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Day: 14 October 2021

Reach stacker arrives at “the end of the world”

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Dirección Provincial de Puertos – Argentina (DPP) recently accepted delivery of a Konecranes Liftace reach stacker for its operations in Ushuaia, at the southern tip of South America. Arriving in July 2021, it joined one other Konecranes reach stacker already on-site.

The DPP oversees port activities in the Tierra del Fuego archipelago, including the port of Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world. A multipurpose port serving cargo, fishing and cruise ships, it is also a base for Antarctic expeditions. It has had one 45-tonne Konecranes reach stacker in service since 2015, but due to a recent increase in container traffic, it felt it was time for a second lift truck to provide support.

“We held a public tender to decide on our next reach stacker,” says Daniel Carracedo, General Services Director at Ushuaia Port. “Konecranes really stood out from the rest, and the performance of our first Konecranes truck has been very impressive. So we decided to order a second machine from them. Would you believe, a Konecranes technician came all the way to our remote port to help assemble it? The new lift truck was ready for operation within a week. It was a simple, fast and efficient process.”

“This new order from DPP demonstrates their satisfaction with the high quality of products and services that we consistently deliver to all our customers, no matter where they are located,” says Andrés Ramirez, Sales Manager Latin America for Konecranes Lift Trucks. “Local agent Secco has played a crucial role in helping us to build a solid relationship from the very start, always providing excellent local support, including spare parts and maintenance. We look forward to continuing our work with both DPP and Secco for many years to come.”

The new reach stacker that arrived in Ushuaia in July was a Konecranes Liftace 4532 TCE5, a sturdy 45-tonne machine able to stack up to five containers high. It features the OPTIMA cabin for comfort and visibility, a strong box-type chassis and a wide drive axle with a long wheelbase for high stability and safe handling, and a central greasing system to minimize mechanical wear and tear.

The truck uses a Tier 3 engine to maintain productivity while minimising fuel consumption and emissions. As the new generation of the earlier lift truck, most of the spare parts are compatible with both reach stackers, which adds convenience and reduces waste. Smart systems integrate with TRUCONNECT Basic, allowing a remote and almost real-time view of truck usage and easier maintenance planning.

Thermo King Advancer wins PMI award

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Thermo King, a leader in transport temperature control solutions, has been awarded the global Project Excellence Award from the Project Management Institute (PMI) for launching Advancer – a disruptive re-imagining of the trailer refrigeration unit.

“We are pleased to see the Advancer project recognised for its excellence,” said Francesco Incalza, president of Thermo King Europe, Middle East and Africa. “At Thermo King, our team continues to bring solutions to market that give customers a new standard in transport refrigeration with breakthrough efficiency, quality, and reliability. We’re pushing innovation to its very limit so that customers can take their operations to the next level – and beyond, whilst reducing their own environmental footprint.

“The Advancer project is a great example of our efficient project management capabilities and our commitment to creating a positive impact for society. This is something we strive to achieve in all our projects. This award complements our earlier industry recognition received for Advancer highlighting the best-in-class manufacturing production and engineering processes including an award for Advancer’s Carbon Neutral Manufacturing, and Engineering Endeavour.”

The Advancer units are manufactured in Thermo King’s zero-waste to landfill plant in Galway, Ireland. The newly designed, state-of-the-art production line uses 60% less energy than the production process of previous Thermo King trailer products.

The award recognises the Advancer project team for delivering superior performance of project management practices, superior organisational results, and positive impacts on society. Advancer offers an all-new design architecture that creates a bold new standard for performance, temperature control, fleet connectivity, superior load protection, and unmatched fuel efficiency. Combined, these capabilities deliver greater operational flexibility, while helping customers achieve significant improvements in fleet uptime and total cost of ownership.

On-the-road and in-use, Advancer results in a 30% reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions compared to previous units – contributing significantly to the Trane Technologies’ Gigaton Challenge and  2030 sustainability aspirations. The commitment aims to reduce customers’ carbon emissions by one gigaton – equivalent to the annual emissions of Italy, France and the United Kingdom combined.

