Hermes, the consumer delivery specialist, has further enhanced capacity and operational efficiency at its Midlands Super Hub in Rugby by installing a new bespoke semi-automated carousel system. The equipment – the result of a seven-figure investment – has been specifically designed and built to process larger packages and incorporates specialist auto-scanning and profiling functionality.
The carousel system replaces a number of manual lines and is capable of processing up to 4,000 items per hour to over 60 destinations. The system has two automatic infeeds, which are directly fed from boom conveyors, and two manual infeeds, all of which can handle bulky items up to 2m in length, 1.2m in width and weighing up to 50kg. This significant investment ensures that the hub’s overall capacity is now well in excess of one million parcels per day.
Each of the four infeeds onto the main carousel incorporate the latest scanning, volumetric and weighing technologies that identify and accurately profile the packages. Automatic checks are carried out on each parcel to ensure they have been correctly labelled before being transferred onto the carousel itself.
The 270,000 square foot hub - which is claimed to be the biggest of its kind in the UK- opened in the summer of 2017 and initially increased the company’s overall parcel processing capacity by 45%, whilst also creating more than 100 jobs. It played a key role in Hermes most successful peak season to date at the end of last year.
Chris Barrett, Head of Engineering, Facilities and Estates, said: “This is one of the first systems in the UK to incorporate an auto-scanning and profiling functionality onto a high-speed carousel system. Whether it is a curtain pole, ironing board or a set of golf clubs, the carousel is able to streamline the movement of all our bulky items, which will boost our productivity by over 30%. It will also improve the visibility and tracking of parcels, which is an obvious benefit for our clients.”
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