Intelligent storage system

Brose has implemented a tugger train solution with a high bay warehouse, miniload system, pallet and bin conveyor technology as well as software at its factory in the Czech Republic.

The general contractor prepared an innovative material flow concept for a highly dynamic production supply, which is supported by a highly customised SAP Extended Warehouse Management (EWM) system.

Steady company growth led to a shortage of warehouse capacities. External warehouses were leased in order to handle the increasingly complex provision structures, which increased administration and financial burdens. These reasons, along with continued growth, led corporate management to restructure the logistics and production supply.

“The new solution allows for minimal manual handling, direct, optimised material provision, reduced effort by staff, and improved ergonomics. We have simplified and streamlined workflows, made processes more transparent, and increased throughput with system automation, material flow conversion, and a consistent SAP solution,” says Claudia Vogel-Daniel, project coordinator, Brose.

SSI Schaefer was appointed general contractor to generate a highly-automated in-house logistics solution.

Project Objectives:

• Significantly reduce the cost of logistics and transport

• More transparent and robust supply processes

• Concentrate warehouse capacities at the Koprivnice production location

• Process optimisation of the production supply and improve delivery quality

• Innovative tugger train solution for a forklift free factory

• An integrated process controlled by SAP EWM

All processes within the logistics centre are designed for reliability. Controlled by SAP EWM, the fully automated high bay warehouse is efficient with conveyor technology and a state-of-the-art robotics application as well as an automated miniload system, which ensure reliable delivery capability for Brose.

For logistics involving heavy load carriers, SSI Schaefer has developed a new, 5-aisle high bay warehouse with 9,750 pallet spaces for single-depth storage. Five Exyz single mast storage and retrieval machines with telescopic load handling attachments guarantee energy efficient storage and picking at a total handling capacity of 200 double cycles per hour. 

The warehouse consists of the incoming goods area, the conveyor technology, and processing workspaces as well as a seven-aisle automated miniload system. The latter features a capacity of 23,520 bins for one-deep and two-deep storage. Also located upstream are four train stations where the bins for production supply are pre-sequenced. In a next step, the bins are transferred fully sequentially and automatically to the tugger trains.

Incoming

The palleted incoming goods from approximately 30 external parts suppliers are inspected and received in incoming goods and then transferred to the pallet conveyor system at one of the four dispatch locations. On a vertical conveyor, the pallets are transported to a staging area and from there move along on a bridge structure to the high bay warehouse.

To equip the automated miniload system, the pallets are dispatched along a bridge and with a lift, where they are then delivered to a transfer trolley. SAP EWM calculates the need based on inventory data and consumption using the most recent periods as the basis. The replenishment pallets are distributed to different packing stations according to SAP EWM specifications and supplied there to a robot cell. Unpacking of the bin pallets occurs fully automatic.

Robotic applications assume the fully automated depalletising process, transferring each bin onto the bin conveyor system, which then are transported to the automated miniload system. The particular challenge was the robot teaching process, because four different bin types are used. The solution: State of- the-art image recognition linked with the device control system and SAP EWM. First, the depalletising robots uncover the pallets. Then, a camera system captures and analyses the bin types and the position, calculating the approach mode for the grippers.

Sequenced retrieval 

The innovation of the material flow concept is apparent in the functional scope of SAP EWM, a concept unrivalled in the industry. It includes sequenced retrieval and provision based on needs as well as the fully automatic loading of bins for tugger trains.

To achieve this, Brose designed an extensive planning tool in collaboration with the Technical University of Munich. SSI Schaefer implemented this directly within SAP EWM. The tool provides the capability to pre-plan the timing of tugger trains based on, for example, shifts, breaks, or routes in a timetable. The tugger trains are clocked. 45 minutes remain for each driving cycle for retrieval, provision and loading processes. The call orders are made through the SAP system. If inventory is low, employees at the production islands scan the pass-through bins with necessary material. Subsequently, SAP EWM generates a need in the automated miniload system and initiates the relevant retrieval.

Parallel to this, the integrated timetable generator in the SAP system calculates the runtime of the tugger trains accounting for the course of the route and allocating the ideal storage space to optimally assign each tugger train dynamically.

New routines had to be developed for SAP EWM. With these routines, the system is able to calculate and control the ideal window of time for the retrieval as well as a sequenced and volume-optimsed provision that ensures a correct Kanban route and automatic loading of the tugger trains. All of this takes place without impacting the system standards, ensuring that its release capability remains unchanged in the future as well. 

The bins are retrieved based on an ideally synchronised sequence calculated by SAP EWM along a conveyor route to the four tugger train stations. The tours are organised by production areas and the unloading points are defined in SAP EWM. Each of the four train stations consists of a shelving system with four racking levels and a total of 32 bin channels. The channels are equipped with gravity roller conveyors and are operated from the rear by a Schäfer Miniload Crane.

Bins are released once the tugger train reaches the loading position. An overlapping, retractable pulley stops the bins from sliding forward at the opposing rack side. At the loading time, a tugger train with four trailers arrives at each train station. Its trailers are equipped with a rack system, which is equivalent

to the train stations rack system and offers two bin spaces with pulleys stacked one above the other on four levels and on a slight incline - thus a total of eight bins per trailer, 32 for each tugger train. The blocking pulley drops down and the bins roll onto the trailer spaces.

Consequently, SAP EWM calculates how to allocate the provision space for each tour, plans the trains, trailers and spaces accordingly, and organises and controls all of the downstream processes to ensure that the provision space is loaded and supplied on time. The provision of full pallets for the production department to the large load carrier stations is based on similar calculations.