To resolve this, the company installed two faster was unfeasible. Space just wouldn’t
four-axis Delta type robots side-by-side allow it. When creating our two Brillopak
within the two P180 Unipick pick and C130 Semi-Automated Packstations
place systems. Capable of orientating we combined the best of Thrapston’s
packs quicker than any human being, the design and integrated several bespoke
robot arms don’t miss a beat exclaims
Andy. “They just keep going, loading with
dexterity, tilting and placing potato packs
individually at speeds that even a layer
packing robot couldn’t contend with. It’s
an extremely clever piece of kit,” he says.
On the manual packing stations, Andy
had an equally clear objective - to get rid
of the un-ergonomic turntable packing
system. Citing that it wasn’t the right
solution for the potato packs or people,
Rushden implemented an inline system.
Andy describes as a hybrid design as it
borrows elements from the five Brillopak
Packstations installed at Thrapston’s
specifications. Our site’s modified design
guarantees pack orientation to our
colleagues on the manual line. Rather
than clusters, packs come through
in single file. This helps to guarantee
consistent presentation of packs within
the trays.”
In addition, the design of the C130 lines
helps to mitigate repetitive strain injuries
and makes the whole manual packing
process seamless. “Our colleagues find
it much more ergonomic,” states Andy.
“They’re not bending over or moving
around the turntable or lifting trays for
apple packing depot. lengthy durations. This rotation around
Andy explains: “Physically fitting more reliance on agency staff, has created a
people around the turntable to pack much stronger team ethic,” he highlights.
different tasks, combined with less
Robot palletisers handle the heavy lifting and stacking of crates
Optimising OEE
With one multi-skilled person managing
both automated P180 lines, as well
as pulling away the pallets, Rushden
has reduced its packing headcount. An
increased packing speed, fewer rejections
and less front to back end bottlenecks
means that OEE is constantly improving.
“All lines are now running consistently
at high speed, which means we don’t
have a product build up or backlog. We
are pushing our vertical form fill and seal
limits,” comments Andy.
Brillopak’s modular design also means
that Morrisons has a future proof
investment. “Rushden currently has four
packing lines handling between 13 and 14
SKUs. If volume of products or capacity
demands it, we can converge all four lines
and run through the robotic cells. The
ability to swap, chop and change or drop
in new kit knowing that with one supplier
it will work seamlessly alleviates a lot of
pressure,” adds Andy. This benefit also
extends to sourcing critical spares, which
in turn reduces stock holding.
“It becomes much easier to manage an
automation project when you know exactly
who to go to when a problem needs to be
fixed,” says Andy. Currently, Brillopak is
assisting Rushden with a rumble conveyor
to stress test the pack seals before they
enter the packing warehouse. The end goal
is to keep as much rework as possible in
the room where it can be repacked, rather
than downstream.
To minimise production disruption,
Brillopak built, tested and installed
Rushden’s machines in phases. Most
of the really disruptive work was done
at night, out-of-hours. “The teams’
responsiveness was a real value-add,”
says Andy.
“Brillopak clearly understands the
manufacturing environment and how
critical production schedules are to
getting fresh produce packed and looking
good on the retail shelves,” ends Jason
www.brillopak.co.uk
32 FDPP - www.fdpp.co.uk