Case Study With Warehouse Logistics System
Due to the expansion of the E-Commerce market, the demand for distribution warehouses is increasing. These trends have further accelerated since the COVID-19 outbreak of “stay-at-home demand,” as well as a necessity to improve work efficiency through smarter logistics, such as labor-saving and automation.
The Operational Status of Multiple UPS Installed in a Distribution Warehouse Is an Unexpected Factor of Concern
The Company provides distribution warehouses to various companies throughout the country. The company had introduced multiple UPSs in its warehouse as a countermeasure against power outages and momentary voltage drops in the management PCs that monitor the transport equipment.
The system manager explains the background to the introduction of multiple UPS:
“A parcel may stop for some reason during transportation, but since there is no function to notify the error, it takes a considerable amount of time to identify the location where the parcel stopped. We have received a request from a customer saying, “I want to monitor whether the load has stopped.” We have developed a device that monitors the position of packages and installed it on each line in the warehouse. It was configured to install management PCs, but the number of PCs in one warehouse would be quite large. We installed a UPS as a countermeasure against power outages and momentary voltage drops.”
However, UPS became another source of concern.
“I noticed that there were several cases where the UPS malfunctioned, and it became a new source of trouble.”
Remote Monitoring of UPS Operating Status and Battery Life
The number of UPSs in the warehouse has increased, and due to a concern about breakdowns, it became necessary to manage these UPSs.
“We were looking for a system that could remotely monitor multiple UPSs collectively, respond quickly in the event of a failure or malfunction, and enable planned battery replacement.”
Reduction of maintenance for battery replacement
In addition, the frequency of replacement due to deterioration of the battery was high, and there was concern about maintenance.
“Maintenance is labor intensive. Also, maintenance work can interfere with operations, so we wanted to reduce the frequency of replacement as much as possible.”
Multiple UPS Can Be Monitored Collectively via Lan, Automatic Battery Check and Battery Life Alarm Function Are Also Available
The system manager was worried about UPS issues and maintenance, consulted SANYO DENKI, which had a proven track record in same type of projects.
SANYO DENKI proposed the “SANUPS E11B”, UPS with hybrid power supply system.
There is a three-year warranty on any concerns of failures. Also, we installed a LAN interface card for the request of batch monitoring of multiple UPS in the warehouse. The UPS status can be constantly monitored collectively by using the function of LAN interface card. In addition, there are also functions such as an automatic battery check *2 and an alarm that notifies you when the battery is nearing the end of its life.
*2 Cycle can be selected from 30 days, 90 days, and 180 days
What is the hybrid method?
In the hybrid method, the UPS automatically selects the optimal power supply mode. It has high power supply quality and little power loss, making it ideal for machine tool control units and elevators, and more.
Controls That Suppress Battery Consumption and Deterioration Reduce Maintenance Man-Hours
▲ Correlation between battery ambient temperature and expected life (reference)
Concerning the battery life, SANUPS E11B not only enables control that does not overload the battery, but also extends the expected life by approximately one year *3 compared to conventional products , which reduces maintenance man-hours.
The wide input voltage range *4 makes it possible to reduce the frequency of switching to battery operation, prevent battery consumption and deterioration even when the input power supply is unstable. A longer battery life leads to a reduction in maintenance man-hours, so this point is also very appealing to the customer.
*3 Expected battery life: 5 years @ 20°C → 5 years @ 25°C (Approx. 1 year longer life)
*4 The input voltage range is 55 to 150 V for the 100 V type, 110 to 300 V for the 200 V type, and the input frequency range is 40-120Hz.
The Prompt Support at the Introduction Phase, and No UPS Failures
With the proposal, the customer conducted a six-month field test (pre-introduction test) for the official adoption of SANUPS E11B.
The system manager explains: “We installed SANYO DENKI’s UPS for half a year, and we were able to confirm the reliability we had expected. I decided to replace all the UPS with SANYO DENKI without worrying.” The customer officially designed in the SANUPS E11B and replaced all of the approximately 100 UPS units.
“Even now, a year and a half after installation, there have been no UPS failures. Also, setting up the LAN interface card required some technical knowledge and was not possible in-house. When I consulted, SANYO DENKI immediately provided technical support. Logistics systems are expected to undergo major changes in the future, so I would like to continue consulting with SANYO DENKI on various matters.”
Click to learn more about SANUPS E11B.
