PRODUCTIVITY SOLUTIONS FOR DISTRIBUTION, WAREHOUSING AND MANUFACTURING

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® January 2019

Flexible, scalable INFORMATION MANAGEMENT Next-generation data capture 32 design at

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Karen Adie-Henderson, associate vice president, Bolton DC, and Geoff Woodcroft, associate vice president, distribution project. MODERN system report

One of ’s largest retail brands took bulk handling to new levels of automation and efficiency at its new DC.

BY BOB TREBILCOCK, EXECUTIVE EDITOR

n a nearly 1.5-million-square-foot space in Caledon, Ontario—a space equivalent to a good-sized factory—a fleet of 43 automatic guided vehicles (AGVs) shuttles pallets between work areas or puts them away into very narrow aisle storage. In one part of the building, a 250,000-square-foot area is des- Iignated to an overhead tire-handling gantry and storage area where two robots move some 20,000 tires a day to fill orders or stock reserve storage. Tuggers deliver pallets that aren’t handled by AGVs to the shipping area. It’s the kind of equipment and activity you would expect in a highly automated manufacturing facility, especially the AGVs and gantry robot. But, ’s Bolton Distribution Centre was designed with a system integrator (Fortna, fortna. com) to handle the retail distribution of larger conveyable and bulk goods, such as lawnmowers and canoes, as well as non-con- veyable items like those tires, to some 500 Canadian Tire stores across Canada. “This was the first time that we know of that the tire gantry robotic system has been used in a distribution center, which meant a great deal of work from a software development perspective,” says Karen Adie-Henderson, associate vice president of the Bolton DC, Canadian Tire Retail. She adds that the AGV fleet represents

the most vehicles, especially the very nar- Geoff Woodcroft, associate vice president, and Karen Adie-Henderson, row aisle (VNA) AGVs, that the supplier associate vice president, Bolton DC.

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Bulking up at Canadian Tire

John Spaulding/Getty Images for Peerless Media

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Newly received tires are conveyed to the gantry robotic tire handling system.

in a tote. Building B handles the fastest- moving items, as well as some oversized non-conveyables, like swimming pools, trampolines and televisions. Building C includes the tire-handling area as well as long, large or heavy items that require special handling, such as hockey sticks and snow blowers. Hazardous and flammable items are also stored in a special area in Building C. Each area was designed to maximize the efficient handling of the products managed in that location. had implemented in one facility, result- these technologies in retail distribution, Along with the AGVs, gantry robot ing in additional software code. especially in regard to larger conveyable and tuggers, the facility features: “When we were looking at technology and tire-handling applications.” • 244 dock doors divided between options, we realized that some poten- Opened in July 2017, the Gold inbound and outbound shipments. tial applications of technology typically LEED-certified facility consists of • Five four-level pick modules for applied more to manufacturing envi- three 500,000-square-foot distribution conveyable products using pallet, case ronments,” adds Geoff Woodcroft, the centers under one roof. Building A was and shelving pick systems. associate vice president responsible for designed to automatically handle about • Voice-directed picking and processing. the distribution project, “but we thought 5,000 items that can be conveyed to a • 3 miles of hanging platform con- there were real opportunities to apply unit sorter in their original packaging or veyor, including 40-inch wide conveyor

Two gantry robots can handle up to 20,000 tires per day.

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to transport larger traditionally non- conveyable products. • A cross-belt order consolidation conveyor feeding 197 chutes—half the chutes are designed to handle products weighing 15 pounds or less while the other half are outfitted with motor-driven roller conveyor to control the descent of heavier items. This is the first chute design of its kind. • RFID scanners in packing to scan items to a pallet or a cart. • Hydrogen fuel cell lift trucks will be made operational at a later date. • Fast and opportunity charging for battery-operated vehicles, including the AGVs. The DC handles 350 trailers a day (175 in and 175 out) and 65 million cubic feet of shipments per year in a seven-day, two shift operation. After 18 months of operation, Canadian Tire is realizing improved product flow, higher fill rates and reduced handling costs. “As we continue to improve our pro- cesses, we see the KPIs get stronger and greener,” says Adie-Henderson.

