Logistics & Materials Handling February 2011

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inside logisticsmagazine.com.au

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We know a bit about materials handling

VOL41 ISS1 FEBRUARY 2011

Mercury Awards Nominations Open Warehousing Bulk Handling Supply Chain Fleet Management

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This issue February 2011

Forkliftsafety How automation can help

08

behindthecover logisticsmagazine.com.au

mathandling.com.au

inside

VOL41 ISS1 FEBRUARY 2011

Mercury Awards Nominations Open Warehousing Bulk Handling Supply Chain Fleet Management

We know a bit about materials handling

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contents 04 Industry News SSI Schaefer, Crown Equipment join forces.

Northline signs $1m-ayear IT contract.

Warehouses urged to prevent workplace bullying.

LCA announces new strategy for 2011.

06 Fleet Management Fuel wastage no secret in transport sector.

Isuzu enhances N Series trucks.

08 Warehousing Avoiding supply chain disasters.

Tough, compact forklift.

Economical raised flooring.

14 Mercury Awards Nominations now officially open for 2011.

Profiles from our valued sponsors.

22 Forklifts & Lifting Linde no automatic choice for Viscount Plastics.

24 Bulk Handling Crane compliance.

Crown's first IC lift truck.

3G fleet management system.

27 Factory Materials

Handling

Pallet inverter increases safety

20 Supply Chain &

Logistics

A fast track to optimisation.

Transport-friendly container.

mercuryawards Nominations are now open for 2011!

14

EDITOR: Sarah Falson t 02 9422 2480 e sarah.falson@reedbusiness.com.au GRAPHIC DESIGNER: Nicolle Lawson t 02 9422 2714 e nicolle.lawson@reedbusiness.com.au KEY ACCOUNT MANAGER: Richard Bunting t 02 9422 2718 m 0424 138 806 e richard.bunting@reedbusiness.com.au QLD ADVERTISING MANAGER: Sharon Amos t 07 3261 8857 m 0417 072 625 f 07 3261 8347 e sharon.amos@reedbusiness.com.au PO Box 3136, Bracken Ridge, Qld 4017 VICTORIA SALES MANAGER: Michael Northcott t 0448 077 247 e michael.northcot@reedbusiness.com.au PRODUCTION CO-ORDINATOR: Mary Copland t 02 9422 2738 e mary.copland@reedbusiness.com.au All rights reserved. No part of the publication may be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means without the written permission of the publisher. ISSN 1832-5513 Copyright Reed Business Information.

Published by Reed Business Information. (ABN 80 132 719 861) Tower 2, 475 Victoria Avenue, Chatswood, NSW 2067 Australia t 02 9422 2999 f 02 9422 2966 Printed four times a year, Logistics & Materials Handling is inserted in the March, June, October and October 2010 issues of Manufacturers’ Monthly, FEN, Food, and PACE magazines with a distribution of 35,000.

logisticsmagazine.com.au

February 2011 Logistics&MaterialsHandling | 3

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bulletinboard LOGISTICS AND MATERIALS HANDLING NEWS FROM AUSTRALIA AND AROUND THE WORLD

Warehouses urged to prevent workplace bullying WITH the financial cost of workplace bullying costing industry a reported $36 billion each year, Pro-Visual Publishing is urging employers in the warehousing and logistics industry to implement preventative measures by referring to the new Warehousing and Logistics Guide to Workplace Safety 2010/11.

This year’s Guide, which is distributed free-of-charge, details the effects of bullying and provides employers and managers with actions to maintain a safe and healthy workplace for employees.

The term bullying, in the Guide, refers to anything from constant nit-picking and sarcasm to verbal and physical threats. However, the

The Guide to Workplace Safety will be distributed free-ofcharge to logistics companies and warehouses.

authors say complaints of more subtle behaviour such as sabotaging an individual’s work, tampering with a person’s personal effects or ostracising people from social networks should also be

treated with severity.

The Guide will be distributed to Warehousing and Logistics companies.

Pro-Visual Publishing 02 8272 2611, www.provisual.com.au

Northline signs $1m-a-year IT contract NATIONAL freight and logistics company Northline has signed a five-year contract with Brennan IT to deploy a refreshed, future-proof Information Technology and Telecommunication infrastructure to underpin its growth.

Worth about $1 million a year, the outsourcing agreement requires Brennan IT to provide Northline with a hosted managed service, including servers, a national private network

linking all Northline offices and telecommunications infrastructure that allows for portable personalised numbers and videoconferencing.

Northline’s new technology infrastructure, backed by IT data centres in Sydney and Brisbane, is said to allow the company to deploy the latest release software without disruption.

Northline 1300 772 534, www.northline.com.au

New national president for LAA THE Logistics Association of Australia (LAA) has announced a new national president, after the previous director, Brad Harrison, stood down.

Mike Owen, who has been nominated as the new national president, has been a director of the LAA since 2009, an LAA Committee member for eight

years and a member since the late 1980s.

With a long history of management and operation experience in supply chain, Owen is said to be wellqualified to take on the role.

Owen is reportedly an experienced, pragmatic leader and career guide with over 30

4 | Logistics&MaterialsHandling February 2011

years involvement in senior inventory, procurement, logistics and supply chain, sales, marketing and executive management roles, complimented by consulting, and contracting exposure.

Logistics Association of Australia 1300 651 911, www.laa.asn.au

LCA announces new strategy for 2011 THE Australian Logistics Council has launched a new Strategic Plan for 2011–2013, which is designed to ensure the Council is properly representing the freight transport and logistics industry participants in the planning of future supply chains across all modes of transport (road, rail, sea and air).