Since 1974, the prestigious PMI Professional Awards have honoured organisations and their teams whose passion, talent, and expertise have made the greatest contributions to the project management profession or to PMI. The 2021 PMI Professional Awards were announced during PMI’s virtual experience ceremony on 7th October.

Thermo King is a brand of Trane Technologies.

 

STILL offers top performance for order picking

Posted on by David Priestman

Is order picking always the same? Not at all. Hardly any other field of activity in intralogistics is as diverse as goods picking. The range of applications is wide and requires appropriate technologies. STILL – one of the leading suppliers of intralogistics solutions and a successful market player for more than 100 years – says it can provide the right order picking vehicle for any customer requirement.

The requirements in order picking are diverse and so are the users’ needs for information. Is the picking to be done on the lowest shelf level or is it necessary to pick vertically – and if so, at what heights? In which industry will the picking be carried out? Which goods need to be picked – and are they rather large and bulky or small and heavy?

Also important: What kind of warehouse is it? Does the vehicle have to be designed to manoeuvre mainly in narrow spaces? Is it to be used in narrow aisles or is a combined use in narrow and wide aisles intended? And last but not least: what degree of automation is necessary and/or desired? There is a great variety of possible options, and STILL’s responses to customer requirements are comprehensive. The Hamburg-based company has the right vehicle for any application in its range.

“As different as the application profiles and thus the vehicles may be, certain requirements must be met in any case,” says Janos Poppe, product trainer for horizontal order pickers at STILL.

“Regardless of whether it is a classic order picker or a vehicle designed for narrow aisles: High reliability, energy-efficient use, easy battery handling and fatigue-free operation must be guaranteed. In addition, efficient work and high handling performance with our state-of-the-art vehicles are of course the focus of customer requirements,” adds Christian Ehlers, product trainer for vertical order pickers at STILL.

Just how varied intralogistics tasks are can be seen by looking at the different industries. In the automotive industry, mechanical engineering and the food industry in particular, but also in other trades and services, right through to retail, there is much more to it than ‘light’ order picking.

Aiming high in a confined space

If pallets need to be picked at very high levels or entire pallets stored and retrieved, this is where the MX-X from STILL comes into its own. With this truck, which is operated in narrow aisles, pallets can be picked at heights of more than 17.5m. Depending on the vehicle configuration, the MX-X can reach speeds of up to 14km/h with mechanical guidance and 10km/h with inductive guidance.

“With these travel speeds, the MX-X delivers maximum handling performance in any narrow aisle,” adds Ehlers. Lifting speeds of up to 0.6m/s and lowering speeds of 0.45m/s allow the MX-X to quickly store and retrieve pallets – or pick onto them – at any height. The tilt barriers enable a short distance between the driver and the pallet and thus fast and ergonomic order picking. “This means the vehicle delivers top performance in the tightest of spaces when picking at great heights,” says Ehlers.

Despite the great heights, the operator can work without worries. The design of the main and auxiliary lift provides impressive stability at any storage height. In addition, the MX-X is equipped with Active Floor Compensation (AFC). The AFC feature ensures that any unevenness in the ground between the left and right lanes is compensated for. With this assistance system AFC, STILL offers a real alternative to the costly reconditioning of the warehouse floor. In addition, the driver no longer feels the unevenness and thus always feels safe on the MX-X even at a height of 18m.

Master picking applications in wide and narrow aisles with ease

“Every order picking task should be easy to manage,” emphasises Ehlers. This is also what the EK-X series stands for. The EK-X up to 1,000kg, for example – just like its big brother, the EK-X up to 1,200kg – can be used flexibly and reliably in both wide and narrow aisles due to its compact and variable vehicle dimensions. It is used in a wide range of industries and applications. These include mechanical engineering companies, logistics service providers and central warehouses of large trading companies.

Thanks to its powerful, reliable and low-maintenance three-phase engines (with 24V as well as 48V battery), the vertical order picker reaches travel speeds of up to 11km/h and is able to transport loads weighing up to 1,000kg. The maximum reach height of the EK-X up to 1,000kg is 7.8m. “With the EK-X 10, the EK-X up to 1,000kg and the EK-X up to 1,200kg, our order-picking portfolio from STILL optimally covers customer requirements from the lowest level to the very highest heights,” says Ehlers.

