He explains: “During peak times we operate
four packing lines in 12 hour shifts. Like-
for-like we still employ the same volume of
people on the manual lines. Only now, we
tend to use a smaller pool of people and have
the option of rotating them between packing,
crate separation, palletising and the robotic
lines, which offers them greater job variety.”
A simple touchscreen enables
staff to adjust/control the speed
with the flow wrapper
Andy estimates that the site’s reliance on
agency staff has reduced by around 40%. He
believes that some of this could be attributed
to fewer staff absences as a result of the more
ergonomic system.
“There’s certainly some correlation between
having a core team of people that are familiar
with the system and the camaraderie that
people build when they work together daily.
It’s very evident that our pack team now
shares a stronger work ethic,” adds Andy.
To improve how packs were presented
to the manual packers and consequently
presentation within the retail crates, the
Rushton team worked collaboratively
with Brillopak to engineer two modified
PakStations. A hybrid version of five apple
PakStations installed by Morrisons at the
Thrapston depot several years ago, Rushden’s
modified design guarantees pack orientation
to the workforce that collate the trays. Rather
than clusters, packs come through in single
file. This helps to guarantee consistent
presentation of packs within the trays.
Additionally, the design of the PakStation 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
repeatedly lifting trays.”
ZONE CONTROL
By arranging two Brillopak PakStations
staggered back-to-back means one operative
can feed a continuous stream of crates to
both packing lines concurrently, and remove
filled crates placing them on the conveyor for
palletising. Because this is done at the rear of
the machine, crate clutter is minimised. Rather
than doubling up the role, one crate feeder is
deployed elsewhere in Rushden’s facility.
The lines, which are located in a busy
warehouse, adjacent to the robotic
installation, has also helped the team to
introduce clear work zones, further reducing
trip hazards. The consistent packing speed
and fewer front to back end bottlenecks
means that OEE across the whole packing
zone has improved.
For additional flexibility, the two PakStation
lines can be converged to run through the
robotic cells. Having an equal split between
robotic and semi-automated pack lines means
that Morrisons can move labour around
and scale up production to accommodate
seasonal demands.
Each PakStation system features its own
colour touchscreen control panel. This enables
Workforce moral has improved since Rushden installed the PakStation
operatives to control and adjust the speed
in which product is presented from the flow
wrap system. “It’s so straightforward to use
that I’m never worried about pressing the
wrong button and breaking the system,”
comments Dave, a longstanding packhouse
operative.
Last year the system won the PPMA 2018
Group Award for Innovative Packaging
Machine. Industry judges commented:
“The strength of the PakStation lies in its
optimisation of manual human labour rather
than trying to replace it completely. This gives
a best of both worlds scenario along with
reduced damage to product. Impressively
short payback time and overall equipment
performance improvements.”
www.brillopak.co.uk
Issue 42 PECM
41