Loading system improves worker safety

Unilever-Bestfoods now loads significantly more trailers a day in less time while reducing product damage.

By Sara Pearson Specter, Editor at Large -- Modern Materials Handling, 1/1/2006

To improve overall worker safety by significantly reducing fork lift traffic at a plant in Chicago, Unilever-Bestfoods Corp. implemented an automatic over-the-road truck loading system.

The turn-key system automatically loads up to 145 over-the-road trailers a day. This throughput exceeds the food company's original target of loading 90 to 120 trailers a day, allowing for future growth.

In addition to the automatic truck loading system (Advanced Systems, 248-647-2331), the project included the relocation of five case palletizers to a warehouse adjacent to the facility's shipping doors.

Existing case conveyors were relocated to feed the palletizers. Meanwhile, a new pallet handling system accumulates and meters pallets to the automatic truck loading system (ATLS) at all six loading positions.

The solution has led to several benefits to Unilever-Bestfoods. To begin, overall worker safety increased due to a significant reduction in fork lift traffic. This led to fewer vehicles and redeployment of those operators elsewhere in the facility. The reduction of the fork truck fleet has also reduced the associated maintenance costs.

Unilever-Bestfood's ATLS runs continuously, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with minimal supervision. Product damage has been reduced. Load accuracy is now 100% because the system automatically scans and confirms the placement of all pallet loads inside the trailers.

As needed, the ATLS can automatically direct a portion of production to forklift pick-up locations for manual rail car loading. The system handles two, 3,000 pound pallet loads simultaneously.

Pallet loads are positioned in a range of patterns—including pinwheeling—inside a variety of conventional, unmodified common carrier trailer sizes. The ATLS also allows unimpeded access for conventional fork trucks to dock doors not used by the system.

A custom software package maximizes sequencing, accumulation and logic for metering pallet loads to the ATLS. It interfaces with the company's control, verification, and business management systems. And the system software can be programmed to accommodate priority picks.