The entire system was threatened with failure
In August, the replenishment sorter took the specialists at Hamburger Strasse and an external company to extremes.
What had happened?
At the beginning of the year, significant defects were discovered in the insulation of the conductor rails during maintenance work. Thomas Geue, group leader from the operating technology department: "Like all technical systems, the replenishment sorter is naturally subject to a certain amount of wear and tear." The problem: defects in the conductor rails can lead to damage and faults in the conductor rail system. A prolonged complete system failure would then also be possible. Fatal.
However, the repair was not a minor intervention in the system. Thomas: "The conductor rails had to be replaced over a length of 420 meters in one go." The rails, each six meters long, are built into the technology so that you can only reach them half lying down. The abrasion caused by operating the system results in the formation of dust, which is whirled up when the rails are removed.
The countdown ran for over 48 hours
This required the sorter to be taken out of service. In consultation with the specialist departments, this took place between 10 p.m. on August 27 and 10 p.m. on August 29. An external company was appointed and a schedule agreed. In the end, everything went according to plan and the work was completed on time. As promised, the replenishment sorter was available for production again at 10 p.m. on Sunday.
It wasn't easy, says plant technician Thomas: "The plant engineering technicians supported the external company with additional night shifts, overtime and Sunday work throughout." Ancillary work, the test run and recommissioning were also carried out by the operating technology department. Two tradesmen were deployed over six shifts for each of these tasks.
Thomas: "Our thanks go to the specialist departments for their excellent cooperation and to the craftsmen from the operating technology department for their exceptional commitment and performance."