“It is clear that Governments are increasingly looking for a view that reflects the depth of the transport and logistics industry and the efficiency of the total supply chain,” said the chairman of the Australian Logistics Council, Don Telford. “The ALC Strategic Plan 2011-2013 is a response to that requirement.”

As part of our 2011-2013 Action Plan for infrastructure and regulation, the Council has committed to: developing a comprehensive transport and logistics infrastructure report on current requirements and how the demand for transport and logistics services might develop over the period to 2030 (and beyond); promoting the adoption and development of safety best practices in transport and logistics through the National Logistics Safety Code; and more.

Logistics Council of Australia 02 6260 3274, www.austlogistics.com.au

SSI Schaefer, Crown Equipment join forces SSI Schaefer and Crown Equipment have entered into a new strategic partnership to provide the Australian materials handling industry with compete packaged solutions.

The new partnership will allow customers to combine their static storage system needs with their forklift trucks, all through the one supplier.

SSI Schaefer and Crown Equipment can now reportedly offer a ‘one-stop shop’ for all material handling requirements.

The two privately-owned companies are said to share similar company cultures, values and visions, and will draw on previous experience in New Zealand, where the two companies formed a partnership more than two years ago.

This partnership has already been successful in

The partnership will provide a ‘one-stop-shop’ for materials handling equipment and services.

New Zealand and has reportedly lead to Crown NZ becoming the leading materials handling solution provider in New Zealand.

SSI Schaefer and Crown Equipment 1800 7242 3337, info@schaeferssi.com.au

logisticsmagazine.com.au

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Double the throughput Triple the efficiency Target productivity in under six months

Tim Adams Project Director Global Warehousing adidas Group

DEM662

Another logistics result.

Tim Adams of adidas UK needed a result and it had to be impressive.

Not only did he face huge peaks and troughs in demand causing challenges in labour supply, he required a flexible solution that allowed him to handle peak volume in limited space. A great believer in automation, Tim sought out Dematic to create a sophisticated solution with designed-in flexibility for a diverse range of brands, customer formats and seasonal product launches.

Centred on a highly efficient Goods to Person picking system, Dematic’s solution even supports adidas’ green agenda by utilising empty cartons from goods received as dispatch containers. Throughput targets were better than doubled and productivity targets were met on time and on budget.

That’s what we call a logistics result.

Ask us.

02 9486 5555 www.dematic.com.au

Logistics Solutions | System Design & Integration | Software & IT | Voice Picking | AS/RS | Storage Solutions | Conveyors | Service & Support

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fleetmanagement

Isuzu enhances N Series trucks ISUZU Trucks’s new Euro V-rated N Series light duty trucks are said to offer a number of cabin comfort and safety enhancements to complement improved emissions performance.

Powering the new range are three Euro Vrated engines, beginning with the 4-cylinder, 3.0 litre SiTEC SERIES III 150.

This engine is fitted to all NLR and NNR models and produces 110 kW @ 2,800 rpm and delivers torque of 375 Nm between 1,600 and 2,800 rpm.

The second engine is the 4-cylinder, 5.2 litre SiTEC SERIES III 155 providing power of 114 kW @ 2,600 rpm and torque of 419 Nm between 1,600 and 2,600 rpm for all NPR and NPS models.

Providing power for all NQR 450 models is the range-topping 4-cylinder SiTEC SERIES III 185.

This powerplant reportedly also has a capacity of 5.2 litres, but has been tuned to produce 139 kW @ 2,600 rpm and a relatively high 510 Nm of torque between 1,600 and 2,600 rpm.

Fuel wastage no secret in transport

Bear’s Tyre Tracker puts control of tyre management into the hands of the owner.

I The trucks offer emissions management features, yet the torque remains high.

While the three new engines now offer stricter Euro V emissions performance, this has not come at a cost to power and torque figures, which remain unchanged from the previous range, the company claims.

Three new model variants have been added to the N Series range, providing operators with a diverse selection of trucks from which to choose.

Isuzu Australia Limited 03 9644 6666, www.isuzu.com.au

6 | Logistics&MaterialsHandling February 2011

N the road transport and logistics sector, downtime and fuel wastage equates to lost money. The reality, according to an expert in a specific area of the road transport game, is that downtime and unnecessary expenditure of fuel can easily be attributed to areas often forgotten on trucks and trailers.

Trucks and trailer often spend time in the yard being serviced because the owners are told the tyres need changing.

But the key to smarter fuel utilisation is in maintaining the tyres rather than carelessly running them into the ground and changing them, says tyre lifecycle management specialist, Brad Bearman of Bear’s Tyres.

"It is an unfortunate fact that the neglect of tyre maintenance is directly attributable to unnecessary fuel wastage – particularly for long haul carriers that spend most of their time of the road," said Bearman.

"Without any attention given to the wear patterns of tyres and their overall performance, trucks need to be driven harder and thus consume more fuel and that costs the operator a lot more unnecessary expense.”

A recent government ABARE report (compiled from surveys undertaken during the 2006–07

financial year) reportedly unearthed some telltale statistics on how petrol and diesel bills have risen in recent years for transporters – despite carriers and truck manufacturers leaning towards more fuel efficient technologies.

The report made from the study, Energy Intensity in the Transport Sector, identified that freight transport has been a key driver of increased energy consumption in Australia’s domestic transport sector.

It went on to say that freight transport accounts for 38% of energy use in the transport sector and is growing at a higher rate than passenger transportation.

