State-of-the-art storage and retrieval
system a feature of the complex
The cargo hub includes plenty of provision
for the vital trucking operation
Ethiopian Airlines has been the chief
beneficiary of the new facility
system. Goods for import are repackaged on to pallets for further
transportation by truck. The ULDs are conveyed to special
workstations for this purpose and these workstations can be
lowered to make loading and unloading easier. The target pallets
are placed into interim storage in a ten aisle pallet warehouse
by very narrow aisle trucks. Goods to be exported go through
the same process, but in the opposite order; they are then
transported to the aircraft. Such a combination of automatic and
manual systems ensures a high throughput rate and maximum
availability.
Fresh flowers from Ethiopia
In the spacious perishables terminal, sufficient capacity for the
trans-shipment of fresh products has been created. Ethiopia
exports cut flowers and meat in large quantities and so the
future of the installation is ensured, since it is designed to meet
international standards and guarantees an uninterrupted cold
chain for perishables. It includes an ultra-modern and energy
efficient unit that keeps the 17,000 square metre hall complex
cool. Refrigeration of the complete hall area, from the gates on the
airside to the truck ramps on the landside, guarantees compliance
with the cold chain throughout all process cycles. Special coolers
also ensure that products entering the facility are cooled to the
target temperature as quickly as possible.
Comprehensive security system
Incoming and outgoing goods are inspected using the latest
X-ray technology and go through quality assurance overseen by
qualified personnel. To prevent unauthorised individuals from
entering the facility, the terminal is equipped with a state-of-theart
access control system.
Precise control of warehouse
processes
The brain behind the logistics
facility is the warehouse
management system. The
control system, which is
based on the UniWare
software platform, manages
all warehouse slots and coordinates
all automatic and
manual movement of goods,
including the movement of
goods between landside and
airside. The WMS system
co-ordinates the arrival of
goods at the truck ramp
and assigns pallets a slot in
the manual high bay store.
Airside, the system identifies
arriving ULDs and controls
their storage in the automatic
ULD high bay racking store.
In the zone between shipment
pallet warehouse and ULD
storage, the ULDs are built
up or unloaded using height
adjustable workstations.
Added to this is a
comprehensive camera
array that monitors safetycritical
zones and makes
the warehouse processes
transparent, even after the
fact. Safety of the workforce in
the workplace is also of great
importance: light barriers at
the gates protect access to the
fully automatic section and
stop the automatic system
as soon as a person infringes
the critical zone. To ensure
permanent availability of the
automatic systems, warehouse
operation is also backed up
by several generators. In the
event of a power failure, these
generators are started and
can cover the installation’s
electricity requirements for
several hours.
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