Automated Dough and Tray Transport at Harry Brot: From Proof of Concept to Scalable Production Operations with SYNAOS
At the Soltau site, a fleet of autonomous mobile robots transports dough vessels and tray racks between the dough-making area, production line and warehouse. Orchestrated by the SYNAOS Intralogistics Platform, a proof of concept has evolved into scalable production operations.
Since 1688, Harry Brot has stood for quality in baking. To supply thousands of stores with fresh products every day, well-conceived, automated intralogistics processes are essential.
At the Soltau site, a new Solution was needed for transporting goods between the dough-making area, the production line and the tray warehouse. The key conditions:
Confined space, multiple routes, high throughput rate
Vessels with fresh dough and tray racks moving through a complex production environment at a tight pace
Dough ferments during transport: delivery must occur on schedule, otherwise product quality suffers
High cleanliness and hygiene requirements
Wide variety of load carriers (individual racks and containers instead of standard pallets) that must be precisely positioned and integrated into machinery
Solution
Since autumn 2023, a fleet of Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) has been handling these transports driverlessly, controlled by the SYNAOS Mobile Robot Fleet Management Software, which distributes every order efficiently.
The robots transport tray racks and dough vessels from the mixer to the production line and return empty vessels to the warehouse. The SYNAOS Intralogistics Platform manages:
Task distribution and navigation
Warehouse management
Mapping of tray types
Integration is carried out via VDA 5050, the standardised interface between fleet management software and AMRs.
Results
<u>Significantly increased flexibility</u> in production alongside simplified, more efficient intralogistics processes
Considerable potential across all production areas: dough making, production, packaging and dispatch
Machine operators no longer need to change trays manually during product changeovers. the changeover is fully automated (one tray rack frame weighs around 1.2 tonnes)
A first scalable use case, transferable to other lines and applicable in new plant planning projects
