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Month: January 2022

SNAP: automation could address staff shortages

Posted on by Keith McKinley

Around one million Britons are currently isolating with COVID-19, causing a staffing headache across many industries, including haulage and logistics. SNAP, one of Europe’s leading smart payment solutions provider for lorry drivers and fleet operators, has revealed the potentially game-changing automated technologies that could help to overcome the challenges of a diminished workforce.

Getting under the bonnet of an automated future, SNAP has conceptualised Truck Park 2049 – illustrating how new capabilities and efficiencies could be created in haulage to ease the demand on drivers.

Emma Westwood, Commercial Manager for SNAP, said: “Without knowing when the pandemic will end, or how much longer businesses will have to endure the current shortages, automation and digitisation have a bigger role to play than ever before. Doing more with less could be an ongoing battle for businesses, so by highlighting some of the exciting and progressive technologies that are being developed, we’re helping to paint a picture of how this could be achieved within the haulage industry; a sector at the heart of the British economy.”

Self-driving trucks

SNAP predicts that advances in automation will make it much easier to multitask at truck parks. Upon arrival, drivers will be able to leave their self-driving trucks. Artificial intelligence will then guide the trucks through services before parking in a designated spot, ready for the drivers to collect. This will free up drivers to eat, rest or perform other jobs, allowing them to use their time more efficiently.

With the rise in automated vehicles, SNAP expects the human driver’s role to increasingly focus on maintenance. Diagnostic machines will become an important feature of new era truck parks, providing drivers with the information and support they need to conduct minor repairs, perform upgrades and optimise their vehicles for maximum efficiency.

Recognition of needs technology

Smarter still, automatic recognition of needs technology – combining analytics and data tracking – will notify truck parks of the services required for each driver; for example, charging, engine maintenance, cleaning, or driver rest. This will create a tailored experience for each driver that streamlines each visit.

Westwood continued: “We are already witnessing the rapid acceleration of automation technologies. Rather than replacing human jobs, we believe that these developments will assist in the efficient delivery of work and reduce the time and resources required for operational tasks, thus allowing staff members to optimise their workloads. This will help to ease the pressure caused by staff shortages. In the haulage industry specifically, this will assist in securing and speeding up supply chains and aiding the smooth running of all the businesses we serve.”

SNAP Account’s smart payment system for truck parks is just one example of automated technology that is already making a difference to the haulage industry by allowing fleet operators to digitally manage their businesses more efficiently, safely and effectively.

Westwood added: “Now is the perfect time to look ahead and see how automated technologies can be harnessed to assist businesses in their day-to-day operations and with their long-term growth plans. Truck Park 2049 encapsulates what an automated future could look like and how it could benefit fleets and drivers.”

SNAP: automation could address staff shortages

Posted on by David Priestman

Around one million Britons are currently isolating with COVID-19, causing a staffing headache across many industries, including haulage and logistics. SNAP, one of Europe’s leading smart payment solutions provider for lorry drivers and fleet operators, has revealed the potentially game-changing automated technologies that could help to overcome the challenges of a diminished workforce.

Getting under the bonnet of an automated future, SNAP has conceptualised Truck Park 2049 – illustrating how new capabilities and efficiencies could be created in haulage to ease the demand on drivers.

Emma Westwood, Commercial Manager for SNAP, said: “Without knowing when the pandemic will end, or how much longer businesses will have to endure the current shortages, automation and digitisation have a bigger role to play than ever before. Doing more with less could be an ongoing battle for businesses, so by highlighting some of the exciting and progressive technologies that are being developed, we’re helping to paint a picture of how this could be achieved within the haulage industry; a sector at the heart of the British economy.”

Self-driving trucks

SNAP predicts that advances in automation will make it much easier to multitask at truck parks. Upon arrival, drivers will be able to leave their self-driving trucks. Artificial intelligence will then guide the trucks through services before parking in a designated spot, ready for the drivers to collect. This will free up drivers to eat, rest or perform other jobs, allowing them to use their time more efficiently.

With the rise in automated vehicles, SNAP expects the human driver’s role to increasingly focus on maintenance. Diagnostic machines will become an important feature of new era truck parks, providing drivers with the information and support they need to conduct minor repairs, perform upgrades and optimise their vehicles for maximum efficiency.

