Logistics Manager
  • Logistics
    • A-E
      • 3rd Party Logistics
      • Air Cargo
      • Coronavirus
      • Express & e-delivery
      • Editor’s Blog
    • F-M
      • Health & Safety
      • International logistics
      • Latest issue
      • Logistics & Supply Chain
    • O-Z
      • Ocean Freight
      • Policy and legislation
      • Professional development
      • Rail freight
      • Road transport
      • Sustainability
      • Temperature-controlled
  • Intralogistics
    • Automation
    • Commercial Vehicles
    • Equipment
    • Infrastructure & Services
    • IT & Software
    • Materials handling
    • Packaging
    • Picking and sortation
    • Robotics and innovation
    • Storage
  • Supply Chain
    • A-L
      • Automotive
      • Construction
      • Energy
      • Fashion
      • Food & drink
      • Forecasting
      • Healthcare and Pharma
      • Hi-tech
    • M-Z
      • Manufacturing
      • Military
      • Omni-channel
      • Public Sector
      • Retail
      • SME
      • Sourcing and procurement
      • Supply Chain Analysis
      • Supply Chain Awards
      • Supply Chain Strategy
      • Supply Chain Technology
      • Supply Chain Visibility
      • Technology
  • Property
    • A-M
      • Big Sheds
      • Design & Build
      • East Midlands and East Anglia
      • M25 East
      • M25 West
      • Mid-box
    • M-Z
      • North East & Yorkshire
      • North West
      • Scotland
      • South-West & Wales
      • Speculative Development
      • Urban Warehouses
      • West Midlands
  • Corporate Insight
  • Digital Magazines
    • June 2023
    • May 2023
    • April 2023
    • March 2023
    • February 2023
    • January 2023
  • Events
    • Sustainable Supply Chain Conference
    • ESG Industrial & Logistics Conference
    • Supply Chain Excellence Awards
    • CiTTi Awards
    • IntraLogisteX
    • Robotics & Automation
  • Webinars
LinkedIn Twitter
  • Subscribe
  • Free weekly e-newsletter
  • Free daily e-newsletter
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
LinkedIn Twitter
Logistics Manager
SUBSCRIBE >
  • Logistics
      • 3rd Party Logistics
      • Air Cargo
      • Coronavirus
      • Express & e-delivery
      • Editor’s Blog
      • Health & Safety
      • International logistics
      • Latest issue
      • Logistics & Supply Chain
      • Ocean Freight
      • Policy and legislation
      • Professional development
      • Rail freight
      • Road transport
      • Sustainability
      • Temperature-controlled
  • Intralogistics
      • Automation
      • Commercial Vehicles
      • Equipment
      • Infrastructure & Services
      • IT & Software
      • Materials handling
      • Packaging
      • Picking and sortation
      • Robotics and innovation
      • Storage
  • Supply Chain
      • Automotive
      • Construction
      • Energy
      • Fashion
      • Food & drink
      • Forecasting
      • Healthcare and Pharma
      • Hi-tech
      • Manufacturing
      • Military
      • Omni-channel
      • Public Sector
      • Retail
      • SME
      • Sourcing and procurement
      • Supply Chain Analysis
      • Supply Chain Awards
      • Supply Chain Strategy
      • Supply Chain Technology
      • Supply Chain Visibility
      • Technology
  • Property
      • Big Sheds
      • Design & Build
      • East Midlands and East Anglia
      • M25 East
      • M25 West
      • Mid-box
      • North East & Yorkshire
      • North West
      • Scotland
      • South-West & Wales
      • Speculative Development
      • Urban Warehouses
      • West Midlands
  • Corporate Insight
  • Events
    • Events News
      • Conferences
      • Exhibitions
      • Top 50
    • Sustainable Supply Chain Conference
    • Industrial & Logistics Property Conference
    • Supply Chain Excellence Awards
    • CiTTi Awards
    • IntraLogisteX
    • Robotics & Automation
  • Digital Magazines
    1. November 2023
    2. October 2023
    3. September 2023
    4. August 2023
    5. July 2023
    6. June 2023
    7. May 2023
    Featured

    Logistics Manager Magazine November 2023

    6th November 2023By Michelle Mooney
    Recent
    6th November 2023

    Logistics Manager Magazine November 2023

    2nd October 2023

    Logistics Manager Magazine October 2023

    4th September 2023

    Logistics Manager Magazine September 2023

  • Webinars
LinkedIn Twitter
Logistics Manager
Article

Driving store control

wpengineBy wpengine1st June 20046 Mins Read
LinkedIn Twitter Email Facebook

Land Rover is part of the UK-based Premier Automotive Group (PAG), owned by the Ford Motor Company, whose other thoroughbred brands are Aston Martin, Jaguar and Volvo. The four-wheel drive vehicle manufacturer employs 11,000 people in the UK at two key sites in the Midlands: principally the manufacturing centre in Solihull, Birmingham, and the Gaydon research and development centre, also in Warwickshire, with a further 1,500 employed at offices around the world.

