Lineage Logistics recently opened a new facility in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, that spans approximately 386,000 square feet and includes about 85,000 pallet positions to handle and store temperature-controlled food products. The building is equipped with cutting-edge technology and automation including cranes and rail-guided vehicles, which are used to store, move and retrieve products within the warehouse.
Depending on the vaccine and the carrier size, the vaccines may remain cool for up to two days. Innovation continues toward more advanced models, such as freeze- preventative vaccine carriers with insulated barriers that separate the vaccine storage compartment from the coolant. This reduces the risk the vaccine will freeze during transport. WAREHOUSE AUTOMATION Lineage, Inc. recently opened a warehouse in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, that automates full-pallet movements, layer-picking, and less-than-layer picking using a variety of robots. Using robots to automate these functions in public warehouses in the cold storage industry is new, notes Daniel Walet, senior operations research scientist for Lineage. The systems have to handle the jobs done by similar systems in dry facilities, while also accommodating the temperature and humidity. LinOS, Lineage’s proprietary warehouse execution software, uses algorithm-based decision-making capabilities to determine where pallets are stored, for how long, and how to most efficiently move them around the warehouse, among other decisions. On the outbound side, LinOS determines how employees can most efficiently build case-picking pallets, and
how to maximize throughput capacity in layer-picking and less-than-layer quantities. Team members and robots in the warehouse use the same tasking algorithm, so they work in harmony. No industry standard governs the location of a label on the pallet, nor the type of information included. So, if the Lineage Eye is unable to automatically receive the pallet, employees are shown pictures of the Unidentified Frozen Object, or UFO. Then they can—from behind computers rather than on a cold dock—receive the pallet. IT'S A BLAST The ALTA Expert refrigeration system offered by CJ Logistics is air-cooled, without water usage or chemical treatment, reducing exposure to OSHA and other regulations, Coleman says. The proprietary control program, which manages the physical components via computer control, continuously monitors the operation. “It has the ability to adjust on the fly continuously, thereby saving energy and prolonging equipment lifespan,” Coleman says. Through the controls, the systems can quickly change temperature from -20°F to +55°F quickly. Another solution offered by CJ Logistics, the Tippmann QFM blast- freeze system, pulls refrigerated air through the product, as opposed to trying to push it through or around,
as is typically done. CJ Logistics uses one QFM fan hood per pallet position, which concentrates airflow and reduces freeze time when compared to traditional blast systems. The system is modular, and can be expanded, reduced, or easily re-deployed to other facilities. ADVANCES TO COME Progress being made in cold chain solutions shows no sign of stopping. The next level of innovation will involve linking cold chain solutions with decision-making, Joshi says. For example, assume a company is importing strawberries to the U.S. and learns that its refrigerated containers malfunctioned during part of the trip. The berries remain edible, but ripened more quickly than anticipated. Instead of a sell-by date that’s three weeks out, the company has one week to sell them. Management needs to determine how to use that week to promote the berries so it maximizes sales and minimizes waste. It also needs to identify the actions it will take during the additional two weeks it had planned to promote the shipment. “You think about combining supply chain activities around ordering, procurement, shelf life, and fulfillment with cold chain awareness,” Joshi says. Companies that innovate across these functions may gain an edge. n
32 Inbound Logistics • December 2024
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