Recognition of needs technology

Smarter still, automatic recognition of needs technology – combining analytics and data tracking – will notify truck parks of the services required for each driver; for example, charging, engine maintenance, cleaning, or driver rest. This will create a tailored experience for each driver that streamlines each visit.

Westwood continued: “We are already witnessing the rapid acceleration of automation technologies. Rather than replacing human jobs, we believe that these developments will assist in the efficient delivery of work and reduce the time and resources required for operational tasks, thus allowing staff members to optimise their workloads. This will help to ease the pressure caused by staff shortages. In the haulage industry specifically, this will assist in securing and speeding up supply chains and aiding the smooth running of all the businesses we serve.”

SNAP Account’s smart payment system for truck parks is just one example of automated technology that is already making a difference to the haulage industry by allowing fleet operators to digitally manage their businesses more efficiently, safely and effectively.

Westwood added: “Now is the perfect time to look ahead and see how automated technologies can be harnessed to assist businesses in their day-to-day operations and with their long-term growth plans. Truck Park 2049 encapsulates what an automated future could look like and how it could benefit fleets and drivers.”

CoGri opens Saudi Arabia office

Posted on by Keith McKinley

As part of its global expansion plans, CoGri Group has recently opened a new office in Saudi Arabia, adding to its existing facilities in Dubai. The new company formation allows all work in the Kingdom to be handled directly, as opposed to outsourcing it through CoGri Dubai or its partner, Osis Group, led by Nikos Marketis in Qatar, as previously was the case. Thus, Cogri can expand outside of this continuing long-term partnership with Osis in the Middle East. The newly opened office, combined with the appointment of talented staff members, brings the expected CoGri standards of excellence to KSA.

CoGri Middle East General Manager, Thomas Hanks, said: “After two years of planning (delayed due to COVID travel restrictions), we are happy to announce the opening of CoGri KSA alongside our Saudi partner. We are also delighted that within the first month, CoGri KSA has been awarded floor construction, wire guidance, and repair projects.

“On the floor construction front, we were awarded three projects totalling around 110,000 sq m. The first was for a multinational conglomerate that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture, kitchen appliances and home accessories, among other goods and home services in Riyadh. This is now completed.

“We immediately moved on to the next job in Riyadh for one of the largest private owners and developers of warehousing and light industrial parks in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. This is currently underway.

“After this, we will be working in Jeddah for a 15,000 sq m freezer store project. The Saudi market remains positive, and CoGri KSA has several large projects on the horizon.”

New appointments

To maintain the high level of service both expected and delivered to Saudi Arabia, CoGri KSA has strengthened its team with the recruitment of Hisham Mahdi (pictured, left), who joined as Business Development Manager, overseeing operations in Saudi. Also, Fahad Al Wani (pictured, right), who joined as Civil Engineer.

Commenting on his new role, Mahdi said: “2021 was an excellent year for CoGri in Saudi Arabia and we look forward to building on this success in 2022. With the growing distribution and logistics industry in Saudi, there is an increasing need for CoGri’s services and we’re glad to meet this demand. Our customers understand the importance of a well-finished floor fit for purpose; with CoGri’s experienced team and international reach we are able to deliver successfully.”

Mahdi joins from a Saudi-based main contractor where he was a Business Development Manager and has had various interactions with CoGri in the past. He previously worked in the oil fields of China and Oman for an oil field service company. Mahdi has a Saudi and Irish background, spending time in both countries whilst growing up, as well as studying in Australia.

Al Wani joined CoGri KSA from a large racking supplier in Saudi, bringing along extensive knowledge and experience of working with both good- and poor-quality floors whilst installing racking systems. He, therefore, fully understands the importance of a ‘fit for purpose’ floor.

Commenting on their appointments, Hanks said: “The establishment of CoGri KSA and initial staff appointments is a long-awaited move for our Middle Eastern operations. The Saudi market is one which we feel can be seriously developed and deserves our full attention with a Saudi based establishment. Hisham and Fahad have an existing knowledge of the industry within Saudi which will act as a good starting point from which to help in the growth of CoGri KSA”.

