Traceability – A key building block of consumer trust

Since 2004 Beckhoff has provided a comprehensive range of TwinSAFE functional safety technologies to meet the requirements of the most complex machines and equipment. Sometimes, however, safety is applied to machines without regard to formal risk assessment and to the tune of "Make it as safe as possible." While admirable, this can result in safety functions that may be over- or under-designed for a particular risk. It could also impact your company's bottom line and the time it takes to ship equipment to your customers.

While having "too much" safety is certainly not a bad thing, it could introduce unnecessary complexity and other adverse effects. Therefore, machine safety measures should be revisited periodically to conform with updated standards or in response to market conditions.

As a global leader in the cosmetics industry, L'Oréal is held to stringent standards across their supply chain. In many of their warehouses they depend on Dematic Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) to maintain general standardization.

A fleet of AGVs is now used to perform tasks that were previously done by production staff. They work both smoother and more safely across three daily shifts and have optimized the teams' workflows. They transport packaging from shelves to filling lines, finished products to shipping stations, and follow assignments given by staff to perform tasks that include transferring empty pallets, picking up cardboard, and arranging the removal of packaging materials. The AGVs follow clearly marked routes and stop automatically for any obstacles, allowing for efficient transport flow, a neater warehouse, and safer working conditions.

Rexel, one of the world's largest electrical distributors, processes massive LTL and parcel volumes every year. With a large roster of carriers and lack of transportation data and visibility, Rexel struggled with managing cost and performance across its network.

In this case study, see how AFS worked with Rexel to: