Takes charging to another level
March 1st 2010 Co-operative Food Retail Logistics
called on EnerSys to help optimise
space at its new distribution centre
in County Durham, by minimising
the area required for charging
warehouse truck batteries. The
solution was to build a three-tier
battery bank – with potential to go
even higher – served by an electricpowered
changing cart, believed to
be the first of its type in the EU to
work without hydraulics.
This innovative installation forms
part of an advanced battery
management system to meet Cooperative
Food Retail Logistics' key
objectives of best practice and
sustainability. Sophisticated charging
and allocation procedures, as well as
remote diagnostic facilities, ensure
optimum performance over an
extensive projected working life for
the batteries and warehouse trucks.
Co-operative Food Retail Logistics
has a long-standing relationship with
EnerSys and over 90% of the 2000+
batteries used across its 19
warehouses are Hawker Evolution
units.With a gelled electrolyte,
Hawker Evolution offers
maintenance-free benefits because its
sealed units require no topping up
and there is no risk of spillage. A
highly efficient valve-regulated recombination
technology reduces gas
emissions to a minimum, which
makes Evolution particularly suitable
for food distribution operations.
From the outset it was clear that
the best way of minimising the
charge area footprint was to create a
bank of multiple tiers to
accommodate the batteries on
charge. Co-operative Food Retail
Logistics successfully pioneered
three-level banking at recent
developments in Coventry and
Thurrock.While the initial plan at
Birtley was for a similar
configuration, there was the
potential for a fourth tier to cope
with future growth. Both companies
accepted that four-high could be
beyond the performance of the
existing Hawker Pro Series BBH bull
handling equipment because its
hydraulic systems were at their
design limit. The only practical
solution was for EnerSys to devise a
new version of the BBH with fully
electric capability to remove any
potential restrictions. This
completely new model is the first of
its type delivered by EnerSys and is
believed to be unique to any supplier
in Europe.
Co-operative Food Retail Logistics
was keen to build redundancy into
the new system to ensure it could
maintain continuous warehouse
truck operations. The solution was
simple and elegant with two identical
banks, each with space for 42
batteries, arranged back-to-back with
their own BBH. This means one of
the systems can be taken off-line for
maintenance while the other
continues to supply charged
batteries. An added advantage of this
layout is that the central aisle
running between the two banks
allows engineers to check, monitor
and maintain the chargers without
entering truck operating areas. This
promotes safety and ensures essential
maintenance work can continue
without disrupting normal
warehouse operations. More articles from Enersys Ltd: | 