CoGri opens Saudi Arabia office

Posted on by David Priestman

As part of its global expansion plans, CoGri Group has recently opened a new office in Saudi Arabia, adding to its existing facilities in Dubai. The new company formation allows all work in the Kingdom to be handled directly, as opposed to outsourcing it through CoGri Dubai or its partner, Osis Group, led by Nikos Marketis in Qatar, as previously was the case. Thus, Cogri can expand outside of this continuing long-term partnership with Osis in the Middle East. The newly opened office, combined with the appointment of talented staff members, brings the expected CoGri standards of excellence to KSA.

CoGri Middle East General Manager, Thomas Hanks, said: “After two years of planning (delayed due to COVID travel restrictions), we are happy to announce the opening of CoGri KSA alongside our Saudi partner. We are also delighted that within the first month, CoGri KSA has been awarded floor construction, wire guidance, and repair projects.

“On the floor construction front, we were awarded three projects totalling around 110,000 sq m. The first was for a multinational conglomerate that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture, kitchen appliances and home accessories, among other goods and home services in Riyadh. This is now completed.

“We immediately moved on to the next job in Riyadh for one of the largest private owners and developers of warehousing and light industrial parks in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. This is currently underway.

“After this, we will be working in Jeddah for a 15,000 sq m freezer store project. The Saudi market remains positive, and CoGri KSA has several large projects on the horizon.”

New appointments

To maintain the high level of service both expected and delivered to Saudi Arabia, CoGri KSA has strengthened its team with the recruitment of Hisham Mahdi (pictured, left), who joined as Business Development Manager, overseeing operations in Saudi. Also, Fahad Al Wani (pictured, right), who joined as Civil Engineer.

Commenting on his new role, Mahdi said: “2021 was an excellent year for CoGri in Saudi Arabia and we look forward to building on this success in 2022. With the growing distribution and logistics industry in Saudi, there is an increasing need for CoGri’s services and we’re glad to meet this demand. Our customers understand the importance of a well-finished floor fit for purpose; with CoGri’s experienced team and international reach we are able to deliver successfully.”

Mahdi joins from a Saudi-based main contractor where he was a Business Development Manager and has had various interactions with CoGri in the past. He previously worked in the oil fields of China and Oman for an oil field service company. Mahdi has a Saudi and Irish background, spending time in both countries whilst growing up, as well as studying in Australia.

Al Wani joined CoGri KSA from a large racking supplier in Saudi, bringing along extensive knowledge and experience of working with both good- and poor-quality floors whilst installing racking systems. He, therefore, fully understands the importance of a ‘fit for purpose’ floor.

Commenting on their appointments, Hanks said: “The establishment of CoGri KSA and initial staff appointments is a long-awaited move for our Middle Eastern operations. The Saudi market is one which we feel can be seriously developed and deserves our full attention with a Saudi based establishment. Hisham and Fahad have an existing knowledge of the industry within Saudi which will act as a good starting point from which to help in the growth of CoGri KSA”.

Unifeeder uses carbon-neutral towage services

Posted on by Keith McKinley

DP World-owned Unifeeder has taken another step in fast-tracking its green agenda by deploying a carbon-neutral towage service on London’s River Thames.

The EcoTow service, developed by towage operator Svitzer, has seen its whole fleet of 10 towage tugs converted from marine fuel oil to sustainable Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (HVO), which reduces towage CO2 emissions by approximately 90%.

Unifeeder will initially deploy Svitzer’s EcoTow service in London for all vessels which require towage services on the River Thames. Unifeeder has approximately 100 vessel assists in London annually.

Michael Bonde, Chief Operations Officer for Network & Operations at Unifeeder, said: “This is a great example of what can be achieved using new fuel technology and we are proud to be deploying this innovative service to reduce carbon emissions.

“Using Svitzer’s EcoTow service complements our environmental initiatives across Europe, such as our investment in more efficient rail and barge inland services, as well as our ongoing sustainability ambitions at our European terminals.”