Bought by Ford from BMW in 2000 for £1.8Bn, Land Rover builds and sells, through its franchised dealer network, around 165,000 4×4 vehicles a year in more than 142 countries to hold a significant stake in the highly competitive sports utility vehicle (SUV) market.

At the centre of the Solihull manufacturing facility there is Paint Shop 21. Here, every vehicle body for all Land Rover models is painted and prepared for assembly according to individual customer order specification – for both domestic and international sale. At the centre of the operation is the Store Control System (SCS) from Central Systems & Automation, performing the critical linking operation between Land Rover’s manufacturing MIS and all mechanical handling equipment (MHE).

Paint Shop 21 was built between 1995 and 1997. A leading-edge automotive facility, it covers more than 9,300sq m, is three stories high, 1,200ft long and has 14-plus miles of conveyor track. Paint Shop 21 can accommodate 1,400 cars and process 75 vehicles per hour in approximately 600 different colours.

It processes each Land Rover car body right through the paint process – from phosphating, electro-coating, sealing and undercoating to colouring, waxing and quality control. The facility comprises of three Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems (ASRS), each using a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) based Store Control System. PLC-based systems are ideal for automating factory floor processes, being both robust and easy to configure.

Painted Body Store 1 (PBS1) has six cranes and holds the painted bodies before they move to the assembly line; Painted Body Store 2 (PBS2) also has six cranes and is used as a buffer store for painted Freelander bodies; and thirdly, the Skid Store (SKS) which has three cranes. PBS1 holds 405 car bodies, PBS2 holds 284 and the SKS holds 244 Body-Skids and 61 Conveys.

The SKS contains three aisles of empty Skids and Conveys on five levels which run on the conveyor system and carry the body through the painting process. There are four different types of skid: one each for the Defender, Range Rover, Discovery and Freelander. PBS1 is for the Defender, Range Rover and Discovery with PBS2 for the Freelander: each has six storage aisles that are three and two storeys high respectively, holding the appropriate vehicle bodies on skids. The PBS1 and PBS2 cranes enable the bodies to be sequenced into the product build plan and also act as a buffer store between the different assembly processes. All three ASRS need to be able to work independently or in tandem, in full auto-mode and in assisted auto-manual mode.

Paint Shop 21 can operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Monitoring systems

Central Systems & Automation’s Storage Control System (SCS) software modules provide the critical link to the MIS-based order system as well as the Plant Environmental Management (PEMS) system that monitors all crane and conveyor systems across a facility-wide Ethernet network. All movements are managed by the SCS: connectivity around Paint Shop 21 – including the cranes – is provided by Modbus and Modbus Plus industrial networks.

The SCS runs on AEG-Modicon PLC units, including enhanced CM1000 Basic modules with serial ports for interfacing with Premid Radio Frequency Tag Readers. The tag-readers read heat-resistant tags on all the skids as they move along the conveyors and through the three ASRS areas; they identify the precise location and identity of each skid and whether or not it is empty or carrying a body.

Precision is extremely important. Conveyor system skid alignment is accurate to within plus or minus 3mm. Each of the stores has a Panel Mate human machine interface (HMI) for general control, accessing status information and for maintenance trouble-shooting.

Space management is important on the Solihull site as it is enclosed by a park, residential area and Birmingham International Airport: extensive use of automation and computerisation ensures a highly efficient site footprint. With production at 75 chassis per hour, it also means a very quick output by the standards of any car manufacturer in Land Rover’s class.

The SCS gives Land Rover total control of customer orders, meaning that the volume of the different cars can be altered with ease. Each car can be built to an individual customer’s specification thanks to the flexible combination of manufacturing management systems. Paint Shop 21 was designed to run a PLC-based body processing system: full PLC compatibility with the SCS has made its introduction straightforward.

The key performance criterion for the system is percentage-based uptime – the minimum service level begins at 99.8%. Each software module and PLC sub-system module has its own uptime log that is connected to PEMS via the Stores Control System. Any faults are immediately logged by PEMS which will then prompt one of the maintenance teams to investigate. Efficiency reports are then generated on a regular basis by PEMS.

