- TGW replaced the electrical components during retrofit at apra-norm.
apra-norm Elektromechanik GmbH, headquartered in Mehren/Eifel (Germany), is a leading supplier of 19" electronic enclosures and cabinet systems for electrical and electronic engineering, medical technology, mechanical engineering, process measuring and control technology and many other fields of application. By using different advanced manufacturing technologies, the company realises products in sheet steel, high-grade steel, aluminium and plastics with a quantity ranging from 1 to 100,000 pieces.
Since 1999, apra-norm has been using an automated production parts warehouse implemented by TGW. By 2009 the demands on capacities and production operations had changed considerably, which required revisions of the logistics processes, too. The logistics consulting company Neef was commissioned to analyse their requirements and create a new logistics concept.
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RETROFIT SOLUTION
- The stacker cranes got new control cabinets during retrofit.
Complete Retrofit of Automated Storage & Retrieval System
TGW Systems Integration’s concept of the warehouse area included a the replacement of all old electro-mechanical components and the entire load handling device of each stacker crane. Once the preparatory work and exact scheduling of mechanical and electrical modernisation were finished, TGW proceeded with the on-site operations at apra-norm.
The schedule for stacker crane retrofitting planned on an hourly basis had a particularly tight timeline. All components to be replaced, including the entire load handling device, cabling and control cabinets, were disassembled within the first six working hours. After this first step assembly engineers worked on the devices, whilst electrical engineers installed the corresponding control cabinets, photoelectric barriers and cabling. Finally the retrofitted devices were put into operation again.
Redesign of Pre-storage Area and Workplaces
- U-shaped work places in the pre-storage area
The reorganisation of the conveyor system and picking workstations in the pre-storage area considerably increased the system's overall performance. Retrofit operations on site were mainly carried out at off-peak times and weekends to guarantee no significant disruption to the customer’s warehouse production.
In the old system, order picking was done on simple storage/retrieval lines without accumulation positions. After retrofit the system incorporates modern, U-shaped workplaces that permit accumulation of seven totes directly at the work station. This way the storage and retrieval system works more constantly, providing for a higher performance in the supply of the workplaces. The design of the workplaces was done by apra-norm.
S7 Control System and CI_LOG Warehouse Management System
During the reorganisation of the warehouse and conveyor system the entire existing control system based on S5 was replaced by the current Siemens S7 control system. The upgrade to S7 was indispensable, as manufacturer Siemens could only guarantee the supply of spare parts for the old S5 control system for a short time.
In addition, apra-norm opted for a complete replacement of their warehouse management and material flow control system by a new CI_LOG system. The former system had become too inflexible to be adapted to the new capacity and process requirements. TGW Systems Integration installed the entire software package on a test system. By means of simulations running in the background, the new WMS system was thoroughly tested before it was implemented as production system.
At the same time the previously used ERP system of apra-norm was replaced by a new solution by proALPHA. apra-norm worked closely with TGW and proALPHA to develop an interface with large-scale integration for the communication between the warehouse management system CI_LOG and ERP system proALPHA.
Data Import Tool
Great importance was attached to data migration during implementation of the new production system. It had to be ensured that all article and order data were completely transferred from the old system to CI_LOG, and would be available as soon as possible. By means of CI_LOG's own Data Import Tool the data could easily be migrated to the new WMS.