This latest development follows last year’s launch of Unifeeder’s Actual Emission Tracker, a tool that allows for users to calculate greenhouse gas emissions at the specific Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEU) level, providing companies with further insight into the carbon impact of their activity.

The Ecotow product exclusively uses sustainable second-generation biofuels, which are fuels produced from waste material such as used cooking oil as feedstocks and are certified by ISSC or RSB.

Relative to marine diesel, these biofuels reduce carbon emissions by 100% on a tank-to-wake basis and approximately 90% on a well-to-tank basis.

Unifeeder uses carbon-neutral towage services

Posted on by David Priestman

DP World-owned Unifeeder has taken another step in fast-tracking its green agenda by deploying a carbon-neutral towage service on London’s River Thames.

The EcoTow service, developed by towage operator Svitzer, has seen its whole fleet of 10 towage tugs converted from marine fuel oil to sustainable Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (HVO), which reduces towage CO2 emissions by approximately 90%.

Unifeeder will initially deploy Svitzer’s EcoTow service in London for all vessels which require towage services on the River Thames. Unifeeder has approximately 100 vessel assists in London annually.

Michael Bonde, Chief Operations Officer for Network & Operations at Unifeeder, said: “This is a great example of what can be achieved using new fuel technology and we are proud to be deploying this innovative service to reduce carbon emissions.

“Using Svitzer’s EcoTow service complements our environmental initiatives across Europe, such as our investment in more efficient rail and barge inland services, as well as our ongoing sustainability ambitions at our European terminals.”

This latest development follows last year’s launch of Unifeeder’s Actual Emission Tracker, a tool that allows for users to calculate greenhouse gas emissions at the specific Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEU) level, providing companies with further insight into the carbon impact of their activity.

The Ecotow product exclusively uses sustainable second-generation biofuels, which are fuels produced from waste material such as used cooking oil as feedstocks and are certified by ISSC or RSB.

Relative to marine diesel, these biofuels reduce carbon emissions by 100% on a tank-to-wake basis and approximately 90% on a well-to-tank basis.

Fabric specialist invests in articulated forklifts

Posted on by David Priestman

Manufacturer, importer and supplier of high-quality fabrics to the fashion industry, Jerseytex Ltd, has developed a new very narrow aisle high-density storage solution at its Midlands warehouse facility based on Flexi Truck articulated VNA forklift technology from Narrow Aisle Ltd.

A long-standing Flexi Truck user, Jerseytex has operated Flexi Truck VNA trucks at its site in Tipton for the past two decades.

“We bought our first Flexi Truck nearly 20 years ago and have used them ever since, so we had no hesitation in turning to Narrow Aisle when we needed a new materials handling solution to support the continued growth of our business,” said Jerseytex owner and managing director, Pritpal Singh Sidhu.

“We have proved that Flexi Truck technology represents the most efficient and cost-effective materials handling solution for us. The Flexi Truck’s design allows us to save valuable space when operating and is generally far more efficient than traditional ‘reach’-type trucks.”

John Maguire, managing director of Narrow Aisle Ltd, commented: “Flexi Truck products are renowned the world over for their reliability and build quality. Jerseytex has long realised the space and throughput efficiency benefits that Flexi Truck technology brings and we are delighted to have such a long and successful relationship with the company and their team at Tipton.”

Jerseytex uses its Flexis to support the unloading of textile rolls from incoming vehicles before delivering the fabrics directly to the new bespoke VNA racking scheme within its Midlands storage facility. By unloading incoming vehicles and delivering loads directly to the storage system, the Flexi Trucks eliminate ‘double handling’ which allows more product to be transferred in less time. As a result, Jerseytex is able to minimise its materials handling costs and speed-up operational throughput, with fewer forklift trucks in its fleet.

More than 10,000 Flexi Trucks are in operation at logistics sites across the world and there are models in the Flexi Truck VNA Digital range to suit every product type and warehouse size.

Fabric specialist invests in articulated forklifts

Posted on by David Priestman

Manufacturer, importer and supplier of high-quality fabrics to the fashion industry, Jerseytex Ltd, has developed a new very narrow aisle high-density storage solution at its Midlands warehouse facility based on Flexi Truck articulated VNA forklift technology from Narrow Aisle Ltd.

