rubie said.
"This practice is very opportunistic, however, our systematic approach identifies all negative pick opportunities creating substantial productivity gains."
Dematic's patented Negative-PUT software uses a number of complex algorithms to re-sequence orders to generate the highest quantity of negative pick opportunities and the optimum order fulfilment sequence for any batch of orders.
The process is fulfilled through ergonomically designed goods to the man pick modules. Bringing stock to the picker and 'putting' the stock to orders, instead of transporting orders past stock eliminates the time wasted travelling between picks, further optimising productivity and throughput.
How it works
The Negative-PUT software interfaces with CCA's WMS, requesting stock for the orders, and notifying the WMS when an order has been completed and is ready for further processing or despatch.
Full and empty pallets required for the Negative-PUT pick modules are loaded by forklift onto integrated pallet conveyors.
Each time a new order is to be picked, the conveyors automatically deliver two full pallets of stock (donor pallets) and two empty pallets (put pallets).
Large screen workstations provide clear visual instructions for the pick module operators, with Negative-PUT software directing the picker to take a quantity of cases from the first 'donor' pallet and place it onto the first 'put' pallet.
They may then be asked to take a further quantity of stock and place it onto the second 'put' pallet. They may then be instructed to remove a quantity of cases from the second 'donor' pallet and place them to the first and second 'put' pallets.
In the above example, the Negative-PUT process has completed four work orders with the minimum possible number of case movements.
The stock quantity on the two 'donor' pallets now matches that required to fulfil two orders, while the cases on the 'put' pallets form the base pallets to which any remaining items required for the two orders will be picked conventionally.
Check-weighers confirm the operator has picked the correct number of cartons, and the integrated conveyor system transports the pallets to the outfeed station.
"Within the first eight weeks of operation, CCA's Eastern Creek DC has been consistently achieving productivity rates of more than 1400 picks/hour," CCA's major projects manager Grant McClean said.
"The net effect of the process is that around 20% of the cases required for mixed pallet orders are despatched without being picked," he said.
"This contributes to the remarkably high productivity and throughput rates, as does the ergonomic goods-to-the-man solution.
"Around 70% of the DC's orders pass through the Negative-PUT module, with about 35% of the orders complete when they exit," explained McClean.
Voice-directed computing is used for all other case picking, with CCA's team of up to 25 pickers equipped with Dematic's latest wireless Bluetooth-enabled Vocollect voice computers and headsets.
RO-RO auto truck unloading
More than 95% of the stock at Eastern Creek is delivered from CCA's Northmead production plant.
The DC typically receives up to 60 trucks per day from Northmead, with the number rising to more than twice this during seasonal peaks.
To ensure efficient goods receiving and minimise forklift operations, the DC features three roll-on, roll-off (RO-RO) automated 'skate-type' truck unloading docks.
Up to 22 pallets can be unloaded in under 15 minutes from each dock, with the pallets automatically scanned, check-weighed and transported by the receiving system's integrated pallet conveyor to their reserve storage put-away location.
Supporting the RO-RO system and providing flexibility in receiving is the DC's manual forklift operations.
The pallet conveyor also optimises the efficiency of manual unloading. Instead of continually driving backwards and forwards through the DC to put pallets away, forklift operators can simply load pallets onto the conveyor, which transports and sorts the pallets to a pick up station close to their reserve storage location, further reducing unnecessary forklift movements.
The Auto Despatch System (ADS) gives CCA the ability to pre-pick, assemble and stage orders.
The ADS features a Dematic Pallet Runner satellite storage system with 144 lanes, each capable of storing up to 12 pallets, the typical capacity of CCA's Route Trade delivery fleet.
"This means the ADS can stage the orders for up to 144 truckloads at any one time, which provides a buffer of around 16 hours during peak periods," Rubie said.
Once loaded onto the ADS infeed by forklift or pallet trucks, all pallet handling is automated. The height, width and weight of pallets are checked before they are transported through a stretch-wrapping process.
Two automated stacker cranes quickly and efficiently put the pallets away in the relevant ADS lane for the order.
"When it is time to load a truck, a forklift operator scans a barcode to confirm they are at the correct location and begins the process by removing and loading the first pallet onto the truck," Rubie said.
"On their way back to the ADS, the forklift operator picks up one of the DC's eight Pallet Runner carts, places it in the relevant lane in the ADS, and issues an instruction to empty the lane.
"The Pallet Runner cart automatically drives under the next pallet in the lane, lifts it, and brings it to front of the ADS for the forklift operator to remove.
"By the time the forklift operator has loaded the pallet onto the truck and returned to the ADS, the Pallet Runner cart has retrieved and placed the next pallet for collection to the front of the lane, with this process being repeated until all pallets for the truck have been unloaded.
"Staging orders takes order assembly off the critical path, ensures efficient, reliable truck loading, and minimises truck turnaround time in the despatch area," Rubie added.
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