Crate DeStakers support
Morrisons’ worker
wellbeing and efficiency
To help two Morrisons packing plants
overcome production bottlenecks,
Brillopak has installed four Crate
DeStakers at the start of four robotic pick
and place case packing cells. However,
the real benefit is the difference the
machines have made to workforce health
and safety and job satisfaction, reports
Rushden’s site manager Andy Day.
Upstream, Brillopak Crate DeStakers
have put a stop to operatives repeatedly Addressing processing pain points crate stacks into position on the infeed
overstretching to lift, separate and place Prior to the automated lines going in, conveyor, so the process can continue.
clean retail baskets in a constant stream operatives at Morrisons loaded crates onto conveyors for filling. manually onto the conveyor. Once filled, Designed to feed multiple lines, another
another colleague would hoist and stack Morrisons site - Thrapston - has Brillopak
Both Rushden and Gadbrook fresh the heavy filled trays onto pallets. With Crate DeStakers in place supplying empty
produce depots supplying Morrisons’ more than 720 pallets passing through crates to 17 packing lines.
customers nationwide recently invested each facility daily, unloading the two- in four state-of-the-art UniPacker metre high stacks, separating, filling and “The benefit to health and safety and
Robotic Pick and Place Cells for packing then palletising the crates was physically workforce wellbeing is evident,” reports
vertical form fill and seal potato bags into demanding work. Rushden machine operative Dave. “The
standard sized 600mmx400mm crates.
machine just does it for you. As people
Having automated their packing lines, Now, all movement of the empty and are rotated around different packing and
both sites needed assurance that the filled crates is done using robotics. By warehouse tasks, the team seems a lot
supply of crates to the robotic cells would automating every part of the process more cohesive.”
be fast enough to not cause a backlog or from crate separation to palletising has result in labour being relocated to such a resulted in 90% of the physical labour Site manager Andy agrees. “It’s a much
strenuous and repetitive task. being taken off the line at Rushden. calmer processing environment. Because
the process is so streamlined, it feels
According to the Health & Safety Empty crates are automatically fed onto less chaotic. Empty and filled crates
Executive, the moving of awkward each packing line via a low belt conveyor, are stacked in an orderly way, with
heavy loads is one of the key causes presenting stacks in a line to the Crate clearly defined work and storage areas.
of manual handling musculoskeletal DeStaker. The Crate Destaker lifts up Staff rotate around different jobs. This
injuries and work-related upper limb a whole stack while simultaneously has increased team morale. Plus, they
disorders (WRULDs). Chronic back pain pulling down the bottom crates. This are not being constantly exposed to
resulting from repetitive or awkward motion ejects two crates at a time in repetitive tasks, which is much better for
lifting accounts for around 35% of cases a consistent line out onto the main occupational health.”
of occupational ill health in food and conveyor track to the robotic potato case drink manufacturingi. The Brillopak loading station.
crate separation and palletising systems
Brillopak Crate DeStakers and palletising
stackers are modular by design, making
are designed to address these issues Each Brillopak Crate DeStaker unit can it easier for packhouses to integrate with
by removing one of the most labour separate up to 480 crates every half existing automated lines.
intensive tasks in case packing. an hour. Operatives then manoeuvre
another pallet of washed and empty
www.brillopak.co.uk
FDPP - www.fdpp.co.uk 13