The brief was to combine packed consignments from three pick/pack areas over three floors and sort them down 12 lanes into four dispatch zones. The system needed to cope with up to 90 boxes/min. 

CSL provided a detailed 3D drawing and then designed a conveyor that was more than 900mm wide and took into account the different shapes, sizes and weights of products which ranged from very small parts and clothing to large boxes of bicycle wheels. 

The mezzanine consists of two upper floors, which along with the ground floor, form three independent pick/pack zones and sortation areas. These were designed specifically to avoid issues caused when one combined system is stopped for maintenance/repairs. 

Once an order is picked, packing operatives check and pack into an array of outers ranging from poly bags to large cardboard boxes, prior to applying carrier despatch labels. The consignment is then placed on a section of zero line pressure (ZLP) accumulation roller conveyor to be transported to the ground floor sortation area. This type of conveyor is used widely on the system to provide non-contact queuing in order to avoid damage to the varied products and prevent possible jams along the system.

Two powered spiral lowerators safely and continuously bring boxes down from the upper mezzanine floors and using state-of-the-art scanning arrays on each line, barcodes identify the required carrier despatch lane. When the packages reach the correct despatch lane they are diverted off at 90° using high speed switch sorters. Depending on the source pick floor, they either decline down a grip top belt to an ergonomic picking height or transit on a horizontal roller conveyor to the discharge area where a despatch operative removes and places them onto a pallet or into a wheeled cage ready for carrier collection. 

CSL provided the full turnkey conveyor project including control, installation and commissioning of the wide range of packages.

Wiggle’s programme manager for the project and head of logistics and operations development, Dan Corrigan stated: “As this was a new facility it was difficult to visualise the conveyor system prior to the mezzanine installation, but CSL provided a detailed 3D drawing which included both the mezzanine and the conveyors which brought clarity to this. The install process was smooth and the end results have allowed us to increase control, flexibility & volumes.”