Filled trays then pass over a vibration panel
to settle the potato packs in the crates. This
ensures packs don’t get caught when the
bale arms close. If the bale arm is damaged,
the crate is rejected and the potatoes are
returned to the start of the packing process
for reprocessing.
The filled crates of potatoes then pass to a
double crate stacker, which places one loaded
crate on top of the other. From here the
double stack is presented to the integrated
yet compact palletiser.
For maximum efficiency, Brillopak’s compact
palletiser accommodates two pallet stacks
side-by-side.
When one stack is full the cell door slides
open and the full pallet is removed. To protect
workforce Health & Safety, only when the cell
door closes, does palletising on the remaining
empty pallet resume.
OVERCOMING ORIENTATION
The difference having an automated packing
line has made to the presentation of fresh
produce packs cannot be underplayed
reports Andy.
“Product accumulations and the speed in
which potato packs were delivered onto
the rotary turntable previously resulted in
irregular orientations,” he recalls.
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
apple packing depot.
Andy explains: “Physically fitting more
people around the turntable to pack faster
was unfeasible. Space just wouldn’t allow
it. When creating our two Brillopak C130
Semi-Automated Packstations we combined
the best of Thrapston’s design and integrated
several bespoke 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 lengthy durations. This
rotation around different tasks, combined
with less reliance on agency staff, has created
a much stronger team ethic,” he highlights.
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
OPTIMISING OEE
To resolve this, the company installed two
four-axis Delta type robots side-by-side within
the two P180 Unipick pick and place systems. 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.
Capable of orientating packs quicker than
any human being, the 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. 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 consequence was frequent production
stops and starts, and messy trays with packs
being placed into trays in different angles
and patterns. “Regaining control over the
orientation without stopping the line was
near impossible once the packing pattern was
lost,” adds Andy.
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.
www.brillopak.co.uk
Issue 40 PECM
79