Construction of a new high-bay warehouse, process optimization and replacement of conveyor technology at B. Braun

B. Braun is one of the world's leading providers and manufacturers of healthcare solutions today. Every service that B. Braun provides incorporates the entirety of our knowledge and skills, the company's deep understanding of users' needs, and extensive expertise since 1839. With its constantly growing portfolio of effective medical care solutions, B. Braun makes a substantial contribution towards protecting and improving people's health. The range comprises 5,000 products, 95 percent of which are produced in-house.

At the Berlin site, the existing high-bay warehouse (HRL) is to be extended by two aisles and the current conveyor technology is to be replaced. With a tailor-made optimisation concept, Hörmann Logistik received the order for realisation in two construction phases as general contractor.

Extension of the rack warehouse including connecting pallet conveyor system

In the first construction phase, the high-bay warehouse will be extended by two aisles. At the same time, the storage and retrieval aisles will be built, two new stacker cranes will be installed, a new loop will be integrated as an intermediate buffer and the pallet input and output will be set up in the dispatch area. The new stacker cranes are aisle-bound and each equipped with a telescopic fork.

Euro pallets (1,200 x 800 mm) and wooden industrial pallets (1,200 x 1,000 mm) as well as aluminium and plastic pallets serve as load units. The load units first pass through a free space and running board check. A corner transfer unit aligns the pallets for transverse transport. On the way to the loop in front of the warehouse, a contour and weight check takes place. In order to move the sensitive aluminium pallets gently, all conveyor technology elements are equipped with frequency converter controlled drives.

The accelerations and deceleration programs prevent jerky movements on the conveyor system.

During retrieval, the pallets pass through the retrieval stitch and the loop to the pallet removal point.

Optimization of the high-bay warehouse - implementation of new pallet changers and replacement of the conveyor system

For the second construction phase, Hörmann Logistik has redesigned and optimised the entire processes of the high-bay warehouse. The old aisles will get new storage and retrieval lanes.

The load units coming from production are placed on the pallet conveyor system and transported to the stretch wrapper. After film wrapping, the pallets pass through an air lock for contour control and labelling. Finally, the conveyor system transports the pallets either to the loop for storage or in the direction of pallet removal for dispatch.

A pallet changer station enables the replacement of wooden pallets with aluminium pallets and vice versa. A special tilting process prevents the goods from slipping. Damage or protruding nails are no problem. The goods are held from above and on two sides so that the pallet can be aligned underneath and tilted backwards. The old pallet is now removed via conveyor technology and pallet magazine and the new pallet is inserted under the goods. Behind the pallet stackers, buffer sections ensure the provision of the respective pallet variants.

The fine positioning system monitors the storage of Euro and industrial pallets in the new warehouse. This enables the storage of all pallet types in each compartment, which makes compartment occupancy and utilisation much more variable. The entire expansion and modernization of the high-bay warehouse at B. Braun is scheduled for completion by mid 2020.

Hörmann Logistik equips the new logistics hall for eurotrade at Munich Airport with automatic small parts warehouse

eurotrade, a wholly owned trading subsidiary of Flughafen München GmbH, operates numerous retail units at Europe's only five star airport. With around 1,200 employees, the company's portfolio includes duty free, fashion, press/travel supplies and watches/jewelry, on an area of around 14,000 square meters. With its many years of retail expertise and individual shop concepts, eurotrade plays a key role in shaping the world of experience and shopping at Munich Airport.

Munich Airport is currently erecting a new logistics hall for the storage of gift items, food, hygiene products and spare parts. Hörmann Logistik as general contractor has been awarded the contract to build a four-aisle automatic small parts warehouse with an upstream conveyor loop including four picking stations and two goods receiving stations. The automatic small parts warehouse serves the eurotrade stores very efficiently with the required shop items.

24/7 consignment

At the two goods receiving points, the incoming goods are unwrapped manually, collected and placed in an empty container. Roller conveyors and vertical conveyors bring the totes automatically to the small parts warehouse. All containers pass through a contour and weight check before being stored.

The conveyor system feeds the containers into the loop. The loop serves the containers in pairs at one of the four stacker cranes. To pick up the totes, the stacker cranes are equipped with a telescopic table with belt conveyor to store and retrieve the totes double-deep.

If no pair of containers is found within a defined period, the storage and retrieval machine stores the container individually. The new small parts warehouse serves for around 280 storage and retrieval operations per hour. For a picking order, the stacker crane retrieves the requested totes. The loop and the conveyor system deliver the totes to one of the four picking stations.

The infeed section of the picking station provides the totes in the required sequence. Each workstation is equipped with a terminal indicating the goods and quantities to be picked. The picking stations are designed for picking five orders simultaneously. If possible, an article is picked for several orders at the same time. This saves stock movements and increases the pick rate. A put-to-light display above each order box shows the operator the correct destination. After acknowledging the removed goods, the storage container returns to the warehouse using the same route.

Drive-free buffer lines provide empty containers for the target locations. Conveyors push the completely picked totes to the pick-up point. From there, they are reloaded onto transport trolleys and thus delivered to the respective recipient.

The Small parts warehouse at a glance:

• Dimensions: approx. 41 x 17 x 12 (L x W x H) metres
• Number of aisles: 4
• S/R machines: 4 one-mast stacker cranes, aisle-bound
• Load handling device: telescopic table with belt conveyor
• Storage method: single deep up to double deep
• Bin dimensions: 600 x 400 x 320 (L x W x H) mm
• Bin weight: 30 kg max.
• Storage positions: 32.000

Hörmann Logistik's scope of performance includes steel rack construction, storage and retrieval machines with control technology, container conveyor and control technology for incoming goods, outgoing goods and order picking, thermal partition wall between aisles 3 and 4, consignment stations, put-to-light removal stations, HiLIS warehouse management with interface to the on-site HOST, system visualisation.