Energy use in hauling freight in Australia is dominated by road transport, including light commercial vehicles (39%), articulated trucks (30%) and rigid trucks (20%), the report states.

"So, putting two and two together, if the road transport technology is improving in fuel efficiency then why are we using more fuel than ever before?" asked Bearman.

"Without doubt, it is all down to the condition and performance of the tyres which are carrying these heavy loads around the country."

Bear’s Tyres 0419 265 956, www.bearstyres.com

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warehousing

Forklift safety improved Forklifts are dangerous to operate and their potential to cause serious injuries is often underestimated.

Automation technology provides a new avenue for forklift safety. Annie Dang writes.

W

HILE fewer people are now being killed as a result of forklift incidents, injuries related to forklift use are on-the-rise.

In Victoria, an average of 250 people are seriously injured by forklifts each year, according to WorkSafe Victoria. These injuries are often cause by workers being hit by the forklift or by the loads carried by a forklift, and can include broken bones, hospitalisation and potential fatalities.

WorkSafe Victoria’s acting manager for manufacturing & logistics strategy, Carolyn Kennedy, says the potential for forklifts to cause serious injuries and sometimes death is often significantly underestimated.

“They are heavy, difficult to manoeuvre, and take considerable distance to come to a stop, even from walking pace,” she told LMH. There has been a shift to more rigorous safety standards of late that have provided a less injurious environment where forklifts are used.

However, tighter safety regulations that look to travelling speeds and type of load being carried have left manufacturers questioning productivity.

Adapt A Lift technology products manager, Nathan McKenzie, said speed regulations have helped to reduce workplace injuries, however have lead many manufactures to believe that safe speed reduces worker as well as factory productivity.

“Manufactures need to get over the preconception that slower travelling forklifts reduce productivity,” he said.

“Moving at a slower pace doesn’t reduce productively in the warehouse – it only increases safety, which ensures smooth continuation of the production process.”

Though Australian companies have moved to adopt more sophisticated operating processes aimed at reducing the risks associated with forklifts, manufacturers are still faced with another issue – that many forklift-related injuries are the cause of human-associated error.

According to Industrial Conveying managing director, Don Erskine, operating a forklift poses a number of risks, including those associated

8 | Logistics&MaterialsHandling February 2011

Automation reduces forklift-related injuries by taking out the human element in forklift operation.

with blind spots. “As forklifts do a lot of their travelling in reverse, the driver is never completely facing the direction of travel when in this mode. Field-of-vision issues can pose a danger to other employees who are working on the same warehouse floor,” he said.

Erskine states the best way for companies to reduce the number of accidents involving forklifts, arguably is to remove forklift fleets altogether and replace them with an automated version. The solution is said to ensure drivers and pedestrians will not be injured.

“Technologies such as the Automated Warehouse Trucks (AWTs) have been developed primarily to achieve greater speed and work efficiency while improving safety levels for staff,” Erskine said.

“Using laser guiding or a spot system overseen by a software platform, AWTs put control of warehouse movements into the hands of management rather than floor staff or the forklift operator, ensuring stock handling in the warehouse is always proactive.”

The system reportedly integrates with automated dock technologies which allow companies to have fully-automated handling from shelf to truck.

However, the question largely remains whether the introduction of such technology in

the warehouse will reduce the forklift-related injuries and deaths. Erskine says that the AWT system is more reliable than human driver operation. But whether companies will move to completely automate their forklift operations, replacing drivers with driver operation software, remains uncertain.

“There will always be a strong call for forklifts purely because of the diverse range of applications which see them in use,” Erskine said. “Naturally, if forklifts disappear altogether to be replaced by AWTs in the future, it should in theory make the instance of injury almost non-existent. But in reality, we expect forklifts to always be part of the landscape whereas AWTs are emerging as the technology of choice for large capacity, high-rate movement of palletised goods.”

WorkSafe Victoria’s Kennedy shares the same view. “Automated technologies work where there is a known or set work path, for example on a production line, where they are guided using infrared or radar technologies,” Kennedy said.

WorkSafe Victoria, 1800 136 089, www.worksafe.vic.gov.au Adaptalift Hyster, 03 9547 8000, www.aalhyster.com.au Industrial Conveying (Aust), 03 5440 5100, www.icaust.com.au

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warehousing

Supply chain disasters The increasingly global nature of our supply chains means that it is now imperative to protect yourself from disasters caused by the most natural – or man-made – occurances. Sarah Falson writes.

N

ATURAL and man-made disasters happen every day in every country, but the increasingly global nature of our supply chains means that Australian manufacturers’ businesses could potentially be threatened by an earthquake in India or civil unrest in China.

One company offering advice for manufacturers to safeguard their supply chains against disruptions is Accenture Australia, which provides supply chain practice, logistics and procurement services.

Originally out of the US, the company designs and optimises transport distribution networks, helps its clients reduce their inventory working capital, and provides spare parts for logistics operations.

Though Accenture has a strong presence in the retail and consumer goods industries, the company’s managing partner for supply chain management, Zeljko Nikolic, cites the defence, energy and mining markets as important areas for future growth due to the increasingly global nature of their supply chains.

One of the most important – and

10 | Logistics&MaterialsHandling February 2011

You never know when a natural or man-made disaster could uproot your supply chain and cost you dearly, says specialist Accenture.

perhaps little-understood – things manufacturers must protect their supply chains against is natural disasters. “Defence is really an area that benefits a great deal from supply chain and logistics improvement and we can see this being very topical in Australia moving forward,” Nikolic told LMH. Nikolic says it is crucial for manufacturers to have a streamlined supplier process and pre-qualified alternative suppliers they can switch to very quickly, and this is where good supply chain practice comes in.

