ABS Safety Implements Automation at a Brownfield Site

How can disused greenhouses be converted into logistics facilities? For ABS Safety, the answer doesn’t necessarily have to involve demolition and a rebuild. In a recent project, the fall protection specialist opted to work with existing structures, leveraging the automation expertise of Linde Material Handling. Today, 40 autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) of the type Linde C-MATIC navigate their way around the extensive premises in Kevelaer, Lower Rhine, independently and reliably—much to the delight of management and the picking staff.

Where there is a will, there is a way: ABS Safety GmbH demonstrates just how much truth there is to this saying. Driven by a desire to produce high-quality, reliable fall protection systems for the roofing trade, Ludwig and Ingrid Beckers launched the business in the basement of their home back in 2003. Today, ABS Safety employs over 200 people and is a leading provider of fall protection systems, access technology, and related products. The company also applied the same drive when the time came to expand the logistics facilities at its Kevelaer HQ.

Logistics Solutions Don’t Grow in Greenhouses … or Do They?

Since 2006, ABS Safety has been developing and manufacturing its products at its site close to the German-Dutch border. “In 2015, we more than doubled our storage and production capacity with a rebuild,” says Managing Director Kai Brendel. However, the company’s rapid growth soon called for further expansion. “Fortunately, we were able to acquire an existing site, ideally situated between our production and shipping facilities.” But there was one catch: it was a vast disused nursery with relatively low-rise greenhouses. Not exactly ideal conditions for a logistical overhaul.

Linde C-MATIC Guided Carts Deliver Efficiency

Today, anyone who enters the former greenhouse complex, covering some 8,000 square meters, will see transport tables as far as the eye can see. Stacked on top of the tables are pallets with boxes, individual parts in pallet cages, and rack compartments with small parts. They’re all waiting for the next “taxi”—one of 40 Linde C-MATIC platforms that automatically transport the load carriers from A to B. Right now, one of these taxis is approaching from the wide aisle in the middle of the hall and turning into a side aisle. The AMR heads straight to a transport table, lifts it up, and continues on its way toward the picking zone. Logistics Manager Boris Nicolay stands at one of numerous stations, watching the finely tuned operation with satisfaction: “This is where our staff put together orders for customers. They receive the order on their terminal, use it to summon the AMR, and have the goods delivered directly to their workstation.”

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These Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) Have the Hang of It

Another Linde C-MATIC is now approaching, transporting a rack with compartments on all four sides. What stands out here is that the employee is picking the ordered parts with the correct side of the rack facing him. Is that just a coincidence? Boris Nicolay explains: “The Linde robot has already rotated the table and the rack so that the picker doesn’t have to walk around to the other side of the load carrier. That’s a real ergonomic advantage in day-to-day shift work.” But not only can the Linde C-MATIC platforms rotate the load carriers they have picked up, they can also rotate in place beneath the transport tables. ABS Managing Director Kai Brendel: “Linde’s AMRs were the only ones on the market that could do exactly what we wanted.”

Special Feature Delivers a Significant Increase in Capacity

One added bonus for ABS Safety is that the tables don’t have to turn with the platform when changing direction, which saves a lot of space. As a result, the company was able to accommodate around 15 percent more transport tables in the facility than with similar solutions from competitors; a total of about 2,000 tables. They store goods that are delivered twice a day by truck from the production facility, which is located about 200 meters away. Logistics Manager Nicolay: “First, we unload the swap bodies manually using a forklift truck and place the goods on the transport tables standing by. The Linde C-MATICs then take over and transport the products from goods in to the storage locations in the warehouse; from there, they are later moved to the picking zone.”

Automation: Safety Meets Reliability

The Linde C-MATICs are equipped with state-of-the-art laser scanners that enable them to navigate through the extensive site safely at all times. If the technology detects people, obstacles, or other trucks on the route, the C-MATICs react immediately and stop automatically if necessary. They are guided by small QR codes positioned on the floor of the hall.

There is also a QR code on the underside of each transport table. “Since the goods are paired with the transport tables in our internal warehouse management system as soon as they arrive, the AMR scanning the code essentially confirms that it is the correct load carrier and that everything is going according to plan,” explains Logistics Manager Boris Nicolay.

A Strong Partnership Delivers the Best Results

Danny Eisenblätter, Sales & Project Manager for Automation & Intralogistics at Linde Material Handling Rhein-Ruhr, is also pleased with the joint project in Kevelaer. One good example of the collaboration’s success was how the floor surface was addressed: “Of course, greenhouse floors weren’t designed with mobile platforms in mind. So we analyzed this together and identified where upgrades would suffice and where new flooring would be required.” This task aside, the two companies already enjoy a productive relationship, as Managing Director Kai Brendel confirms: “Generally speaking, what we appreciate about Linde MH is that they’re not put off by specific requirements—quite the opposite.” For example, Linde MH Rhein-Ruhr previously supplied a reach truck for the new warehouse area built in 2015, featuring a custom mast that can reach rack levels up to 9 meters high in a mobile racking system.

Groundwork for Further Growth Laid

The “Greenhouse Project” impressed across the board—and not just by eliminating the need for a rebuild. “In the past, our picking staff sometimes had to walk long distances, clocking up to as many as 20,000 steps a day. Now that’s down to about 8,000, which significantly reduces the physical strain,” says Managing Director Kai Brendel, adding that they can now count on a continuous flow of goods with a minimal error rate. No wonder, then, that the company is already looking at ways to tap into further efficiency gains. “We are currently exploring whether the robots could presort the transport tables overnight for the next day,” explains Boris Nicolay, Logistics Manager. If past experience is anything to go by, it won’t be long before the will finds a way …