About warehouse automation
Automated warehouses can be deceptively dangerous for machine operators and maintenance personnel. These large facilities often contain automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS) that span across many isles and require multiple access points.
Additionally, automated warehouses are likely to have many different conveyor systems, robotic handling equipment and palletisers which each require their own safeguarding and access control procedures in order to avoid injury to personnel and streamline productivity.
Robotic palletisers are used to pack finished goods for shipping in a huge number of industries. Regular, safe access is often required to the area to clear dropped packages, change tooling, clean and perform minor maintenance.
Fortress has compact solutions for all access requirements with the added peace of mind of a safety key for operators working inside the area, protecting them from unexpected start up.
Storage and retrieval systems often cover vast spaces with long distances between control panels and access doors. This can lead to prohibitively high costs of wiring and reduction in control functionality at each access point.
Fortress offers tailored solutions for control and safe access with minimal electrical installation by having over a single industrial ethernet connection.
EN528:2008 gives safety requirements for rail dependent storage and retrieval systems including requirements for a key to control switching between automatic mode with the access gates locked and manual mode where the crane can be controlled from within the aisle.
Fortress has experience offering solutions to meet all the requirements of EN528:2008 using key switches at the control panel, on the access door and on the cart control station.
Allowing anyone to access your HMI can lead to misuse of machinery. Access control using RFID technology can be integrated as a feature alongside distributed I/O devices
Fortress I/O devices can be networked via PROFINET with PROFIsafe or EtherNet/IP with CIP safety to maximise the safe and non-safe control needed to perform desired operations whilst minimising electrical installation, cabling and associated hardware costs.
Stoppages to machine processes due to access requests can affect productivity. Recording these stoppages can help identify causes and support improvements to uptime
The RFID Access Control features can be integrated into Fortress' networked interlocks to control WHO can perform specific machine processes such as manual reset and record interactions with the device for auditing
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