“It’s about looking at flexible manufacturing strategies. Where you’re able to have multiple manufacturing locations in Australia and overseas, it pays to have the manufacturing designed in a way that it’s flexible to run different products and have relatively quick changeover between products in different locations,” he said.

According to Nikolic, the affects of the Iceland volcano on the world’s product supplies – which put the world’s logistics systems in to disarray in April this year – could

have been lessened if global manufacturers had adopted more flexible supply chains.

Though Australia wasn’t affected to the same extent as Europe and the UK, Nikolic says we should be aware of similar future disruptions to our supply chains and prepare ourselves accordingly.

“The Icelandic volcano episode was an interesting case study for all organisations across the world an in Australia. The lesson is, some of these natural disasters and disruptions can’t be avoided, however the issue is how wellprepared the organisation is to deal with them,” he said.

“In today’s world there are two factors making this a bigger impact than previously. Greater interconnectiveness and length of supply chains because of offshoring sourcing from all different parts of the world has meant transportation exposes them much more to disruptions than was previously the case. The world we now live in is a world of much greater volatility, in all sorts of dimensions; combining

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warehousing

those issues of volatility and much longer supply chains means that it doesn’t have to be a volcano, but businesses will be exposed to disruptions to their supply chains which can have real bottom line impacts on their customers.”

According to Nikolic, we have our fair share of potential disasters closer to home, including continuing civil unrest in Thailand. With the large number or manufacturers and OEMs sourcing product from South East Asia and China, the possibility of our supply chains being interrupted is much higher than we think.

“While 20 years ago these sorts of things just happened in another country, these occurrences are now much more relevant to how our businesses operate in Australia,” he said.

A good place to start is to introduce flexibility into product design by reducing complexity of the product ranges on offer.

“This allows organisations to feed into the flexible manufacturing capability: if they can use a much greater degree of common parts, they can design much easier systems to not only rationalise inventory, but have flexibility in their network about how they can supply,” he said.

Accenture Australia 02 9005 5000, www.accenture.com

Tough, compact forklift ADAPTALIFT Hyster has extended its Fortens forklift range with the introduction of a brand new 8–9 tonne capacity series.

According to the distributor, this new model reportedly provides a compact, efficient, high capacity truck that delivers low-cost of operation in tough applications.

The new H170-190FT Fortens series is suited for industries such as paper, wood, beverage, metals, ports, automotive or construction materials.

The high capacity, compact design also benefits operations with high attachment usage, the company says.

The H170-190FT has a compact design, ensuring that space, loads moved per hour and on-site efficiency is maximised to maintain low operating costs.

It shares many features with the company’s successful H135-155FT series, including the frame construction, low maintenance oil immersed brakes, leak-free hydraulics and drivetrain.

The compact frame design results in a wheelbase of 2450mm, making the H170-190FT one of the

7 APRIL 2011 TUE 5 – THU BI TION CENTRE

The forklift is suited to tough applications.

smallest in its capacity class, particularly when taking into consideration the load centre for trucks equipped with front end attachments, the company says.

The operator compartment is said to feature the very best in ergonomics, which those drivers already familiar with the Fortens range will appreciate.

Highlights include optimised floor space and a new full suspension seat (with swivel option).

Adaptalift Hyster 1300 880 335, www.aalhyster.com.au

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warehousing

High-lift pallet trucks KING Materials Handling has released a new range of pallet handling solutions incorporating a pump with the handle pivoted at the pump housing.

According to the company, some other types have a pivot point attached to the cylinder housing – which is prone to fracturing then leaking due to straining of these points.

All new HI-EX Trucks feature a single, large diameter hydraulic cylinder. Other types still use double and even triple telescoping cylinders, which are prone to bending and leaking at the many seal points, as bending moment stress is applied to the cylinder- especially at height, according to the company.

The battery version features a moulded plastic ‘comfort handle’, push button up/down and separate on/off switch. With the ability to use the machine in either manual or battery lift modes, which can be very handy if the unit was not plugged in the night before.

High Lift Pallet Trucks are very popular with companies wanting to feed product into machinery at bench high level. Printers use them for

12 | Logistics&MaterialsHandling February 2011

Economical raised flooring

King Materials Handling 03 9720 7181,

COLBY Raised Storage Areas are affordable solutions that can reportedly double the usable floor area in your warehouse or The raised flooring distribution centre (DC) using creates more space for less cost. standard pallet racking components. The raised flooring solutions, supplied by Dematic, are said to provide a cost-effective way of utilising overhead space, whilst not interrupting ground floor operations.

Colby Raised Storage Areas are designed to meet a customer’s specific requirements, and are said to create a safe and secure space for use as bulk storage and order picking areas.

A range of Raised Storage Areas have been developed to provide more usable space. Low cost, medium-duty floors can reportedly be designed using standard pallet racking components. In heavy duty applications, structural columns are combined with Colby beam sections, which provide the necessary floor span and load carrying capability.

www.kinggroup.com.au

Dematic 02 9486 5555, www.dematic.com.au

The pallet trucks are useful for feeding product into machinery at bench level.

paper feeding into presses. Furniture manufacturers simply pump up the load and slide a single sheet into a moulder or edger.

