Loads 42 pallets in 7 minutes
Joloda recently installed a fully automatic loading system for food giant Pepsico to move 42 pallets of potato crisps, into a 25.25m road train in 1 load and also loads 26 pallets into a 13.6m vehicle.
Where this loading process was completed by forklift truck, the automatic loading process now creates a time saving of 30 minutes per vehicle, down to 7 minutes for the road train and 6 minutes for the 13.6m vehicle.
The fully automated loading and unloading system at PepsiCo in Broek op Langedijk (NL) is a 25m road train consisting of an 8.2 metre long trailer in front and a 13.3 metre long trailer at the rear. The bi-folding doors at the back of the front trailer are swung open, as are the doors at the front and back ends of the long trailer. The front trailer is then backed up tight against the rear trailer. This results in a cargo tunnel 21.5 metres long, capable of holding 42 pallets. ‘Now all the driver has to do is attach a cable to his truck to establish a connection with the control system,’ explains Joloda. ‘Then he can take a coffee break, because our automatic loading system does the rest.’
The firm continues: “On the roller conveyor we group the pallets in three sections of 16, 10 and then another 16 pallets. As soon as the overhead door on the dock opens, a platform with two laser scanners is lowered from above. We use these scanners to make sure the truck is not positioned at too much of an angle and to measure the depth of the trailer. This distance measurement is necessary because the dock is not only used for road trains but also for ordinary 13.6 metre trailers. The reason for this is that Kuehne + Nagel want to be able to decide up to the last moment whether, by chance, they have an empty trailer in the neighbourhood that can pick up a load from Broek op Langedijk.’
“If the laser scanners measure a distance of 13.3 metres, then 16 plus 10 pallets can be slid into the trailer. At 21.5 metres, all 42 pallets can be placed in the cargo tunnel of the road train, both loaded from the same dock.”
The investment is said to pay for itself in less than 18 months, and is expected to be operational in twenty years. The solution is also said to save more space in the facility than a forklift based system.
Watch on YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cj9XHKDsqD8
