CONTROL & AUTOMATION AUTOMATION AMBITION
BRILLOPAK
Brillopak ’ s five-year phased automation roadmap accelerates packing efficiency at Morrisons fresh-produce operations in Thrapston
Packing automation success is all in the planning . Embarking on a mission to reconfigure its fresh-produce packing hall at Thrapston , the Morrisons Centre of Excellence - which prepares and delivers 130 million packs of fruit every year to 82 stores - has succeeded in its automation vision and ambition .
British automation specialist Brillopak supported Thrapston at every phase of the five-year programme . In total , Brillopak installed 11 fully integrated fresh-produce packing lines comprising around 40 machines , with equipment and capital investments split across three defined phases .
Rather than piecemeal different technologies together , Thrapston ’ s site manager at the time , Matthew Peczek , sought a cohesive automation investment approach to increase efficiency , achieve packing consistency and optimise produce quality .
Taking the decision to completely redevelop the factory layout in 2017 , Matthew was resolute that all machinery would be designed and placed linearly , with everything coming from the chillers and out to the back end for distribution , in one continuous flow . His linear vision has since been realised . Now , every part of the line faces in the same direction throughout the packing hall .
Having seen the possibilities accomplished when managing the Morrisons Rushden depot , Matthew , now Head of Operations for produce at the company , was confident that Brillopak director David Jahn and his engineering team would see the bigger picture and deliver these transformational benefits . Most importantly , Brillopak was completely aligned to the investment roadmap that assisted Thrapston in reaching its end point . Phasing in the flow
In 2016 , Brillopak delivered stage one -
With 40 individual Brillopak machines now on site and running continuously , Matt upholds the value of working with a single and reliable integrator . optimising the manual packing of apples into crates . Thrapston commissioned five of Brillopak ’ s award-winning and ergonomic PAKStations to replace less efficient manual packing and turntable operations . This was the first step to automation and enabled the site to get familiar with the automation .
To support these apple-packing lines and eliminate any potential bottlenecks , two Crate DESTAKers , five bale arm closers and five double stackers for palletising were also introduced . The result was five integrated packing lines that maintained a consistent packing pace , each feeding out onto the main track to an existing palletising system .
This first phase was intentionally designed as a holding pattern in Thrapston ’ s automation plan , allowing for the subsequent robotic machines that were to follow . “ As a result of the fast payback due to labour efficiency , enhanced produce quality and reduced complaints , the plan was always to replace the PAKStations within two years . Swapping out with three fully automated UniPAKer robotic crate packing systems in phase two ,” reflects Matt . It was , he affirms , always central to their produce strategy of improving quality and process efficiency and reducing costs and waste .
Having got the measure of the design requirements and long-term goals at the outset , Brillopak ’ s Automation Architecture meant that the innovative firm had already factored in the available real estate . The team built the framework of the PAKStations to match the dimensions of the UniPAKer machines , as well as the conveyor infeed and outfeed heights ; enabling a seamless and simple swap over , to mitigate any packaging disruption .
With Brillopak ’ s vision , Thrapston ’ s machinery has been designed and placed linearly and in one continuous flow from the packing hall to the chillers .
“ We literally pulled out the UniPAKer machines and inserted the robotic machines into the apple lines ,” affirms David . Local power requirements and access points , as well as feeds to the main conveyor track for each line had already been considered at the initial due diligence planning phase . Craig Savage who project managed the entire programme , affirms that the devil really was in the detail . “ It involved multiple simulations to define the best
10 PECM Issue 61