Thursday 25 / April / 2024
Muscat: Automation of storage facilities can help enhance productivity and efficiency but certain requirements need to be met, such as training of staff and proper maintenance, said experts at a conference in Muscat.
Various aspects of using technology in storage processes were discussed during the first edition of Oman Packaging and Material Handling Exhibition (Opmex), which took place from February 8 to 10 at the Oman International Exhibition Centre.
Walid Khoury, managing director at ALS Logistic Solutions — which specialises in material handling and storage systems’ automation with global experience and presence — discussed the pros and cons of automation at a presentation entitled ‘To automate or not to automate? That is the question.’
Quoting the Microsoft tycoon Bill Gates, he said, “The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency. The second is that automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency.”
Advantages
Khoury said that the advantages of automation of storage facilities, include space savings, lower building costs, improved productivity, more efficient material flow, less manpower, safer operations, reductions in inventory, increased reliability and reduced running costs.
The manual working is error-prone, person-dependent and time consuming while an automated system is more error proof, process-driven and very fast, the expert said. However, he noted that there are certain challenges facing automation which include the availability of trained labour force.
The managing director at ALS Logistic Solutions said that some failures of automation projects and the reasons for them fall into several categories. These could include unforeseen complexity, shifting the goalposts and any attempt to automate an unstable software or process and resource crunch, he added.
However, he noted that 100 per cent of ALS’ automation projects did eventually complete and are actively maintained.
Requirements
According to Khoury, most projects need proper maintenance and active role between the solution provider and the operator and active training is a ‘must’ for the success of the project.
In terms of statistics in the local businesses and historic answers to the automation question, he said that out of 100 requests, maybe 10 reach the status of a budget/project and out of these 10 projects, only 2 to 3 reach the actual status of quotation.
Finally, 1 to 2 are actually implemented with automation (not full), the expert said, adding that based on the statistics, 99 per cent of the time, the ultimate answer is ‘not to automate’. “This much change with time”, he said, expressing ALS’ readiness to provide assistance to companies in Oman.
Projects in Oman
Commenting on the company’s projects in Oman, Khoury said that it is cooperating with Oman Air to build fully automated cargo handling terminals in Muscat and Salalah airports.
The projects would feature two 20ft fully automated ETVs (elevating transfer vehicles), automated truck dock interfaces between land and air sides, fully automated TV system (transfer vehicles) and online Oracle-based database.
In addition, Matthias Hoewer, general manager ofSSI Schaefer, delivered a presentation about automation in the food and beverage industry at the conference. He highlighted the important role of automation in enhancing efficiency and productivity and discussed some of the technology solutions offered by the company for automation of facilities.
Solutions
According to him, these solutions are related to the receiving area, conveyor system (roller conveyors, belt-driven vertical conveyors, lifting transfer units, turntables, chain conveyors, ground-level in-freed stations, pallet storage systems, vertical conveyors) and the shipping area.
Hoewer added that the company uses steel infrastructure in its projects because of the long life cycle due to superior corrosion protection and efficiency and the company’s experience and professionalism in this regard.
SSI Schaefer has more than 9,000 employees worldwide; own subsidiaries and service bases in more than 55 countries worldwide and has 16 manufacturing centres around the world. It has worldwide references for individual solutions for each industry sector and is the world’s largest materials handling system supplier, Hoewer explained.
Exhibition
The Opmex was a processing and packaging show for machinery, equipment, materials and services in the industry. According to the organisers, the show brought the world’s best processing and packaging suppliers to Oman, featuring companies involved in material handling, logistics, storage, racking and intralogistics.The exhibit provided a platform for companies to exhibit their products and services in front of thousands of visitors.
