Introduction

We are second year students from Temasek Polytechnic, studying Logistics and Operations Management.

Tutor : Mr. Johnny Tan

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Marilyn

"She love Japanese Curry and dreams about owning that HTC diamond touch. She enjoys her movies and little chats over dinner. She secretly loves to swim and work."

Zaw

"My name is Thet Htoo Zaw. I’m from Myanmar and now I’m studying in logistics and operations management. I’m interested in business and my aim is to become a successful business man. Now I’m in second year and I’m starting to face language barriers. But I will try to overcome these barriers and hope to find a good job in Singapore."

Zubair

"A business student from TP doing dip in LOM hoping to achive big in the logistics industry and bring it to the next level. and a secondary aim would be to earn big bucks."

Zaw's Reflection

I missed the trip on 24th November 2008 but I have heard about it from my friends who went for the trip. On 24th November 2008 the LOM students went the to Army Logistics Base (ALB) to observe the real life warehouse processes and distribution industry and also to learn about the different application of the different types of material handling equipment and storage system. They learnt about how the IT technology is used to enhance the logistics operations performances and production.

First of all, according to the structure of the building, the type of flow that the ALB used is through flow. The building is about 30 meters and it is 10 stories tall. The storage system that the ALB use are Bin ASRS for the small items, Pallets ASRS and APIR.

Power mobile racking system

The warehouse uses power mobile racking system at the main storage area. The product that are stored in power mobile racking are the products that do not have high through put level. The purpose of using mobile racking system is to reduce the space utilization of the warehouse. Moreover,  they use the vertical carousel system at the medical storage area. The area is air conditioned to provide an environment that will stretch the life of the products.

Forklift

The MHEs used at the inbound area of ALB are the forklift and very narrow aisle machine. They also use the laser guided vehicle at the outbound area. The type of delivery trucks that are used at ALB are 10 foot container trucks.

This educational field trip has provided me a lot of knowledge about the warehousing and how they store the products.

Marilyn's Reflection

In the Army Logistics Base (ALB) they make use of the through flow in their warehousing layout. Goods are received in the front which is the inbound/receiving area and the shipped to their respective areas at the back of the warehouse which is the outbound area.

The height of the ALB building is about 30M which is about 10 storey’s high.

ALB uses different storage systems such as the:

-Bin ASRS

-Pallet ASRS

-Mobile Racking System

-Vertical Carousel System

The Mobile Racking System is the storage area for homogenous items and is located in the main storage area.

The Vertical Carousel System is the storage area for the Medical Supplies Storage area.

        

Left: Laser guided vehicle. Right: Very narrow aisle machine.

MHE's found in the inbound and outbound of ALB includes the Laser guided vehicle and the Very narrow aisle machine (VNA).

The laser guided vehicle is found at the receiving area.

ALB uses the 10 foot container truck for deliveries.

Vertical Carousel System

The area that impresses me most would be the Vertical Carousel System, as items are uniformly stored and easy to retrieve. Safety measures are also implemented whereby the Vertical Carousel System freezes whenever a hand reaches inside whilst it is moving. The Vertical Carousel System proves to be highly reliable and is able to help keep small medical items in check.

Zubair's Reflection

When I first stepped into the warehouse I was amazed at how huge the warehouse actually is! What more can I expect from the region’s most advanced warehousing system. The army logistics base is equipped with modern warehouse handling system namely Automated Storage and Retrieval System, the Mobile Racking & Shelving System, the Vertical Carousel.

Automated Storage and Retrieval System- A mechanical system which is used to store and retrieve material in pallet loads which it about 18 to 20 storeys high. It can also hold up to 29000 bins.

Mobile racking & shelving

Mobile Racking & Shelving System- This is my favourite shelving system in the warehouse! This is because the heavy loads on the machine moves without anyone manning it! This mobile racking and shelving system saves a lot of space and is used for fast moving goods. It has safety features to prevent any injury that may happen pertaining to the mobile racking and shelving system.

Vertical Carousel

Vertical Carousel- This vertical carousel is used only to store the medical supplies of the army. Since safety is one of their priorities the vertical carousel system also has a safety feature to it. It will prevent the user from getting hurt if the personnel were to be in the way while the system is moving.

After the whole trip, I’m amazed with the technology of the warehouse which does not require much labour and also provides safety to the workers to work in. The Army Logistic Base has truly change my impression towards the warehouses in Singapore since all the warehouse that I’ve seen all this while is traditional which uses mainly labour work.

Our topic is the the key performance indicators for managing warehouse and distribution centre.