A long-standing Flexi Truck user, Jerseytex has operated Flexi Truck VNA trucks at its site in Tipton for the past two decades.

“We bought our first Flexi Truck nearly 20 years ago and have used them ever since, so we had no hesitation in turning to Narrow Aisle when we needed a new materials handling solution to support the continued growth of our business,” said Jerseytex owner and managing director, Pritpal Singh Sidhu.

“We have proved that Flexi Truck technology represents the most efficient and cost-effective materials handling solution for us. The Flexi Truck’s design allows us to save valuable space when operating and is generally far more efficient than traditional ‘reach’-type trucks.”

John Maguire, managing director of Narrow Aisle Ltd, commented: “Flexi Truck products are renowned the world over for their reliability and build quality. Jerseytex has long realised the space and throughput efficiency benefits that Flexi Truck technology brings and we are delighted to have such a long and successful relationship with the company and their team at Tipton.”

Jerseytex uses its Flexis to support the unloading of textile rolls from incoming vehicles before delivering the fabrics directly to the new bespoke VNA racking scheme within its Midlands storage facility. By unloading incoming vehicles and delivering loads directly to the storage system, the Flexi Trucks eliminate ‘double handling’ which allows more product to be transferred in less time. As a result, Jerseytex is able to minimise its materials handling costs and speed-up operational throughput, with fewer forklift trucks in its fleet.

More than 10,000 Flexi Trucks are in operation at logistics sites across the world and there are models in the Flexi Truck VNA Digital range to suit every product type and warehouse size.

3D scanning in motion shakes up automation

Posted on by David Priestman

A novel approach to 3D scanning enables robots to see and handle objects in motion, opening up a completely new range of logistics applications. The technology outperforms standard 3D machine vision methods by allowing shorter cycle times and higher productivity, efficiency, and throughput.

Imagine a robot equipped with 3D vision that is tasked with handling parcels that are in constant motion. Let’s say they are placed on a moving conveyor belt and when they get within the reach of the robot, it picks them from the conveyor and places them at another location. But there is a catch.

Traditionally, parcels needed to stop moving so that the vision system navigating the robot could scan each one of them in high quality and define their precise position and orientation. This has been a common limitation of all existing 3D sensing technologies for scanning large work areas – to acquire high-resolution and high-quality 3D data without motion artifacts, the scanned objects must be static. However, stopping the line prolongs cycle times and compromises productivity.

So, the question becomes how can you automate applications that involve robotic handling of moving objects without stopping the line for each scan acquisition? How do you get high-quality 3D scans for precise robot navigation and, at the same time, fast operation speed with short cycle times and no interruption?

A game-changing approach to 3D scanning has been recently introduced by Photoneo, which launches a new era of automation to transform logistics, e-Commerce, warehousing, and many other sectors. What does this novel technology enable and what types of new robotic applications does it open up?

Capturing objects in motion

The novel approach uses the patented technology of Parallel Structured Light, which looks at 3D scanning from a completely different perspective than conventional 3D sensing methods. So, how exactly does it differ from traditional approaches and how can it benefit your applications?

The Parallel Structured Light implemented in the 3D camera MotionCam-3D is the only technology that enables 3D area scanning of moving objects in high resolution and accuracy. In concrete numbers, the technology enables the capture of objects moving up to 144km/h, providing a resolution of 0.9Mpx and an accuracy of 0.300-1.250mm, depending on the camera model. When switched to a mode for static scenes, the technology provides a resolution of 2Mpx and an accuracy of 0.150-0.900mm.

Traditional popular methods cannot do this. Time-of-flight systems, for instance, can capture fast-moving objects but their resolution is fairly poor. Or, if we take structured light systems, we can get great resolution but the scanned scene needs to be static at the moment of scan acquisition, otherwise the result will be distorted. These limitations take us back to the problem outlined in the beginning of this article.

The Parallel Structured Light technology shakes up automation in logistics and other sectors by enabling new applications that involve the aspect of motion.

The ability to scan objects in motion hugely impacts the whole sector of order fulfilment. For instance, parcels prepared for shipment that are placed on a moving conveyor belt can be scanned in motion, picked, and sorted by a robot according to specific criteria, such as the delivery company, without interrupting the flow for each scan acquisition.