New location With revenue of nearly $13.5 billion CAD in 2017, more than 10 ban- ners and 1,700 retail and gas outlets, Canadian Tire Corp. Limited is one of Canada’s largest and best-known retail- ers. Canadian Tire Retail supports 500 entrepreneurial dealers across Canada and generated more than $7 billion in revenue in 2017 across its five core areas: Automotive, Living, Fixing, Playing Items are picked to totes in pick modules (bottom) and then conveyed to a cross-belt and Seasonal. The company likes to say sortation system for order consolidation (top). it provides the products for the jobs and joys of life in Canada. bution centers, transload facilities and fastest-moving SKUs. The Bolton facil- The distribution network to support parts-distribution facilities. ity ships bulk SKUs across Canada. The all of the brands includes seven facili- Four of those distribution centers sup- fourth facility handles regional products. ties in Western Canada, six in Central port the Canadian Tire brand. Facilities Planning for the new facility got Canada and three in the Eastern part of in Western Canada and Montreal are underway in 2012. At the time, bulk the country representing regional distri- dedicated to regional distribution of the products were being distributed from a

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nearly 40-year-old facility in , Ontario. At one time, it was state-of- the-art, with a tow line to move pallets. “It had served us well for many years, but it was at the end of its useful life,” says Woodcroft. Growth (along with changing order profiles, such as more mixed cartons and mixed pallets and smaller and more fre- quent deliveries) called for not just more capacity and better flow, but flexible solutions that can accommodate what- ever comes down the pike in the future. Fixed, hardwired and expensive to main- tain, the tow line was a major impedi- ment to upgrading the existing facility. In 2012, after a site for the new facil- ity was selected, planning got underway.

Designing for flexibility Five four-level pick modules are dedicated to conveyable items. The design of the new facility was driven by several factors. Top of mind was sus- the fleet in the future. Since going live, simple robotic arm and tire depalletiz- tainability. “From the very beginning of Canadian Tire is already looking to ers. The solution begins in the trailer in the design process, our real estate team expand the use of AGVs to other areas of the receiving area, where tire receiver was committed to making this a LEED- the facility, including the movement of works from an adjustable platform on certified building,” says Adie-Henderson some hazardous materials. the end of an extendable conveyor. The (see box, p. 26). It has since been A third important factor was a sys- platform can be set at an ergonomic awarded the Gold standard for LEED. tem to handle some 20,000 tires a day, height, eliminating overhead reaching. From an operational standpoint, ranging from fast-moving items that Following a scan by a fixed camera- flexibility and scalability for the future are stocked in the stores to a custom imaging system, the tires are directed were key drivers. That created its own order for a replacement tire for a 1979 to one of two lanes where they are challenges. “One of the difficult things Chevy. This was driven, in part, by handled by two robots. When an imme- is that you’re doing the upfront planning the well-being of associates. Canadian diate demand for a SKU is made, it’s years in advance of a facility going live,” Tire’s culture is to leverage its associ- moved to a location for picking. Other- says Woodcroft. “What’s more, you want ates for process improvements. “When wise, tires are palletized and put away to be able to have the flexibility and we talked to the team at the Brampton in a stock location in the very narrow scalability to change or update the facil- DC, tire handling was the area they sug- aisle reserve storage area by a VNA ity once it’s opened based on external gested we automate since handling tires AGV. The AGV can interleave tasks, business requirements.” is one of the most physical and difficult retrieving a pallet needed for replenish- One example of the design for flex- products to handle in the building,” says ment after a putaway move. ibility concept was the choice of fork and Woodcroft. “A newly automated system “When the system is at its best, it’s VNA automatic guided vehicles for pallet could help improve productivity in the doing inbound putaway, replenishment movement. “The towlines were fixed, but business while also meeting the needs and order picking for outbound all at AGVs allow us the flexibility to change of the team.” the same time,” says Adie-Henderson. routes or relocate the AGVs in other They chose a tire gantry system Orders are picked by the robot to a cart; parts of the building as required,” notes commonly used in tire manufacturing when four carts are full, a tugger opera- Adie-Henderson. It’s also easy to expand after investigating alternatives such as a tor delivers them to the shipping area.

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An automatic guided vehicle delivers a pallet to a staging area in the shipping department.