If there are goods coming down the conveyor or from the work bench, then the operator simply pumps up the pallet to the right height, and loads the pallet without having to bend.

logisticsmagazine.com.au

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aximising running time The downtime associated with battery changing and battery watering is significantly reduced through fast charging. Fast Charging Technology gives you the power to run long or multiple shifts on just one battery. Optimising the running time of your fleet.

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mercuryawards

Mercury Awards expands in 2011 The Mercury Awards will now represent the burgeoning materials handling sector. Sarah Falson writes.

OMINATIONS are now open for the 2011 Logistics & Materials Handling Mercury Awards, so get in quick to nominate your company for its achievements in logistics and materials handling implementation and technology over the past 12 months.

Now in its sixth year, the Logistics & Materials Handling Mercury Awards was developed in 2006 by Logistics & Materials Handling magazine to recognise and reward excellence in supply chain, logistics, and transport management solutions and operations.

Now, six years later, the program is bigger than ever.

This year, we are adding two brand new categories to cater for the growing materials handling industry within Australia.

No good product supplier gets by without a warehouse, or without outsourcing their warehousing to a thirdparty supplier. But, it’s very difficult to keep a warehouse in tip-top shape, especially with new products coming and going, peak seasons and special conditions in which certain products must be kept.

That’s why we developed the new Warehousing & Storage Solution category, which rewards technology/solution suppliers, and warehouse operations themselves for developing or installing a smart warehousing system that helps hike productivity, supply, safety and above all your business’ and your customer’s bottom line.

This year will also see the inaugural Materials Handling Solution category, proudly sponsored by Linde Material Handling.

Materials handling is the backbone of any supply chain strategy and is often the area where potential cost savings are rife. Materials handling comes in the

N

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Th lo

Two brand new materials handling categories will be included this year, rewarding more achievements.

form of many systems, including: bulk handling solutions; data capture and labelling; factory materials handling systems; forklifts, stackers and trolleys; hazardous goods handling systems; packaging and packaging equipment; and warehousing equipment.

This new category helps to reward those often unsung heroes who supply or implement a smart materials handling solution that helps boost safety, efficiency, sustainability and the bottom line of their business and/or their customer’s.

Last year, the awards attracted a record number of finalists from all around Australia, with companies keen to be recognised for their achievements.

Entry is free. All you need to do is fillout an entry form, which is available from our website (right), and send it in along with any images or supporting information you can rustle-up. The nomination process is designed to be easy, so send us any information you already have onhand to give us a better

Last year, the Mercury Awards attracted a record number of finalists from all around Australia, with companies keen to be recognised for their achievements. Entries for the 2011 Awards are now open.

Application sponsored by Century Yuasa; Young Professional of the Year sponsored by SSI Schaefer; Best Green Initiative sponsored by Century Yuasa; Supply Chain Innovation; Warehousing & Storage Solution; Materials Handling Solution sponsored by Linde; and Best of the Best sponsored by Loscam.

The Best of the Best Award will be chosen from amongst the other categories.

Last year, over 150 industry professionals gathered at the awards ceremony at Doltone House in Sydney to witness the presentations, which included a keynote speech from Logistics Executive Recruitment chief executive officer, Kim Winter, on the judging process and the high level of nominations.

idea of your solution or implementation.

The categories for the 2011 Logistics & Materials Handling Mercury Awards are as follows: Logistics Leader sponsored by CEVA; Top Third Party Logistics Provider (3PL); Technology

Entries for the 2011 Mercury Awards are now open. Visit www.logisticsmagazine.com.au/awards to enter online. For more information, contact Margaret Tra at margaret.tra@reedbusiness.com.au

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Century Yuasa twice as committed SSI Schaefer supporting to the 2011 Mercury Awards Young Professionals CENTURY Yuasa Batteries is at the forefront of providing Stored Energy Solutions for Automotive, Standby and Motive Power applications.

From the cars and trucks Australians drive every day, right through to railways, mining, telecommunications, information technology, solar power and materials handling equipment, the company has it covered.

The Motive Power division of Century Yuasa is a major supplier to the logistics industry. It is justifiably proud that the power solutions it provides via Battery Electric Forklifts and related equipment ensures that goods are moved from shelves onto trucks and out into the open market quickly and efficiently.

“Century Yuasa is honoured to once again sponsor the Technology Application category at this year’s

Mercury Awards,” said Century Yuasa general manager - Motive Power, Manuel Leon.

“Furthermore we are pleased to announce that we are now a dual sponsor, having also added the Environmental Initiative category to our 2011 Mercury Awards sponsorship. Century Yuasa first sponsored these prestigious awards in 2009 and have continued our participation because we believe it is crucial to single out those who excel in their respective industries.

“By supporting the Mercury Awards, we are helping to recognise, encourage and reward those companies and individuals who go the extra mile; by doing so we are contributing to making our industry in Australia a world leader.”

Century Yuasa Batteries 13 22 87, www.centurybatteries.com.au

LEADING materials handling system supplier, SSI Schaefer, will once again sponsor the Young Professional of the Year Award at the 2011 Logistics & Materials Handling Mercury Awards.

This year will represent the third consecutive year that the company has supported this category at the Awards.

According to Alan Clark (right), managing director of SSI Schaefer, seeing inspirational young people like Joe Taylor (far right), national transportation manager for corporate express, take-out last year’s Young Professional of the Year Award, indicates that the Australian materials handling and supply chain industries are going to be in good hands in the future.

“The Young Professional of the Year Award recognises young people who have excelled in the

Century Yuasa is sponsoring two categories at this year’s Mercury Awards.

provision of services, development of strategy and supply chain management and SSI Schaefer is proud to be associated with an award that recognises the future leaders of our industry,” he said.

