Upgraded warehousing systems cut computer back-up time

Citation

(2001), "Upgraded warehousing systems cut computer back-up time", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 73 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/aeat.2001.12773eaf.002

Upgraded warehousing systems cut computer back-up time

Upgraded warehousing systems cut computer back-up time

Keywords: IEA, Information technology

Arising from a major overhaul of British Airways Avionic Engineering's (BAAE) automated parts distribution centre at Llantrisant in South Wales, IT specialist IEA, claims that it has not only increased information-access, enhanced controls and improved product availability, it also has reduced significantly the time required for back-up of the computer system from two hours to just ten minutes.

The Llantrisant Distribution Centre is the "avionics" hub that supports BA's worldwide network of service and repair centres. In excess of 50,000 parts are stored, and during a typical day the computerised system will process between 300 and 400 demands that require product selection, packing and dispatch in a target time of under five minutes. In addition, the control system also supports stock replenishment as well as general "housekeeping" duties, raising the number of transactions to more than 500 a day.

The advanced operating system supplied by IEA is reported to enable the DC to operate more efficiently, as well as monitoring response times; new reports provided by the system show the distribution of the time to dispatch into bands of 0-5, 5-15, 15-60 and 60+ minutes for specified periods. Management is now able to check on the impact of loading, staff changes, machine downtime, etc., to evaluate overall performance of the DC. Similarly, the distribution of workload against time of day, date and other variables can be presented to help in planning manning levels.

In addition to increased up-time, a major impact of the system upgrade by IEA is said to be a dramatic 88 per cent time-reduction for information back-up. When considering the high volume of stock held at Llantrisant, safeguarding data such as parts availability, store location and daily transactions is an essential activity by BAAE staff. The original two hours required was a major drawback. During development of the new IT system for BAAE, IEA reports that it was able to draw on its extensive industrial-system know-how to cut this to just ten minutes, enabling back-ups to be performed at more frequent intervals for greater system security.

To maintain precise stock control and create efficient parts selection, a sophisticated control system was required. Component requests are relayed to BA's intranet based at Heathrow and then forwarded to a pair of servers installed by IEA that support the control system for crane and conveyor movements within the automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS). The interface to the real-time control system from the transaction-based stock management system relies on standard software that has been further enhanced with IEA's OffCom to create an assigned path and report functions to ensure completion of each task.

IEA worked closely with BA's IT department to ensure smooth interface to BA's intranet, the source of "parts" requests. Two Windows NT clustered servers supervise the control system running Oracle.

The parts store comprises two aisles of racking, each 40m long and 9m high and holding 1,300 x 900mm component trays to accommodate the 50,000+ parts. Component size varies tremendously, therefore to maximise storage density most trays are divided into bar-coded compartments each holding uniquely-tagged parts.

Parts requests are automatically routed to a crane, which retrieves the appropriate tray for transfer to one of two pick locations. Each pick location has a large monitor that highlights exactly where within the component tray the part is held. During selection the operator scans both the location and the components to verify part, the required number of items are then removed and sent by air-tube directly to a workshop within the BAAE facility or routed to a packing and dispatch area to await external shipment.

At the two pick locations touch screens and a management supervisory PC supplied by IEA are instrumental in automating the generation of various reports to help maintain a highly efficient product distribution facility

Further details are available from IEA. Tel: +44 (0) 29 2036 0123; Fax: +44 (0) 29 2036 0202; E-mail: nansis@iealtd.co.uk; Web site: www.iealtd.co.uk