The highlights of the EK-X series include innovative features such as Curve Speed Control or the OptiSpeed system. In addition, it is possible to use lithium-ion-based energy storage systems on the EK-X up to 1,000kg and 1,200kg. In connection with this technology, the opportunity charging option is also available. This connects the charger directly to the battery and thus enables fast, simple and uncomplicated intermediate charging. For customers who opt for a lead-acid battery in combination with “Li-ion ready”, it is also possible to prepare the vehicle for future opportunity charging.

Great focus on ergonomics and safety

When designing the EK-X up to 1,000kg, STILL’s developers placed great emphasis on ergonomics and safety. Thanks to the low cab floor height of just 200mm, the driver can reach the cab safely and without difficulty. The shock-absorbing cab floor takes the strain off the operator and a large-area presence switch allows a variable and comfortable standing position. On the vehicle, the operator not only has everything under control as well as a wide range of equipment options, but also optionally a driver’s cab that is 70mm deeper, which provides more freedom of movement.

Easy picking of heavy and bulky goods

For picking heavy and bulky goods on the EK-X up to 1,000kg, the truck has optionally been equipped with a walk-on pallet. “This makes it easy to pick heavy and bulky goods and contributes further to occupational health and safety,” explains Ehlers. A high level of safety is ensured by a contact switch and automatic locking of the pallet.

“Safety is the first priority, especially at great heights,” emphasises Ehlers. Thus, the EK-X up to 1,000kg has a sensor-controlled two-hand operation that guarantees accident-free operation, especially in narrow aisles. To ensure that the vehicle stays on track in narrow aisles, it is optionally equipped with mechanical or inductive guidance. “These and many more features stand for maximum user safety of our entire EK-X series,” says Christian Ehlers.

All-round talent especially for ground-level applications

For order picking tasks at ground level, STILL also has the right trucks in their product range. “The ideal trucks for order picking tasks at ground level are the horizontal order pickers in the OPX series by STILL,” explains Poppe. This is an all-rounder that can travel at speeds of up to 14km/h in the warehouse and has been specially designed for classic horizontal order picking.

“Nevertheless, the variety offered by this vehicle series is incredibly large,” says Poppe. It ranges from a simple vehicle with a load capacity of up to 1,200kg to load capacities of up to 2,500kg. Depending on the equipment, two pallets can also be transported and picked at the same time – also at an ergonomic working height of the forks to protect the backs of the employees during picking.

Picking in the second level

While the horizontal order pickers of the OPX series are mainly designed for picking in the ground level and the operator picks the pallet from the side of the vehicle, the vertical order pickers of the OXV series are also designed for picking work in the second level. The vehicle is equipped with a platform lift as standard, which enables the operator to pick directly onto the pallet when the platform is raised. “Unlike the OPX, which is designed for several pallets, the OXV transports exactly one pallet,” explains Poppe.

The vehicle, which travels up to 10km/h, can transport pallets weighing 700 or 1,000kg. Like the vehicles of the OPX series, it impresses with a high level of driving comfort and intuitive operator guidance. Simultaneous steering, lifting and driving is a breeze with the STILL Easy Drive steering wheel.

“In combination with the OPX and the EK-X order pickers designed for higher operations, the trucks of the OXV series perfectly round off the STILL portfolio in the order picker sector,” says Poppe.

Automation and autonomy in order picking

A few years ago, STILL also took a big step towards automation and autonomy – also with regard to order picking. Since 2016, the Hamburg-based company has been offering its customers not only the fully automated MX-X but also the autonomous version of the horizontal order picker, the OPX iGo neo. With the help of state-of-the-art sensor technology, the vehicle recognises its operator as well as its surroundings. By means of a multi-level safety concept including a pedestrian protection system, the OPX iGo neo protects people, warehouse equipment and goods. Based on the generated data and defined algorithms, the vehicle makes decisions: obstacles are avoided or the vehicle stops completely if the available space is too small to avoid the obstacles.

