Trascar S.p.A. has realized the new automated warehouse for Molini Pivetti S.p.A., starting from the green field until the final test
The Company of Modena has realized the new automated self-supporting warehouse within the plant located in Renazzo (Fe), on a surface of 1.200 squares meters with a height of 35 meters. Trascar S.p.A. managed every planning and operational aspect, both in the construction, in automation and in logistics part.
The automated warehouse of Molini Pivetti S.p.A.
Molini Pivetti S.p.A., historical Company of the food sector and leader in the processing of professional flours, has chosen Trascar S.p.A. as main contractor for engineering and realization of the automated warehouse of Renazzo’s (Fe) plant. The system – which covers a surface of 1.200 squares meters of automated warehouse, nearby the present headquarters – ensures high efficiency and productivity performances. Some noteworthy features of the system are the elevated operative height (35 meters from the ground) and the fire prevention system obtained through an oxygen depletion system, this means that inside the warehouse there is an atmosphere with a reduced oxygen percentage, of 14,5 % instead of 21% of the free atmosphere, in this way the combustion is prevented by short quantity of comburent and however the atmosphere still remain breathable for people (the available quantity of oxygen is comparable with that is present at almost 3.500 metres of altitude). The system assures a storage capacity of about 6.000 pallets, each of them can weigh until 1.300 kg, with an handling capacity of 150 pallets/hour.
The system became operational in December 2018.
A highly challenging commitment for Trascar S.p.A.
For Trascar S.p.A. the realization of the new automated warehouse of Molini Pivetti S.p.A. has been a highly challenging commitment, for which has been necessary match different skills and coordinate different working areas to assure to the Customer uniformity of execution and excellent manufacturing. So, not only management of the warehouse automation, but also engineering and building construction, management of the fire-fighting safety and overall supervision on intervention. Trascar S.p.A. was also responsible of the realization of the building turned adapted as shipment logistic and of the floor on which the automated warehouse has been built; these activities have been coordinated by Studio Leonardo in Bomporto, consolidated partner of Trascar S.p.A. which took care also of the organization of the works and of the coordination of safety on site. The new automated warehouse is a self-supporting structure, with an height of over 35 meters at the top, in which work 3 motorized column stacker cranes capable of stocking in double depth. Nearby the self-supporting warehouse and inter-connected with it, has been built the building destined to logistics, where, at the ground floor, are placed camion’s charging tailboards for the shipment of finished product’s pallets and for receiving of packaging materials, while at the first floor there is the picking area, directly interlocked from the automated warehouse, where multireference pallets are prepared; these pallets are successively stocked within the automated warehouse waiting to be delivered with single-reference pallets.
Reduce the oxygen to increase the safety
For a Company that produces floured and semifinished products from cereals, the reduction of the oxygen in storage areas allows to obtain different advantages: this feature allows a better retention of the products, keeps one hostile environment for contingent infesting and cancel the fire’s risks. The solution proposed by Trascar S.p.A. for the Molini Pivetti S.p.A.’s need is constituted of a combination of different factors. Through suitable equipments, nitrogen, an inert gas, is constantly produced at 95% of purity and it is injected in the warehouse through specific piping. Specific oxygen sensors, placed in the warehouse, keep constantly supervised the inside atmosphere in order that the oxygen percentage is kept at the set level.
The entrance to the warehouse takes place through a watertight compass: in this way is possible to handle goods incoming and outgoing reducing to the maximum the nitrogen loss during phases of pallets’ handling. At last, a tracking system verifies in each moment that the oxygen saturation within the warehouse is contained within the prefixed limits, while maintaining itself into suitable parameters for the human presence.
Construction engineering with non-common requirements
Having to realize a new productive building in a zone of declared seismic risk (as well as hydro geological) it has been strictly important the correct dimensioning of foundations and the floor, as required by the construction standards, as well as a preliminary careful study of loads and their distribution in order to prevent – in case of heartquake – subsidence or weakening of the structure. So, it has been opted for a self-supporting structure in metallic shape, an innovative and effective building typology that assures the faithful respect of the standards of law and safety of workers, offerring at the same time important operational and functional advantages.
Integrated and customized software
The information technology management of the system has been provided by Trascar S.p.A. with a product customized for requirements of Molini Pivetti S.p.A., for what is related to various automated warehouse functions and for applications ad hoc realized to assure the integration of the operational programs already employed by the Customer. The WMS software (Warehouse Management System) manages the warehouse’s loading on operational working stations H24, with tracking of each single pallet, night rearrangement’s management and optimization of stores cycles. Each handling phase is managed and controlled through software: from the pallets’ taking-charge to the control of themselves, from the labelling to the delivery to warehouse for orders’ preparation. Pallets arriving from the warehouse to delivery area will be placed on a buffer of 10 gravity conveyors of 9 places each one: every single pallet is taken from a worker that picks it with electric trans pallet and, following indications supplied by WMS, directs the pallet to the related camion’s loading bay (there are 4 loading bays). Here, a barcode reader makes a further control of the effective pallet’s correspondence with the loading order of the camion.
Pallet control
Trascar S.p.A., moreover, supplied an automated system for the control of pallets conformity to the technical fiches of Euro-pallet in order that to the automated warehouse and to palettization lines arrive only suitable pallets, excluding from the automated management the non-suitable pallets (for dimensions, shape, or materials status), directing them to other operational functions. In this way are assured to the Customer a better performance of the packing and a more efficient management of the defective pallets.