Similarly, an overhead conveyor does not need to be stopped for a robot to recognise and pick items hanging on it, in contrast to standard applications with a robot or human operator using a lifting manipulator arm. The Parallel Structured Light enables the scanning of objects that are moving, swinging, or slightly rotating, providing a continuous stream of high-quality 3D data, all while in motion.

Other applications include palletisation – picking parcels or boxes from a moving carrier and placing them onto pallets, and the converse process of depalletisation – picking objects from pallets and placing them onto a conveyor belt, for instance.

Consistent 3D scanning in rapid motion can also greatly benefit logistics applications that require dimensioning, i.e. the measurement of boxes moving on a carrier, their volume measurement for void filling, bounding box estimation, or counting.

Logistics companies can no longer scale or stay competitive without automation. Technological innovation and advancements are serving up new solutions that are constantly pushing the limits of the feasible. Machine vision empowering vision-guided robotics is an incontrovertible proof of this trend – with the novel Parallel Structured Light approach to 3D scanning, automation gets a new meaning that reshapes logistics and all other sectors that make use of automation.

CLICK HERE to watch the video.

AGILOX appoints new CEO

Posted on by David Priestman

AGILOX has made a number of management appointments. Helmut Schmid takes over as CEO as successor to the previous CEO Franz Humer. Schmid will continue the AMR manufacturer’s ongoing strategy to expand its global market share. As the sole managing director of AGILOX, he also adds three new authorised signatories to the management team – Josef Baumann-Rott, Klaus Pucher and Robert Mayer.

Schmid, who was the head of Germany and Western Europe at cobot market leader Universal Robots for many years, is now taking over as CEO of AGILOX. Under Schmid, an internationally experienced managing director and robotics enthusiast, the company is continuing on its path of further expansion. In his previous appointment Schmid was Managing Director of the German cobot pioneer Franka Emika GmbH in Munich.

New leadership for AGILOX

Helmut Schmid is a specialist in growth strategies, business development, change management, internationalisation, sales and marketing. In his long career, he has already founded several companies, managed them profitably and, in particular, implemented scalable business models, often developing new sales processes and structures and implementing new go-to-market strategies in a targeted manner.

The graduate aircraft engineer has also made a name for himself as co-founder of the German Robotics Association and Robotics Ventures GmbH. Now, the new CEO of AGILOX wants to drive forward the company’s further development and internationalise it.

“AGILOX is a brand with a strong base and an equally high market potential,” said Schmid. “I look forward to contributing my experience to the company in order to continue to develop it profitably and position it durably on the market.”

“With his years of experience in the robotics environment, Helmut Schmid brings in-depth technical as well as management expertise, and now as CEO of AGILOX, can further develop the company from its excellent starting position and support our planned growth with the goal of becoming the world’s leading AMR provider,” said Dr. Thorsten Dippel, Managing Director of the Carlyle Group, which has been involved as key partner of AGILOX since June 2021.

Daniel Haider, Managing Director of Raiffeisen Invest Holding GmbH & Co KG, likewise highlights the international industry experience of the new CEO: “We are very pleased that such a renowned expert in robotics is putting his trust in AGILOX. With Helmut Schmid as our new CEO, we are continuing the drive for dynamic growth at an international level.”

The company’s previous CEO, Franz Humer, is also pleased with the new top manager: “It was particularly important to us as founders that the new CEO continues AGILOX’s successfully established strategy for the future, while furthering our brand DNA. In Helmut Schmid, AGILOX is getting a CEO who will develop the company progressively and keep us on the right track for the future.”

Schmid is also looking forward to the new challenge: “I am looking forward to continuing the good preparation work with the entire team and from now on, become a contributor to the AGILOX success story. Internationalisation and the further expansion of the headquarters in Neukirchen near Lambach are just a few of the major topics I am looking forward to addressing.”

Franz Humer is joining the Board of AGILOX as Executive Chairman and will prepare the company’s next strategic steps, notably in the area of product development and organisation in the US. Dirk Erlacher is moving to China and will build up the Asian market from Shanghai.

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