Geekplus' Shelf-To-Person robots, ready for the healthcare industry with MedicAir Group

The Challenge 

Until 2022, all the activity carried out within the distribution center of the Ventilotherapy Business Unit of MedicAir Group was totally manual, that is: the operators moved around the warehouse to compose the order, retracing the same orders several times a day paths with a considerable waste of time and energy. The operational logic adopted also allowed the processing of only one order at a time with a significant reduction in efficiency operational. Added to all this were increasingly higher fixed costs.

Beside our partner in Italy, Eurofork, and the collaboration with Moveo Servici, the project focused on three points: 

1. Complete review of flows intralogistics in the Ventilotherapy warehouse. 

2. Introduction of advanced software solutions and technologies for warehouse automation.

3. Taking charge and job training of warehouse staff ( in-house outsourcing).

Our Solution

Geek+'s 15 AMR robots work within a segregated area. In total autonomy they move the 180 shelves on which goods of different sizes and weights can be stored (within pre-established limits) and which are located in the robotic area. Depending on the missions being processed, the 15 AMRs transport the shelves one at a time to the three fixed picking/put away stations which are located immediately outside the perimeter. Here operators, supported by pick-to-light systems, carry out the picking in multi-order mode, thus managing to prepare, quickly and safely, a total of up to 90 orders at the same time. The system also works on average around 120/130 lines/hour per station with the possibility of exceeding 200 lines/hour. 

The Geekplus impact

• Very positive impact on the overall sustainability of the warehouse: consumes up to 75% less energy than a manual system
• The warehouse manages and processes around 600 orders every day.
  
• The use of AMR robots significantly reduces the movements of operators within the warehouse.
• Flexible and scalable automation: it adapts easily and quickly to different application contexts, supporting the company in dealing with recurring or unexpected seasonality

About Customer

For over 40 years, MedicAir Group has been the benchmark in the development of technologies related to gases for the treatment and improvement of quality of life, it supports the National Health System professional by creating personalised therapeutic paths for patients with chronic and degenerative respiratory problems, perfecting the “continuity of care” from hospital to home.
Furthermore, it provides technologies and technical gases for industry and gases for the food industry to protect and to distribute nutritious products to millions of people for daily use.
Currently, it is one of Italy’s major providers of assistance services, production and distribution of gas and food consultancy, with
of which 27 strategically distributed in Italy and one in Switzerland.