The above image shows Clark congratulating Taylor in 2010.

SSI Schaefer 02 9824 3844, www.ssi-schaefer.com.au

e Scotch™ Packaging Tapes and Carton Sealers are the benchmark that ensure boxes are safely and securely sealed during transit.

For all your packaging tape and carton sealer needs we’ve got the right one for your application.

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supplychain&logistics

On the fast track A powerful combination of network consolidation and prudent investment in warehouse automation in the U.K. has resulted in a high performance supply chain for global sportswear brand, adidas.

F

OR global brand, adidas, ensuring an efficient supply of its state-of-the-art sports footwear, apparel and accessories to its customers is a critical issue; one that has been tested in recent years by the rapid expansion of the business.

In 2006 the acquisition of the Reebok brand presented the management team with both a challenge and an opportunity to redefine and restructure ‘Area North’ of its European distribution operation serving leading retailers in the UK, Eire and Benelux. A comprehensive analysis of the merged company’s

distribution network highlighted the efficiencies that could be achieved through consolidating inventory from five key brands – adidas, Reebok, TaylorMade, Rockport and Ashworth – in one automated, centralised distribution facility located in Trafford, Manchester, replacing a disparate structure of four conventional warehouses.

In many respects, what made this unusual was the cultural shift that occurred within the company, away from a conventional approach to warehousing, to one embracing logistics automation technology.

The purpose-built 350,000-square-foot convert facility in Manchester, England, was kitted out with Dematic gear within 18 months.

The benefits that have accrued from this 20 million pound investment in automation is now shaping the way adidas management is viewing its distribution strategy for Europe and wider markets.

“Automation allows us to handle a lot of volume in a relatively small amount of space, which keeps overheads down,” says Tim Adams, global business solutions warehousing, adidas Group.

“Resource is another issue. We have a lot of peaks and troughs and smoothing labour over these periods is difficult, but automation allows us to flex the volume up and down accordingly.”

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However, beyond this Adams sees that in recent years automation has become far more flexible, enabling a range of possibilities from the picking of cartons, right down to an individual pair of shoes and importantly, too, it allows for much greater accuracy.

The purpose-built 350,000square-foot convert facility in Manchester was kitted out within 18 months and came on-stream in June 2008. Logistics automation specialists, Dematic, worked with adidas to create a sophisticated solution centred on a highly efficient Goods–to-Person (GTP) picking system incorporating High Rate Put

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Stations and enabling an operator to achieve an average pick rate of 500 units per hour, with capacity for up to 1,500 units. However, that was not the original plan.

Initially, the focus of attention was on the high volume of case and pallet throughput, and split case picking was planned to be conducted by manual means. To support this, a fully automated 200,000 location carton store of 12 miniload cranes, along with an automated high-bay pallet store with 20,000 pallet locations run by five ASRS cranes, was designed for the task. But then, an option was tabled to consider the use of GTP technology for split case picking, and the decision was taken to install the High Rate Put Stations for slow moving items only.

It soon became apparent that the system was easily capable of coping with not only the slow moving goods, but the vast majority of picking by two-thirds.

mathandling.com.au

“With over 70,000 SKUs, the pick face for a manual operation would have been massive and given the seasonal nature of our business we would have been continually changing it – automation improves efficiency three fold,” says Adams.

By introducing automated technology to the split case picking process, over 40,000 loose items can be picked a day. The decision has not only negated the need for a whole mezzanine level, but further space saved on the ground floor will now allow for contracted-out, value-added services to be accommodated in-house.

An important operational benefit of the new automated distribution centre (DC) is the facility’s designed-in flexibility to handle orders for a diverse range of customer formats, for example, small orders for small stores, through to large orders for DCs.

Transport-friendly container

Dematic 02 9486 5463,

THE new KitBin is said to make a significant difference to work place practice when used as a replacement for wooden pallets holding shrink wrapped products.

Benefits include better protection of saleable products, safer worker environment and improved warehouse efficiencies, manufacturer Nayla claims.

At Distribution Centres (DC’s), warehouses and stores there are a number of OH&S issues related to wooden pallets. There can be significant costs to the business from the damage wooden pallets cause to products from nails, sharp wooden edges and splinters etc.

According to Nayla, these problems are solved as a result of using the HDPE plastic KitBin alternative. The KitBin has a smooth easy-to-clean surface and external rounded corners to ensure easy handling and protection for workers.

Lids are also available where required for preventing over flow of individual bulk bins or for shelter from the environment. This results in a reduction of product that is wasted.

Product protection is improved when using a KitBin instead of a wooden pallet shrink wrapped, as the walls are a solid construction that shields products stored inside from the knocks and bumps associated with transportation of goods. This also increases workplace safety as products are less likely to fall off the pallet because of the surrounding walls, the company claims.

www.dematic.com.au

Nayla 02 9678 9200, www.nayla.com

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forklifts&lifting

An automatic choice Viscount Plastics’ warehouse and manufacturing facility in Western Australia experiences maximum productivity gains through a new set of Linde IC forklifts. Sean Moylan writes.

W

HEN it comes to choosing plant and equipment to ensure business efficiency and growth, there’s no room for sentiment.

Professional management demands that all options are examined when forklift fleet changover time comes around, even if the incumbent equipment is doing the job.