The OPX iGo neo significantly increases picking performance and reduces picking errors. On the one hand, because the autonomous helper takes over driving and steering during order picking and the operator can thus concentrate fully on the work. On the other hand, because up to 75% of the strenuous and time-consuming getting up and off the vehicle is eliminated and the walking distances with loads are greatly reduced.

Looking at STILL’s broad portfolio, Ehlers sums up: “It is STILL’s mission to offer every customer the right vehicle for any picking application.”

Locus Robotics set for European expansion

Posted on by David Priestman

Locus Robotics, a leader in autonomous mobile robots (AMR) for fulfilment warehouses, is primed for expansion across the UK and Europe after completing an important milestone in its development – the opening of its European headquarters.

The opening of the new facility in Amsterdam is the culmination of a busy autumn for the US company, which has seen it conclude its first major acquisition and complete its second major funding deal in the space of 12 months.

Rick Faulk, CEO of Locus Robotics, said: “Our decision to expand our presence in the European market was a logical step in our business growth strategy. Choosing Amsterdam gives us a central location that is ideal for serving our customer base, as well as giving us access to a vibrant and diverse talent pool to recruit from.”

Fresh from a successful Logistics Business Show, the company is now primed for sustained growth as it looks to capitalise on new opportunities emerging in the warehouse fulfilment sector. The strategy has been boosted by the completion of a significant step in the company’s expansion programme, the acquisition of Waypoint Robotics, an industry leader in industrial strength, autonomous, omnidirectional mobile robots.

The acquisition broadens the Locus product line of proven AMR solutions designed to address use cases from e-commerce, case-picking, and pallet-picking to scenarios requiring larger, heavier payloads and fulfilment modalities.

Rick Faulk, CEO of Locus Robotics, said: “Locus is the proven leader in the development of highly productive and innovative AMR technology that efficiently solves our customers’ needs for total warehouse optimisation.

“As order fulfilment and labour shortages continue to grow around the world, the acquisition of Waypoint Robotics will accelerate our ability to meet these global needs in just months rather than years, helping us drive the digital transformation of the warehouse.”

Waypoint Robotics, based in Nashua, New Hampshire, develop and manufacture omnidirectional autonomous mobile robots for automated material transport. Like the LocusBot, its robots can be put to work immediately, supporting an existing workforce, increasing their efficiency, and improving productivity.

“Waypoint shares Locus’s commitment to technology excellence in pursuit of customer success,” said Jason Walker, CEO of Waypoint Robotics. “We’re excited to contribute to the expansion of the Locus product family in order to deliver a broader range of solutions, as well as access to new market segments.”

Waypoint’s innovative Vector and MAV3K are industrial-strength, flexible mobile robot platforms that feature omnidirectional mobility, and can be fitted with a wide variety of modules and attachments, making them versatile and scalable for a host of applications. The Vector has two payload options – 136kg (300lb) or 272kg (600lb), while the MAV3K is for more heavy-duty lifts with a payload capacity of 1,360kg (3,000lb).

Creating synergy with the LocusBot, they are interoperable with other robots and can easily communicate with machines and IoT devices throughout a facility.

With the ability to offer customers a choice, or a combination of robots, the acquisition gives Locus the opportunity to target new sectors, such as the manufacturing sector.

Jordan K. Speer, Research Manager, Global Supply Chains, IDC Retail Insights, said: “Warehouses and fulfilment centres benefit by harnessing the strengths of humans and robots working in collaboration. These cobotic environments are further optimised when a range of differently ‘skilled’ AMRs are employed. With the acquisition of Waypoint Robotics, Locus Robotics is able to bring more capability to the fulfilment floor.”

Investors have also been keen to support Locus’s expansion. Tiger Global Management is an investment firm that focuses on private and public companies in the internet, software, consumer, and payments industries. Earlier this year it was one of group of investors that pumped US$150m into Locus. Tiger Global Management has now injected an additional US$50m into the business to facilitate continued growth and expansion into new markets.

“At a time of increasing volumes and ongoing labour shortages, this new round of funding underscores how critical flexible, scalable, intelligent robotics automation has become to the warehouse and the supply chain,” added Locus CEO Rick Faulk.

With existing fulfilment operations expanding and new operations coming on stream to serve the growing e-commerce sector, the fulfilment industry, whether in the UK or Europe is creating major growth opportunities for those supplying proven fulfilment solutions.