The bottom line for Land Rover is system reliability. Solihull runs a continuous operation to feed the main vehicle assembly line. Paint Shop 21 is the hub of the entire production process, because all vehicle chassis have to be processed there before they are assembled.

Stock contingencies are pre-programmed and each ASRS system can work independently as well as collectively, automatically and manually. This mean that the engineering team can cope with any necessary repairs and keep the assembly line fed. The Stores Control System is also equipped with full remote access for Central Systems & Automation’s support engineers who are on call at all times. This means full diagnostics checks can be made over data connection as well as complete systems management.

Paint Shop 21 is a very robust facility: with high uptime and already high production levels, the power and flexibility of SCS means the facility can easily match Land Rover’s planned growth targets.

Share. LinkedIn Twitter Facebook Email
wpengine
  • Website

This is the "wpengine" admin user that our staff uses to gain access to your admin area to provide support and troubleshooting. It can only be accessed by a button in our secure log that auto generates a password and dumps that password after the staff member has logged in. We have taken extreme measures to ensure that our own user is not going to be misused to harm any of our clients sites.

Related Stories

BSW Timber Improves Route Planning Time Dramatically with Aptean Routing & Scheduling

24th April 2023

Exotec shows off robotic innovations at IntraLogisteX

28th March 2023

Sustainable transport can’t just depend on batteries

28th April 2021
Latest News Stories
1st December 2023

Tesla’s legal battle with Swedish authorities amid labour dispute

30th November 2023

Major HGV decarbonisation needed to meet net zero, report claims

30th November 2023

President Biden unveils 30 new actions to fortify US supply chains

Free weekly e-newsletters

Discover what’s causing a stir in the world of logistics and supply chains


Key Content
  • Digital Magazines
  • Logistics
  • Intralogistics
  • Supply Chain
  • Property
  • Corporate Insight
  • Events News
  • Opinion
Akabo Media
  • About Us
  • Advertising
  • Contact Us
  • Subscribe
  • Free Daily E-Newsletter
  • Free Weekly Top Stories E-Newsletters
  • Free Weekly Supply Chain E-Newsletter
  • Free Weekly Property E-Newsletter
  • Sign up to be notified when we publish a new digital edition
Our Events
  • Sustainable Supply Chain Conference
  • ESG Industrial & Logistics Conference
  • Supply Chain Excellence Awards
  • CiTTi Awards
  • Robotics and Automation Exhibition
  • IntraLogisteX
© 2023 Akabo Media Ltd Registered No 07766641 England | All rights reserved.
Registered Office: Akabo Media, GG.007, Metal Box Factory, 30 Great Guildford St, SE1 0HS
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits.
By clicking “ACCEPT ALL”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
Cookie settingsRejectACCEPT ALL
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
CookieDurationDescription
__cf_bm30 minutesCloudflare set the cookie to support Cloudflare Bot Management.
_zm_chtaid2 hoursZoom sets this cookie to facilitate video conferences via zoom from the website.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
CookieDurationDescription
_ga1 year 1 month 4 daysGoogle Analytics sets this cookie to calculate visitor, session and campaign data and track site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognise unique visitors.
_ga_*1 year 1 month 4 daysGoogle Analytics sets this cookie to store and count page views.
_gat_gtag_UA_*1 minuteGoogle Analytics sets this cookie to store a unique user ID.
_gid1 dayGoogle Analytics sets this cookie to store information on how visitors use a website while also creating an analytics report of the website's performance. Some of the collected data includes the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously.
CONSENT2 yearsYouTube sets this cookie via embedded YouTube videos and registers anonymous statistical data.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
CookieDurationDescription
OAID1 yearCookie set to record whether the user has opted out of the collection of information by the AdsWizz Service Cookies.
VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE5 months 27 daysYouTube sets this cookie to measure bandwidth, determining whether the user gets the new or old player interface.
YSCsessionYoutube sets this cookie to track the views of embedded videos on Youtube pages.
yt-remote-connected-devicesneverYouTube sets this cookie to store the user's video preferences using embedded YouTube videos.
yt-remote-device-idneverYouTube sets this cookie to store the user's video preferences using embedded YouTube videos.
yt.innertube::nextIdneverYouTube sets this cookie to register a unique ID to store data on what videos from YouTube the user has seen.
yt.innertube::requestsneverYouTube sets this cookie to register a unique ID to store data on what videos from YouTube the user has seen.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
CookieDurationDescription
TS018dd1basessionDescription is currently not available.
TS01f92dc5sessionDescription is currently not available.
SAVE & ACCEPT
Powered by CookieYes Logo