That’s why Viscount Plastics’ warehouse and manufacturing facility at Canning Vale in Western Australia approached the process with an open mind, even after 10 years experience and satisfaction with Linde equipment. The Canning Vale plant is a plastic moulding manufacturer

The company explored all of its forklift options and arranged demonstrations by Linde and three other suppliers before deciding to take on five Linde 391 series IC forklifts with triplex masts.

Linde’s 391 series IC forklifts are perfect for maintaining OHS levels.

using PET or stretch blow moulding and injection moulding to produce a wide range of products from beverage containers to material handling bins and pharmaceutical packaging. Its forklifts are used in the manufacturing area to move bulk batches of ingredients and to carry finished product to the warehouse area.

“We’d been happy with the performance of our Linde forklifts over ten years, but as fleet changeover time approached it just made sense to have a fresh look at what was available,” Viscount Plastics warehouse supervisor, David Casey, said.

The Viscount Plastics plant had grown substantially over the last five years, so there was also a need to extract maximum productivity from whatever forklifts were chosen. The company explored all of its forklift options and arranged demonstrations by Linde and three other suppliers before deciding to take on five Linde 391 series IC forklifts with triplex masts.

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“Basically we decided on Linde because their 391 forklift is a superior product. We considered it to be better than anything else available on the market,” Casey said. “The Linde is a user friendly machine that’s quiet and incorporates the latest technology. By comparison some of the other equipment we tried seemed to have changed only its styling in the last 30 years.

“Occupational health and safety is a high priority on the site, particularly in the factory area where there is considerable pedestrian traffic. Linde were able to meet the concerns of our safety committee by fitting the new forklifts with speed restriction devices which slow them down in designated areas.

“We also needed forklifts that could be operated for extended periods without the drivers becoming fatigued and the feedback we got during the various demonstrations showed that Linde had a definite advantage there.”

Linde Materials Handling 02 9831 9517, www.lindemh.com.au

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bulkhandling

Crane compliance Crane, hoist and winch users can now benefit from tailored business advice to help them meet new safety and compliance standards.

A

NEW safety and compliance service has been set-up to protect crane-, hoist- and winchowners from the risk of accidents or financial penalty as new regulatory requirements for safe crane use are drafted.

The new service, offered by ideas*, called ideas* Cranes, was developed to help crane-owners update their knowledge and manufacturing to comply with safety requirements.

According to ideas*, the company developed the service in response to the Council of Standards Australia looking to introduce new standards for the safe use of hoists, winches

“Crane operators need to protect themselves from financial penalty or potential accidents by ensuring their cranes meet regulatory standards

and cranes for manufacturers operating high-value assets.

Changes in the new standards, which have recently been reviewed, place increased onus for safety and compliance on crane owners, including: new requirements in the maintenance of crane duty records; annual third party inspections’ and changes to the cranes condition monitoring standard, ideas* said.

“Cranes are high value capital assets and carry complex and constantly changing regulatory requirements. Most crane companies focus on repair and maintenance services, leaving owners exposed and in the dark about their

New safety standards for the use of hoists, winches and cranes are being drafted.

responsibilities and compliance risk,” said ideas* managing director, Mike Percy.

Ideas* Cranes is designed to bring crane owners and operators up-tospeed with the compliance status of their fleets and provide advice on practical ways to resolve any potential gaps or problems.

According to the organisation, craneowners can gain advice from some of Australia’s most experienced structural, mechanical and electrical crane engineers and technicians when using the service.

24 | Logistics&MaterialsHandling February 2011

The team at ideas* Cranes can provide a suite of services including crane risk management audits to assess the current crane management and individual cranes’ compliance with regulatory and safety requirements.

The company can also help users implement a cost-effective crane management system to ensure that regulatory compliance is maintained, it claims.

Ideas* also offers third-party audit and inspection services designed to resolve management, safety and compliance issues.

“Our focus is on the big picture – how to cost effectively manage your crane asset. ideas* Cranes can highlight and resolve any compliance gaps, and as experienced, professional crane engineers, can provide certification of compliance with Australian Standards and regulatory requirements,” said Percy.

“Crane operators need to protect themselves from financial penalty or potential accidents by ensuring their cranes meet regulatory standards. ideas* Cranes can help them do that.” ideas* Cranes 03 9763 4332, www.ideascranes.com.au

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bulkhandling - Fill or - Empty -

Weighing and consolidating the container

Bulk Bags Dust Free BulkafilTM, for filling Bulk Bags Latest Technology, one operator

Bulkaflo, for emptying bulk bags

Powder handling requires good experience and the right selection of equipment - trust the Professionals.

The units are designed to consolidate bulk materials.

GETTING the maximum net weight into a container or bulk bag is easily achieved when a Vibrating Compaction Table is employed, according to Enmin Vibratory Equipment.

The company offers a range of custom and standard designs to consolidate bulk materials.

During the filling process, unless de-aeration is generated, the container will be shipped with less than the maximum achievable weight, the company says.

Considering a shipping sea container or a road truck, this can reportedly add to the overall cost of transportation since a lesser load is dispatched since all the potential space is not utilised.

Enmin Vibratory Compaction Tables are usually installed at the point where the container or flexible bulk bag is being filled. By interlocking the electrics as the filling takes place, the load will be subjected to a timed and controlled vibration frequency that will quickly consolidate the material. On reaching the net weight, the system simply switches off until the next cycle.

The Vibratory Compaction Table can be supplied with a standard platform low profile scale as a standalone unit or engineered to suit any filling operation such as an automatic conveying process.

Construction of the Vibratory Tables can be in carbon steel painted or hot dipped galvanised or in some cases in a stainless steel design for food or environmental considerations.

