How to use the Modula automatic vertical warehouses to implement production in the iron and steel sector

30 May 2018

Iron and steel facilities typically work with an integrated cycle: production starts with the raw materials and involves all production stages up to the finished product.

Working a continuous cycle means 24/7, and this entails very complex, well-structured warehouse management.
In organisations such as these, the Warehouse plays a key role: it needs to organise delivery plans for products, juggling between the lack of raw materials, urgent orders, and the need to increasingly speed up order preparation to satisfy customers and stakeholders who are increasingly demanding every day.

Some critical points in iron and steel production

The iron and steel industry encompasses highly diversified production. Starting with raw materials we move to slabs, blooms and billets and finally an array of finished products with sheet metal, components for the automotive sector, containers for food use, coiled tubing and steel ropes, to ship decks or products for building and railway construction.

The most frequent issues are:

  • variety in production, material and work tools
  • difficulties organising the warehouse
  • continuous production constantly interrupted by foreseeable unexpected events

To organise all the goods (raw materials, semi-finished products and final output) along with the production tools and electrical and mechanical components, the warehouse needs to be impeccably designed to avoid wasting space and time, or production downtimes.

Production planning is directly related to the organisation aspect.
If the production process, on the one hand, must be able to meet the needs of the customers and stakeholders, on the other it must also take into account the structural restraints due to the production abilities of the plant itself and to unexpected events.

The lack of raw materials, the time wasted looking for materials, incorrect inventory, and other such difficulties are easily avoided with proper production organisation.

Optimising iron and steel production with Modula warehouses

The critical issues listed above are all solvable in relation to the ability to manage the storage of goods and work tools.
With Modula vertical warehouses, you can increase logistical efficiency and thus improve the production flow.

Below are some of the advantages for companies that operate in the iron and steel sector, linked to the use of the Modula automatic vertical warehouses:

  • A perfectly organised warehouse: you know exactly where a certain product is located and how much/many you have available at any time. In the Modula warehouses, you can also store small and very small goods, such as electrical components, screws and bolts, inserts, joints, ball bearings and valves, safe in the knowledge items won’t be lost. To further make it easier to store, each tray in a Modula warehouse can be subdivided into compartments (with dividers, partitions and risers) depending on one’s needs, and can be configured in terms of unit heights, payloads and sizes. Each Modula tray is fully customisable.
  • Real time spare parts management so that the Production and Maintenance departments can minimise wait times in the production process. With just a simple click, you select the desired item on the Copilot (the touchscreen operator interface), and in just a few seconds you will be able to pick it from the tray that automatically arrives at the picking station.
  • Optimise all the space available. By eliminating crates, pallets and traditional shelving, and instead introducing one or more Modula warehouses, you can exploit the vertical space available, up to 16 metres, saving 90% of occupied floor space.
  • Ergonomic for the operators, who will no longer be forced to go up or down steep heights carrying very heavy loads, risking an accident. The fact you can install one or two external bays also allows for combinations with bridge cranes or mechanical manipulators to lift heavy objects, making the work environment even more ergonomic and safer.
  • Save time with the dual delivery level. The operator no longer needs to move around the warehouse to get the items for production, and instead remains at the Modula warehouse for all picking operations. Modula offers you the possibility of installing two delivery levels, so that as a pick-up is being made from one tray, another one is already on its way to the second delivery level. Production wait times are completely eliminated.
  • Top quality and safety standards, because all the material is fully protected and safe inside the vertical warehouse. Access to stored items is only allowed to authorised operators, with logins and passwords, or advanced recognition systems (badge or RFID readers).
    Would you like to know more about our warehouses? Would you like to improve your production? Contact us for more information

Want to know more?

Ask for a quotation for one of our vertical warehouses or simply tell us what it is you need. Our team of experts will be only too happy to help you find the most efficient solution to improving the performance of your warehouse.
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