More innovations were implemented in the conveyable/totable warehouse, which features five four-level pick modules. Here, associates are directed by voice to pick conveyable items—or items like cans of paint that can be conveyed in a tote—weighing up to 50 pounds to conveyor. Items go to a cross- belt consolidation sorter with two types of chutes: One handles items that weigh 15 pounds or less and another is outfit- ted with motor-driven roller conveyor to control the descent of heavier products weighing up to 50 pounds. Items are put in totes and palletized Buildings B and C use conventional build and go-live, requirements often for shipment in the pack station using materials handling and picking processes change before the start-up, and this one product segregation rules to prevent directed by voice. Some hard-to-handle was no exception. For instance, Adie- putting food with aerosols or other prod- products, like water heaters, are handled Henderson notes, the company’s tire ucts. Once orders are palletized, the by clamp trucks. business has grown by 25% in 2018. The pallet is moved by AGV to the outbound design, however, has proved to be flexible consolidation where they will be loaded Continuous improvement and scalable—one of those key design onto a truck for delivery. The Bolton facility went live in July criteria. “We’ve been able to handle the While Building A is highly automated, 2017. Given the time between design, increased volume and at a reduced cost,”

Building sustainably at Canadian Tire reating a Gold LEED-certified faint of heart,” says Adie-Henderson. The design also took employee C facility started with the choice of “But I can wait to turn on the heaters well-being into account. The facility building materials, including materi- much later in the season than in the old includes a well-appointed cafeteria, als with Canadian content, along with building.” a Tim Hortons coffee shop, a bicycle a system to track and trace all of the In particular, the Bolton DC received storage area and a shower. Finally, the material used by Canadian Tire and its Gold LEED certification for the site’s new facility is delivering logistics ben- vendors. remediation and storm water manage- efits that reduce the carbon footprint. It Some of the design features are ment efforts, drought-tolerant land- is located nearer the intermodal yards, common to other LEED facilities. For scaping and low-flow fixtures reducing reducing the distance traveled to get instance, LED lights are used inside water use, and high-performance product from the rail yards to the DC. and outside the facility, and lights only equipment reducing energy consump- Moreover, car pooling is encour- come on in work areas like the pick tion. The roof was designed to enable aged, and there are electric car modules when people are present. the addition of solar in the future. charging stations in the front of the Large windows let in natural light, fur- The facility will eventually use hydro- building. “A year ago, there was one ther reducing the need for energy use. gen-powered lift trucks with the hydro- car,” says Adie-Henderson. “Now, An automated system controls air flow gen generated onsite. Canadian Tire there are eight cars parked there on a and circulation. was the first retailer to generate its own consistent basis. Employee behavior “Canadian winters are not for the hydrogen onsite at the Brampton DC. is changing.”

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Adie-Henderson says. In fact, within tributed more than 400 ideas to improve times and the ability to turn dock doors 13 weeks of going live, the facility was processes, and so far more than 130 have faster than at the old facility. And, as receiving and shipping 1 million cubic been implemented. “That mindset is noted earlier, KPIs that matter most have feet of shipments per week. such a part of the Canadian Tire fabric improved on a regular basis. “In one year Continuous improvement has also and how we support our business part- here at Bolton, the gains in safety and been important to building on those ners,” Adie-Henderson says. productivity are outpacing what we did at early successes. Working with its system Improved receiving processes have Brampton over all that time,” says Wood- integrator, Canadian Tire employees con- resulted in reduced inbound unloading croft. “The best is yet to come.”

