Rubix, a renowned global distributor of industrial products, teamed up with Kardex, to develop a cutting-edge hazardous materials storage solution. Rubix was faced with the daunting task of safely storing hazardous items like flammable liquids, that would not only meet the HSE (Health & Safety Executive) regulations but would also meet the standards of COSHH (control of substances hazardous to health).
At Rubix national distribution centre in Wolverhampton, UK, operators pick and maintain multiple components and provide the available stock to customers. Rubix has been a long-time partner of Kardex, a global leader in smart intralogistics solutions. With more than 30 machines nationwide, they rely on Kardex’s advanced technology to ensure fast, accurate, and safe order picking. After an audit, they needed a solution that adhered to strict regulatory standards.
Rubix made the decision to meet the strict HSE (health and safety executive) regulations and protect colleagues, customers, products, and the environment.
The idea was to find a solution that would ensure safe storage while reducing the touchpoints between operators and hazardous items. “We were driven to find a best practice health & safety warehouse solution, particularly one that would meet the standards of COSHH”, explains Alistair Yates, Programme Manager – Logistics Function, Rubix UK. A solution was required that adhered to strict regulatory standards.
The Kardex solution enabled Rubix to centralise hazardous item storage, significantly reducing touchpoints and minimising risk. Labour demand is also more manageable requiring just 5 specialised and trained people touching these items. Overall, the solution supports fast and very secure picking. “To create a secure environment for storing classified COSHH products like greases and aerosols, we installed two Kardex Shuttles and two Kardex Compact Buffers,” explains Richard Ellis, System Sales Manager at Kardex Remstar UK.
Ensuring fast and accurate access to stored stock is a must and with a focus on safe, secure and clean storage, Kardex Compact Buffers store all small items, and all other items of mixed sizes are stored in Kardex Shuttles. “Our future plans include implementing the Kardex Frame Pick System to enhance our processes further. This will provide complete stock transparency and facilitate batch picking, supporting the ambitious goal of a fivefold increase which will deliver growth in the near future,” shares Matt Luke, Logistics Director, Rubix UK.
You can view a video of how this is managed here
About Rubix
Rubix is Europe’s leading distributor of industrial maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) products and services, carrying all premium brands. More than 8,500 employees are armed with the specialist knowledge and technical expertise to help customers solve their manufacturing and processing problems.
About Kardex
Kardex is a leading intralogistics solution provider of automated storage, retrieval and material handling systems. With two entrepreneurially managed divisions, Kardex Remstar and Kardex Mlog, the Kardex mission is to provide solutions and services to increase the efficiency in storing and handling of goods and materials on a global scale.
The two divisions serve as partners over the entire life cycle of a customer’s product or solution. From project analysis to realization and service, Kardex helps improve a customer’s performance every step of the way. With three own production plants in Germany and one in North America Kardex ensures high-quality solutions. To maintain and strengthen its competitive position within technological innovation and outstanding customer loyalty, Kardex is investing in research and development, its supply chain, the expansion of its service organization as well as in new technology via acquisitions. Kardex actively partners with global leaders who share the same values and complement the Kardex solutions including AutoStore, Rocket Solution, Robomotive, Intertex and Sumobox.
Kardex employs 2,000 team members across 30 countries and has installed over 140,000 industry-specific solutions worldwide.
Debra Wilkins is Regional Director MarCom for Northern Europe at Kardex Remstar, a global developer of automated storage and retrieval solutions. Kardex currently services more than 20,000 installations across the nation, and is helping retailers to optimise their storage and picking through automation. With more than 30 years’ experience and an early member of the UK Women in IT Steering Committee, Debra is a seasoned veteran in understanding and relaying the benefits of technology, with articles in many computing magazines, such as Network Computing. She is also a fully qualified counsellor and as such has spoken at conferences on how automation is not only inevitable, but also is changing the way businesses and society interact with each other.