The Locus AMR solution is very much one of those to be proven, helping businesses cost-effectively double, even triple their productivity when compared to traditional fulfilment options.

The innovative and award-winning technology behind the company’s multi-bot solution has now helped to pick more than half-a-billion units in warehouses around the world.

Such has been the rapid adoption of the fulfilment solution by logistics operators globally, together with the explosion in online order volumes over the past 18 months, that the latest landmark was attained just 94 days after Locus reached its 400-millionth pick.

The 500-millionth pick was made at a VF Corporation Fulfilment Centre in Prague, Czech Republic and the item picked was a pair of Vans Old Skool shoes.

It is little surprise that logistics operators globally are increasingly making Locus their number one fulfilment solution.

DHL, the world’s largest logistics company with over 1,400 warehouses and offices in more than 55 countries and territories, has recently signed a 2,000-bot deal with Locus as part of its efforts to digitalise its supply chain processes.

“DHL Supply Chain and Locus Robotics have established a productive partnership based on a highly successful integration of the Locus autonomous mobile robot solution into our customers’ operations, and we value the emphasis they have placed on listening to our needs,” said Sally Miller, CIO, DHL Supply Chain North America.

 

Fashion retailer boosts shipping capability by 500%

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Descartes Systems Group, a global leader in uniting logistics-intensive businesses in commerce, says the German fashion retailer SportSpar.de has increased its ability to ship customer orders by 500% without increasing resources using Descartes’ cloud-based ecommerce warehouse management solution (WMS). The move from manual single-order-fulfilment to technology-based highly efficient and optimised multi-order-picking processes dramatically boosted the retailer’s number of shipments per day.

“We mainly sell remaining stock and previous year’s collections of well-known brands and have successfully placed ourselves in a niche with this business model,” says Aleksandr Borisenko, one of the two founders and Managing Directors of SportSpar.de. “Early on, we realised that our manual, inefficient order fulfilment processes were limiting growth. Descartes’ automated fulfilment processes work well, are simple, and can help us expand our product catalogue as much as we want. Since implementation, we’ve scaled our processes, purchased a higher number of products and shipped substantially more customer orders.”

Part of Descartes’ ecommerce shipping and fulfilment suite, the Descartes ecommerce WMS solution helps direct-to-consumer brands, ecommerce retailers, and traditional retailers rapidly scale while providing a remarkable end-customer experience. The solution helps ensure that clients can ship on time, ship the right items, do not oversell existing inventory, and have transparency into warehouse operations. The Descartes ecommerce WMS solution is pre-integrated to major ecommerce platforms to accelerate implementation and time-to-value. Order information is automatically available, and fulfilment is managed via mobile device-based workflows.

“We’re very pleased to have supported SportSpar.de in the successful expansion of their business,” said Dirk Haschke, VP & General Manager, Ecommerce at Descartes. “Our solution offers flexible and scalable processes that take retailers’ ecommerce warehouse performance to the next level. The deployment at SportSpar.de is an excellent example of how system-supported, automated order fulfilment enables ecommerce companies to gain control of their operations, improve productivity and grow successfully.

Mixed palletising with high performance

Posted on by David Priestman

The combination of Motoman robots and WSR Solutions‘ stacking software and modular gripper technology help increase e-commerce and distribution capacity, offering hassle-free shipping and simplified store shelf replenishment.

Yaskawa says that in collaboration with WSR it adds more versatility in material handling and implementation of automation solutions through the combination of the powerful Motoman robots and the mixed palletising software and smart grippers from WSR.

It remains a challenge for warehouse automation solution providers to increase productivity while reducing implementation costs and time. The combination of WSR’s mixed palletising solutions with Motoman robots forms a manual and fully automatic mixed palletising solution called PackMaster, which enables easy integration into existing warehouse facilities.

The PackMaster series consists of a modular and ergonomic pallet lift station with integrated foil wrapping unit with which mixed pallets can be stacked quickly and efficiently. The PackMaster series consists of the PackMaster Manual, Single and Twin (with the last two versions working fully automatically).

