No sick bays mean richer pickings
October 1st 2007 Conveyor Systems has completed a storage and handling system for NHS National
Procurement that maximises storage areas and optimises order picking and fulfilment
The new national DC located in the
Lanarkshire area was successfully
completed and opened earlier this
year and will have an annual throughput of
around £100million and circa 5 million order
lines per annum.
As part of the tender, CSL had to present
design proposals in accordance with the
stringent NHS supplier specifications and
Health & Safety policy, as well as providing
equipment specifications and detailed
recommendations of how the installation
would be Project Managed in conjunction
with the main building construction.
The warehouse can stock 12,000 items
and has 10,000 pallet and 8,000 shelf
locations. CSL had to provide a system that
maximised on storage areas, provided
optimum workflow and efficiency in order
picking and fulfilment to meet the demands
of a site that will eventually operate 24 hours
per day from 2008 onwards. With similar
project experience involving mezzanine floors
and installation of over at least 30 spiral
conveyors throughout various industrial
sectors, CSL's experience and competitive
system designs provided the confidence and
commitment land the contract.
CSL's proposals included for slower moving
bulk products to be stored and picked on the
mezzanine floor. Full plastic tote boxes are
conveyed down a spiral belt conveyor for
loading into a live storage system. The
energy efficient spiral belt conveyor also
provides the system with maximum handling
flexibility, as it can safely convey products of
various sizes and weights and can operate in
reverse to transfer empty tote boxes or
products back from ground floor up to the
mezzanine level. The small foot print area of
the spiral conveyor is also space saving in
comparison to an inclined belt conveyor.
Below the mezzanine floor, orders are
picked from tote bins that are located in an
ergonomically designed live storage racking
system. The system consists of five bays,
each with four levels of six tracks, capable of
hold four tote boxes per track. This offers 120
picking locations and storage capacity for
480 tote bins.
Work closely with the NHS and architects,
the project was completed on time and
within budget. More articles from Conveyor Systems Limited: | 
