According to the Health & Safety Executive,
the moving of awkward heavy loads is
one of the key causes of manual handling
musculoskeletal injuries and work-related
upper limb disorders (WRULDs). Chronic
back pain resulting from repetitive or
awkward lifting accounts for around 35%
of cases of occupational ill health in food
and drink manufacturingi. The Brillopak
crate separation and palletising systems
are designed to address these issues by
removing one of the most labour intensive
tasks in case packing.
ADDRESSING PROCESSING PAIN
POINTS
Prior to the automated lines going in,
operatives at Morrisons loaded crates
manually onto the conveyor. Once filled,
another colleague would hoist and stack
the heavy filled trays onto pallets. With
more than 720 pallets passing through each
facility daily, unloading the two-metre high
stacks, separating, filling and then palletising
the crates was physically demanding work.
Now, all movement of the empty and filled
crates is done using robotics. By automating
every part of the process from crate
separation to palletising has resulted in 90%
of the physical labour being taken off the
line at Rushden.
Empty crates are automatically fed onto
each packing line via a low belt conveyor,
presenting stacks in a line to the Crate
DeStaker. The Crate Destaker lifts up a whole
stack while simultaneously pulling down the
bottom crates. This motion ejects two crates
at a time in a consistent line out onto the
main conveyor track to the robotic potato case
loading station.
Each Brillopak Crate DeStaker unit can separate
up to 480 crates every half an hour. Operatives
then manoeuvre another pallet of washed and
empty crate stacks into position on the infeed
conveyor, so the process can continue.
Designed to feed multiple lines, another
Morrisons site - Thrapston - has Brillopak Crate
DeStakers in place supplying empty crates to
17 packing lines.
“The benefit to health and safety and workforce
wellbeing is evident,” reports Rushden machine
operative Dave. “The machine just does it for
you. As people are rotated around different
packing and warehouse tasks, the team seems
a lot more cohesive.”
Site manager Andy agrees. “It’s a much calmer
processing environment. Because the process
is so streamlined, it feels less chaotic. Empty
and filled crates are stacked in an orderly
way, with clearly defined work and storage
areas. Staff rotate around different jobs. This
has increased team morale. Plus, they are not
being constantly exposed to repetitive tasks,
which is much better for occupational health.”
Brillopak Crate DeStakers and palletising
stackers are modular by design, making
it easier for packhouses to integrate with
existing automated lines.
www.brillopak.co.uk
Issue 42 PECM
105