40% faster container unloading process at a warehouse
FlexLink worked with one of the world’s largest logistics companies to find an alternative solution to manually unloading and palletizing products on arrival at the warehouse.
Challenge
The challenge was to improve unloading and palletizing goods with varying weight and size from containers at the central infeed. Additionally, manual labor and repetitive lifting by personnel should be reduced.
Solution
Industrial robotic palletizers were installed behind roller conveyors and picked up the goods after the manual unloading from the arriving containers.
Benefits
This solution saved time for the unloading process in total. Moreover, a significant portion of the continuous and strenuous work was carried out by several operators and improved the palletizing quality.
40 % less time to unload a container
With two pallet loading stations allowing for a continuous operation while pallets were exchanged, in addition to handling payloads at 12 cycles per minute, containers were unloaded in 40 % less time, with fewer people involved. Further time savings will be recognized when double gripper functionality is implemented.
Reduction in the pallet rejections at the central infeed
The precision of the robotics’ movements reduced the customer’s pallet rejections at the warehouse infeed by over 85 %. This was a surprising benefit that saved both time and inconvenience of manually re-palletizing the pallets before storage.
Safety and mobility
The enhanced safety system created a safe co-existence with operators. The robot arm automatically slows down if an operator enters the safety zone and stops working if necessary, ensuring safe operations for operators and a continuous workflow.
Customers can relocate the palletizer around the facility as needed, as the units are not bolted to the floor. This mobility can enable the palletizer to be used in multiple warehouse areas, including the customization lines for de-palletizing and re-palletizing.
Very satisfying ROI
FlexLink’s customer reported a return on investment within 12-months of the system being installed.