Design for flexibility Canadian Tire Canadian Tire’s bulk handling facility brings together Bolton Distribution automation and conventional materials handling for Centre a variety of products. Caledon, Ontario SQUARE FOOTAGE: 1.45 million anadian Tire’s new bulk han- automatic guided vehicles (AGVs) and square feet dling distribution center is three delivered to staging locations in Building PRODUCTS HANDLED: Tires and bulk general merchandise including tools, distinct warehouses in one. A. Very narrow aisle (VNA) AGVs put the sporting goods, home living, automo- CBuilding A is a highly automated area pallets away into a storage location (2). tive and seasonal outdoors products for items that can be conveyed in their The VNA AGVs are also used to retrieve SKUS: 15,500 packaging or can be placed in a tote. pallets to replenish pick modules. THROUGHPUT: 350 trailers a day, 65 million cubic feet of shipments per year Building B is designated for the fastest- Pallets for the other two buildings SHIFTS: Two 10-hour shifts per day/ moving items, as well as some oversized are delivered by lift trucks and put away 7 days per week non-conveyables, like swimming pools, into a designated floor or rack location trampolines and televisions. Building C (10). Heavy items, or those with unusual includes a 250,000-square-foot area for configurations like water heaters, are away into a storage location. Using task robotic tire handling as well as conven- handled with clamp trucks. interleaving, the VNA AGV can also tional handling of long, large or heavy Tire receiving, picking and ship- retrieve a pallet to fill a store order. That items, such as canoes, hockey sticks or ping: In Building C, tires are manually pallet is delivered to a picking location, snow blowers. Hazardous and flamma- unloaded onto an extendable conveyor and the gantry robot picks the required ble items are also stored in Building C. for delivery to the robotic tire-handling number to a cart. Once all of the items Each building was designed to maximize and storage area (3). As tires exit the for a store order have been picked, the the efficient handling of the products truck, a fixed camera-imaging scanner cart is released from the robot and is managed in each location. reads the bar code label. Based on the delivered by a tugger to a staging area in Receiving and putaway: Receiving scan, tires are diverted by SKU to one shipping (5). A tugger can move up to for Buildings A, B & C (1) is manual. of two lanes. If there is current demand four carts at a time. With the exception of tires, which have for an SKU, the overhead tire-handling Building A picking and shipping: their own receiving and order fulfillment gantry robot places the required number Picking instructions are delivered by processes, items are received into a pro- of tires on a cart. Each cart holds a store voice to associates working in one of prietary warehouse management system order. Otherwise, the robot palletizes the the five four-level pick modules (6). The (WMS) and then palletized. Conveyable tires for reserve storage (4). When a pal- different levels are connected by spiral items that weigh less than 50 pounds let is ready for storage, a VNA AGV picks conveyor. Larger, bulkier items are placed are picked up by pallet-handling fork up the pallet and automatically puts it directly on conveyor, while smaller items

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are placed in totes. The conveyor is wider needed back to the sortation/packing than standard conveyor to accommodate area. The WMS ensures that items for System suppliers larger items. The items are transported to that store from Buildings B and C arrive SYSTEMS INTEGRATION & DESIGN: a consolidation sorter along a 3-mile long a nearly the same time to allow for effi- Fortna transport conveyor (7) installed on a mez- cient trailer loading. CONVEYOR & AUTOMATIC GUIDED zanine that runs the length of Building Buildings B and C picking and VEHICLES: Dematic A. Items weighing less than 15 pounds shipping: Buildings B and C use simi- SORTATION: Beumer ROBOTIC TIRE-HANDLING SYSTEM: go down a conventional chute to pack- lar picking processes. Some items will Cimcorp ing (9). Heavier items weighing up to 50 be picked with clamp trucks; others EXTENDABLE CONVEYOR: Caljan pounds are sorted to chutes with motor will be picked to single or double pal- LIFT TRUCK: Crown, Hyster driven roller conveyor to control the let handling trucks. The WMS creates FAST-CHARGING: Enersys WMS: in house descent of the items to packing. There a pick path based on the weight of the MOBILE COMPUTING/VOICE: SICK are a total of 150 chutes, with a heavy product, with the heaviest items going scanners; Honeywell Vocollect and light chute assigned to a store. on the bottom of the pallet. Associates RACKING: Unarco Once the chute is full, a light directs receive picking instructions over their MEZZANINE: Steele Solutions a packer with a tablet and RFID scan- voice headsets and travel to the appro- ner to scan an item to a pallet or roller priate pick location within storage (10). cage. Full pallets and cages are trans- While voice is used in the area designed that task have been picked, the pallets ported by AGV to the shipping area (5). for the storage of oxidizers and aerosols are delivered to shipping (5) where they At the dock, the AGV picks up empty (11), in the area designed for flam- are married up with other items for a pallets and cages and delivers them as mables, associates receive instructions specific store. on fork-mounted mobile computers to Shipping: Once loading begins, ship- avoid sparks. Once all of the items for pers load full pallets or are adding prod- uct that needs to be consolidated to cube out a trailer . BUILDING C (5)

Tire gantry robot 5 Shipping Hazardous 3 materials 11 storage BUILDING B

4 Non- Shipping VNA tire conveyable 5 storage storage 10 5 Shipping 10 Non- 8 BUILDING A 1 conveyable Consolidation 7 Receiving storage sorter Conveyor 6 Non- Four-level 1 9 conveyable pick modules storage Receiving Packing 10 2 VNA 1 storage Receiving

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