The warehouse management system, the latest in a series of major investments being made at Lorneville, replaces a system more than 30 years old with laser-guided vehicles for the storage and retrieval of product.
“The warehouse management system will improve the health and safety of our people, enable the co-operative to further unlock advantages of scale and lift the efficiency and competitiveness of the plant,” Alliance chief executive David Surveyor said.
At present, about 66 people are needed to work in the warehouse during peak processing, which requires some manual handling of product.
With each box weighing around 22kgs, Surveyor says this poses a risk of injury.
“This new system, which will be coupled with the implementation of the next phase of the co-operative’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) technology project, will result in greater efficiencies and improved handling of cartons and product,” he said.
“There will be reduced use of forklifts and fewer cases of conveyors jamming, which result in downtime in the further processing rooms.
“Frozen product boxes also do not stack well in the current system, leading to product damage and potential safety risks.”
The changes will not result in any job losses, with staff being redeployed to other areas of the plant.
The project will be carried out in two phases over an 18-month period.