The result of the PackMaster is a stable mixed pallet that can be sent to the customer without damage and can be easily destacked according to the store layout.

“We have had a very satisfactory partnership with Yaskawa for several years, mainly based on jointly developing and delivering a complete framework for the changing logistics market requirements,” explains Marcel van Schijndel, CEO of WSR Solutions. “Together with Yaskawa, we globally sell innovative fully automatic mixed palletising and de-palletising solutions that serve one goal: to optimise the customer’s supply chain with efficient, flexible and smart automation solutions.”

Workplace benefits

Because the manual picking, placing and palletising of mixed products is time-consuming and difficult, finding the right people for this is also becoming an increasing challenge. Improving working conditions for employees is important for material handling and logistics service providers. Automation has long been desired, but programming robots to recognize and adapt on-the-fly changes has long been too difficult and time-consuming.

The combination of Yaskawa’s powerful, high-performance robots with WSR’s mixed palletising software and modular grippers is changing this. The PackMaster series is designed to quickly stack mixed pallets and roll containers to make stocking the shelves in the store simple and efficient.

“We are excited to further step up and expand our industrial control technology,” said Lee Moulder, Sales and Application Director at Yaskawa Nordic. “The partnership with WSR combines innovative solutions for Industry 4.0 applications and enhances Yaskawa’s product offerings and solutions for our customers.”

Mass transit ‘pods’ aim to revolutionise transport

Posted on by Keith McKinley

A world-first driverless, zero-emission mass transit technology – comprising autonomous electric “pods” capable of traveling on both road and rail – launched today (Thursday 14th October 2021). UK start-up Urban.MASS claims its idea will revolutionise urban mobility and connectivity in cities worldwide, cutting congestion, air pollution, costs and carbon emissions.

Urban.MASS’s breakthrough floc technology will, for the first time, combine door-to-door on-demand ride hailing transport with high frequency, accessible and sustainable mass transit to provide seamless, zero-emission passenger and cargo journeys across cities.

In order to maximise the use of the infrastructure to reduce delivery van movements during the day on our roads, the floc system can be used for parcel deliveries between logistics centres, ports and airports during off-peak times via special purpose-built pods design just for cargo deliveries. As the system uses battery technology and rubber tyres, the operation is quiet and non-polluting. Urban.MASS has told Logistics Manager that it is in very early talks with port operators who are land constrained and see this as a solution to transport ferry/cruise passengers during peak hours and cargo off-peak.

The world’s first fully operational site is planned to open in 2025 at the National Railway Museum, Locomotion, in Shildon, north-east England – exactly 200 years after the same site hosted the world’s first passenger steam engine, Stephenson’s Locomotion No.1. A rapid global roll-out will follow, seeing at least 10 cities adopt the technology by 2030, beginning with Kampala, the capital of Uganda, and cities across the UK, ushering in a new era of mass transit.

68% of the world’s population is expected to live in urban areas by 2050, putting massive strain on roads and existing public transport networks. In the UK alone, road congestion cost the economy almost £7bn in 2019, with 65% of its workforce currently commuting by car. In the US, the annual cost to the economy is $88bn, with Americans each losing 99 hours a year to congestion. This compounds air quality crises in cities worldwide which collectively lead to 4.2 million deaths annually according to The World Health Organisation. A large proportion of this pollution is caused by road traffic, creating demand for mass transit solutions to reduce congestion.

Conventional mass transit infrastructure projects – such as the £19bn Crossrail project in London, UK – are disruptive, time-consuming and costly, with European rail projects going over budget by 34% on average. These costs can be prohibitive for smaller cities, developers, and businesses, such as airports and out-of-town business parks, which compounds the reliance on road transport.

21st century solution

Cities across the world are urgently seeking sustainable and affordable mass transit solutions that meet the needs of a zero-carbon, clean air future while supporting a new age of mass urbanisation. As a result, around 100 countries are planning over 1,000 new metro rail projects by 2030 – equivalent to over $2.2trn USD of investment. Urban.MASS’s floc technology is a 21st century solution to the problem, designed to be significantly cheaper and quicker to construct, with a much smaller physical footprint than conventional metro rail, light rail and tram projects.