HOPPER WALL VIBRATION

MATERIAL AERATION

BLOWER OR COMPRESSED AIR

Flow and Transfer aids

Hopper cutaway of fluidizer

SOLIMAR aerators are the ‘quick fix’ solution for powder flow problems.

TM

The Microveyor shown mounted under a bulkbag discharge station.

- a small economical pneumatic conveyor for powders and granules. Versions to suit all needs, from 100 kg/hr to 10 te/hr.

Rates to 300 te/hr; vacuum systems too.

Enmin Vibratory Equipment 03 9800 6777, www.enmin.com.au

Ease of a single operator, lifting boards

Paddle sifter breaks-up hard product THE Fresco paddle sifter is designed to break-up hard and lumpy product which would otherwise be rejected from a vibratory or rotary sifter.

The paddle sifter mounts directly onto a blender, bag dump, screw conveyor or other process equipment, reducing floor area and need for interconnecting conveyors, Fresco says. The sifter can handle difficult products like The sifter breaks cheese, salt, icing sugar, whole milk powder and waxes, up lumpy product. which all tend to lump during transit and storage.

The compact design can be easily retrofitted to existing processes reducing manual handling and increasing productivity, the manufacturer claims.

Fresco 1800 141 414, www.frescosystems.com.au

mathandling.com.au

TAWI VACUUM-ASSISTED LIFTING Many years experience in developing special models to lift a very wide variety of items, eg. multiple drums, kegs, paint tins, boards, plates, pumps etc.to 300 kg.

Our team would be pleased to arrange a free, real-life demonstration of Vaculift or VacuCobra using our trailer.

High speed Cobra in action

Victorian ENGINEERING EXCELLENCE Awards 2009

Single products to Total Turn-key Systems

The Professionals in Powder Handling and Packaging Systems Head Office VIC - Tel: (03) 9457 8280 Fax: (03) 9457 7695 MHG1112

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bulkhandling

3G fleet management system

Crown’s first IC lift truck

Adaptalift Hyster (AALH) has updated its ForkTrack fleet management solution with 3G coverage, with the new offering said to incorporate the latest in communications technology to extend reporting coverage to wherever it is needed.

With 3G wireless services covering more than 98% of all Australians, ForkTrack 3G reportedly allows full reporting and safety alerts in all regions, both rural and urban, throughout Australia.

According to AALH, ForkTrack is currently the most advanced online safety and reporting system available in the marketplace, bringing the very best safety enhancements and the most advanced fleet analysis technology into one sleek, state-of-the-art device.

Forktrack is now able to band hop between 3G & GSM/GPRS, offering more coverage in remote areas such as Far North and Central Queensland, as well as the Kimberly and beyond.

Crown Equipment has announced it will launch its first company-manufactured internal combustion (IC) forklift, called the Crown C-5 Series, in Australia in April.

The official launch date of April 4, 2011 will mark “the start of a new revolution in internal combustion powered lift trucks in Australia”, the company says.

The new Crown C-5 Series is designed to push the limits of IC performance.

According to Crown, the new model leverages the company’s core expertise and heritage in material handling to deliver commanding advantages to owners and operators seeking improved power and strength, service and uptime, and comfort and safety.

This unit will be marketed specifically to fleet customers in Australia alongside Crown’s existing extensive IC lift truck range.

The Crown C-5 features an industrial engine that was jointly developed with John Deere Power Systems (John Deere).

It also offers a ‘proactive approach’ to engine cooling and radiator clearing via an on-demand cooling system, along with design innovations that are said to improve operator visibility, comfort and productivity.

According to Crown, product owners will see immediate return on their investment from extended service intervals and an exclusive Crown power brake system that collectively reduce maintenance costs and downtime.

The truck was designed with the user experience in mind.

The ForkTrack Fleet Safety System incorporates: pre-start, paperless safety checklists; driver ID controls; smart driver restraint controls; transmission controls; advanced impact detection; and overload alarms and lockouts.

Crown Equipment 131 604, www.crown.com

Adaptalift Hyster 1300 880 335, www.aalhyster.com.au

The system tracks forklift fleets.

Powder handling systems FRESCO Systems Australasia designs, manufactures, installs and commissions complete powder handling and liquid processes that are tailored to suit individual applications.

The systems are designed matching the product types with the system throughput and process requirements.

Depending of the powdered material source, a silo, bag dump or bulk bag unloader will be selected with either a flexible screw conveyor or metering screw feeder used to provide a controlled metered feed into the liquid mixing tank.

Variable powered feed rates are achieved by adjusting the discharge flow rates of the metering device. The liquid mixer is filled to preset levels based on whether it is a continuous or batch mixing process.

During the consultative design process, Fresco will recommend the appropriate mixing technology based on past experiences developing custom products, the company says.

Fresco on 1800 141 414, www.frescosystems.com.au

Powder handling systems are designed to suit certain products.

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MECA are the experts of large scale cantilever racking and offer Australia’s leading warehouse solutions for storage and distribution efficiency.

MECA provides unique solutions for the storage of heavy, long-length products such as piping, steel, aluminium, timber, plastics, plasterboard, carpet, fabrics, and other building materials.

At MECA your storage problems will be solved with the highest level of industry expertise and innovation with a proven record of cost-effective installations. European engineered and designed,

Our broad range of products and services extends also into pallet racking, mezzanine floors, pigeon hole racking, A-frame racking, long span shelving, warehouse design and logistics consulting.

Freecall 1300 661 198 or visit

www.mecaracking.com.au

WRhino/MECA/4747

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