Key handling objectives for storage
A typical Dyed Yarn Stores comprises a variety of movements, incoming as well as outgoing, from the storage area.
Movement 1 (Incoming) : White tight yarn coming from production in the form of spindles, which are usually kept in bins
Movement 2 (Outgoing) : Part of the tight yarn moves out of stores when this yarn is sent for loosening whereas remaining part of tight yarn still remains in storage.
Movement 3 (Incoming) : Part of loosened yarn goes for dyeing directly without moving into the Stores, whereas some part of loosened yarn is required to be stored.
Movement 4 (Incoming) : Dyed yarn comes into Stores again in the form of spindles in bins to be stored.
Movement 5 (Outgoing) : Finally Dyed yarn of various shapes is required to be dispatched for manufacturing of shirting.
These multiple movements happening simultaneously and containing a lot of variety, require extremely systematic, consistent and reliable handling media. As such the handling must satisfy the following key objectives:
- Distributing yarn, which is in the various stages of production to respective areas smoothly.
- Achieving desired speed of operation consistently to match the various production rates of different inputs as well as outputs from Stores area.
- Easily identifying stored material which is in almost infinite variety and which is impossible to be identified by man visibly. This is to eliminate costly search time.
- Utilisation of available space to the most optimum without compromising individual accessibility owing to the large variety.
- In fact, the above parameters are becoming more and more critical owing to the increasing demands of the customers in terms of variety and speed.
Movements cited in earlier were applicable to Arvind Mills Shirting Division Dyed Yarn Stores and therefore all those objectives were extremely critical for the smooth operation of the entire Division.
To this effect, the possibility of employing an Automated and Intelligent solution for damage-free and consistent handling was explored. The initial study itself proved that all the desired objectives and much more could be achieved by going in for an AS/RS solution.
An AS/RS solution typically comprises equipment for material handling, a storage system designed to suit the material to be stored and also the material handling equipment, and the correct Warehouse Management System, which is the brain of the complete AS/RS.
Each of the critical objectives is satisfied in the following manner:
Large variety
All the material coming into the Warehouse was identified by a barcode system that created an elaborate and clear database, linking any respective item to a definite location.
At the time of retrieval, the operator is only required to call for a particular item and the bin containing the desired spindle is easily identified by the computer. This eliminates human dependency and therefore avoids costly errors and also search-time.
Desired speed and consistency of operation
A Dyed Yarn Store forms a central hub of activity, as a lot of production areas preceding and after this depend largely on the efficiency of this Store. Any inability to deliver the correct material in time leads to costly loss in production time and subsequent blockage of further processing.
The equipment provided for in AS/RS is fixed path equipment, which operates on electricity/battery and is controlled by the Warehouse Management Software (WMS). The speed and movement of this equipment can be easily controlled and therefore desired speeds can be achieved exactly. Furthermore, since these equipment are not man-dependent therefore the same can run continuously with 100% efficiency and practically for 24 hours a day.
Optimum space utilisation
Since the Dyed Yarn Stores is a part of the manufacturing set up, space becomes one of its most critical parameters. For this purpose, the equipment for AS/RS is provided with a feature of Telescopic Forking. The forks mounted on the equipment retract perpendicular to the movement of the equipment in the aisle.
This eliminates turning of the Material Handling Equipment and reduces aisle space to only a few 100 mm more than the equipment width. This consequently results in highly dense storage, without compromising on individual accessibility.
Distribution of variety of yarn effectively
If the movement of the bins is effected manually inside the aisles of the storage system, this could lead to blockages/bottlenecks, resulting in loss of time, confusion and even damage to goods in some cases.
In AS/RS the movement of all equipment is synchronized and controlled by the computers, which decide priority of movement, based on the logic provided to the WMS.
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