Kevin O’Grady, CEO of Urban.MASS, said: “Cities are changing like never before – populations are exploding but the way we move people around hasn’t changed in over a century. Victorian-era rail and road technologies weren’t designed for the demands of modern life and yet worldwide we continue to rely on the same basic, expensive, and carbon intensive system. We should be using solutions of the 21st century, to serve the new-breed of cities we see today – cities that are built for people, not polluting vehicles.

“It’s almost 200 years since the United Kingdom invented passenger rail – it’s time to once again set a new global precedent and upend the status quo of transport. With massive demand from cities right across the world, it’s clear that people everywhere recognise the need for a new technology to dramatically change our transport systems for the next 200 years. Our affordable and accessible system delivers twice the track for half the cost, with an unrivalled customer experience.”

The Urban.MASS floc technology deploys hundreds of lightweight, driverless, zero emission electric pods to collect passengers from anywhere in a city using ground-level tracks or existing road networks. To traverse the most congested areas of urban centres at high speeds, the pods elevate to an above-ground Duo Rail track via ultramodern Urban.MASS stations, all without passengers having to leave the pod. The pods can “flock” together into connected trains or run individually depending on demand. This means floc can deliver high frequency peak capacity on dense routes and also provide economically viable services on less dense routes or during off-peak times.

The elevated Duo Rail track, powered by overhead solar canopies, can run above existing roads and infrastructure, giving a physical footprint 70% smaller than a typical urban light rail system. This allows infrastructure to ‘tiptoe’ through dense urban areas, minimising the need to demolish buildings or dig expensive tunnel networks, while allowing space for roads, green corridors, cycle paths or pedestrian zones below.

Using innovative “pop up” construction, each prefabricated section of Duo Rail track can be installed in a matter of days. This flexible and modular design means new sections can be easily and quickly added or adapted to meet the changing demands of cities as they develop. The result is a system costing 50% less than traditional light rail, with significantly less environmental impact.

Urban.MASS plans to develop floc Duo Rail mass transit networks in at least 10 cities around the world by 2030 to meet growing demand. Cities in the UK, Europe, North America, Middle East, and Africa, are in discussions with the company to deploy Urban.MASS floc networks, with Kampala in Uganda expected to host the world’s first city-scale project. Urban.MASS has received support from the highest levels of Ugandan Government to deliver the project, which will be capable of carrying up to 16,000 passengers in each direction on each of the proposed routes.

George Piwang-Jalobo, Urban Mass Contact at UNCCI Uganda National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said: “In line with Uganda 2040 vision, Kampala will be one of the most attractive cities in the world, offering its citizens and visitors a safe and efficient transport system based on a high quality public transport system and a complementary non-motorised transport network. The strategy will be driven by mass public transport to facilitate efficiency and reduce congestion and pollution. Urban Mass, with its green efficient product, is aligned to this vision.”

In the UK, Urban.MASS has identified a number of cities suitable for deployment, including, Bristol, Liverpool, Cambridge, Oxford, and Cardiff.

Partnership agreements

To support its rapid global growth, Urban.MASS has already signed partnership agreements with Grimshaw architectural design company – the world-renowned transport architect and engineer firm which has developed major mass transit projects worldwide – and WSP – one of the world’s largest engineering professional services consultancies which acted as engineers on the new London Bridge Station, UK.

The company has also already received substantial interest from investors for its Series A-capital raise to support its rapid commercialisation and global growth.

Urban.MASS is yet another example of an innovative UK company creating a new game-changing green and sustainable tech sector for the world, supporting UK PLC’s ambition to be a leading exporter of clean technology globally.

Nicholas Robb, Senior Policy Advisor, Construction Finance at BEIS, said: “Urban.MASS has the potential to comprehensively transform how we get from A to B within cities right across the world, connecting communities and enabling a cleaner more prosperous future. The project in Shildon, along with Urban.MASS’ exciting global development plans, will enable the UK to spearhead a global mass transit revolution for the 21st century, building on our 19th century forefathers’ innovations and exporting the next generation of mass transport technology worldwide.”

