ROBOT
revolution
For many companies, truck loading and unloading is one of the last frontiers of automation. Consider the case of Frito-Lay. By the mid-90s, the snack
food giant had long since automated operations inside its distribution centers. But when it came to loading trucks, the company still
relied on manual processes, with workers spending their days inside
trailers hand stacking cases of chips, nuts, cookies, crackers, and
meats.
As for what was holding it back, Frito-Lay didn’t feel it had much
choice. Its loading requirements are somewhat out of the ordinary:
Because cases of snack foods are relatively light—about five to seven
pounds each—trailers tend to cube out before they weigh out.
Although there were loading systems on the market, there was nothing available at the time that could match hand loading when it came
to ensuring that every inch of the trailer cube was utilized.
Eventually, Frito-Lay decided to take things into its own hands.
Working with a partner, it developed a semiautomated solution that
includes a conveyor with a series of “arms” that lob cases onto a stack.
Some 10 years later, the two partners took the technology to the next
level, devising a fully automated loading solution that uses robots
guided by sensors.
Today, half of Frito-Lay’s distribution centers use one of the two
solutions, with 15 semiautomated solutions in use at five sites and 10
fully automated solutions at four others. The result? Significant gains
in productivity and a raft of ergonomic benefits.
Twenty years ago,
Frito-Lay relied on
workers to hand stack
cases of chips, nuts,
and cookies in its
trucks. Now, it has
more colorful loading
options, including the
“T. Rex” and robots.