Shildon: cradle of the railways

Urban.MASS chose Shildon for its first site due to its historic record of pioneering new age mass transit, having hosted the world’s first steam-powered public railway in 1825. It was also chosen due to its unique ability to demonstrate how floc Duo Rail will navigate a number of obstacles, including a road bridge, existing railway line and public walkway, demonstrating the flexibility of the technology.

The site will consist of three stations: the first is at ground level, allowing passengers to board pods and travel on tarmac; the second is situated on an above-ground Duo Rail track allowing high-speed travel which traverses physical obstacles below; the third station, equidistant between the other two, enables pods to transfer between the ground-level and the above-ground track to demonstrate how future door-to-door road transport can be combined with mass transit rail to reduce congestion.

Quotes

Neill McClements, partner at Grimshaw, said: “The climate emergency is the most pressing issue for our generation, and we see high-quality transport infrastructure as an essential part of sustainable urban development. Our collaboration with Urban.MASS is an exciting opportunity to explore the potential of emerging technologies and modern methods of construction to create a new typology in low-carbon mass transit.’’

Diego Padilla Philipps, Associate Director and Net Zero Lead for Structures at WSP UK, said: “As the world comes together to reduce carbon emissions, Floc gives us the opportunity to redefine the future of transport. We are proud to provide the structural engineering solutions for such a fantastic project, focusing on sustainability, whole-life emissions, low-carbon structures and DfMA.”

Daisy Chapman-Chamberlain, Rail Lead at KTN, said: “This thrilling launch represents a truly innovative approach to transport, working towards the crucial sustainable goals of the United Kingdom including net zero by 2050. KTN not only supports development of new and creative green transport concepts and innovations, but also the passenger-focussed, community-inclusive, mobility-on-demand aims of Urban.MASS, with the United Kingdom as a global leader in this space.”

Wayne Goldsmith, Managing Director at EQUANS said: “EQUANS is delighted to be working with Urban.MASS floc to provide net zero energy solutions and FM services. The Urban.MASS project at the National Rail Museum in Shildon aligns perfectly with our own global strategy and commitment to empower business and communities to embrace the energy digital and industrial transitions, redesigning the way we move, work and live.”

Deborah Geideman, Vice president and Global Head of International Relations at Jacobs, said: “As we heard this week on several platforms at the UN General Assembly and Biden’s recent comments on sustainable cities within the proposed infrastructure bill, a new paradigm of urban transport can be part of the solution to reversing the deteriorating situation in some cities of developing countries, and supporting others to embark on a sustainable, low carbon, green growth path: developing a city for people rather than cars, and including public and mass transport as a major component of the modal structure. Urban.MASS is a solution to these emergency problems.”

More on Shildon

The Shildon project forms part of the National Railway Museum’s £55m development programme, known as Vision 2025, to expand the museum, preserve listed buildings and celebrate the past, present, and future of railways.

Celebrations for the start of Urban.MASS’ Shildon planning process and the 196th anniversary of Stephenson’s Locomotion took place on 27th September 2021, outside the Locomotion museum building, Shildon, attended by Kevin O’Grady Urban.MASS CEO, Ricky Sandhu Co-Founder and Executive Chairman at Urban.MASS, Stephen Wheater Associate Grimshaw, Sarah Price Head of Locomotion, Tim Wood NPR Rail Director Transport for the North and Andrew McLean Assistant Director & Head Curator at National Railway Museum.

The Northern town will also act as a test bed for how affordable, and quickly deployable mass transit can “level up” communities across the UK.

Tim Wood, Northern Powerhouse Rail Director at Transport for the North, said: “Comprehensively connecting the North’s communities by rail and mass transit will create jobs and boost the Northern economy for decades to come. Innovations like Urban.MASS will help accelerate that transformation and spread prosperity right across the UK, while also playing a major role in the decarbonisation of the transport network.

“It is fantastic to see the North continue its great transport history in the development of this scheme, with Durham acting as a test bed for the project. The sooner we can deliver sustainable and transformational enhancements to the transport offering in the region, the sooner the North can realise its true potential. I look forward to seeing Urban.MASS progress in the coming years and how it will dovetail with major rail investment programmes, like Northern Powerhouse Rail and HS2.”

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