Shaun's Post

The visit to the Army Logistics Base (ALB) has given me a ton of knowledge and has also allow me to experience of what goes on in a warehouse. Here are a few things that I have noticed and can apply to what we study.

ALB uses a through flow system, with the entrance and exit of the warehouse at opposite sides of the building. In this through flow system, there are 5 main warehousing areas. First is the unloading bay, where the trucks unload the goods. Next is the main storage area, where goods that are unloaded are kept. After which is the order picking area, where goods are picked according to each order. Next is the marshalling area, where goods are prepared to be loaded up the outgoing trucks. And lastly, the loading bay, where goods are loaded up the outgoing tucks.

In the storage area, there were many different kinds of storage systems installed in ALB. We saw the Pallet Automated Storage Retrieval System (ASRS), which had 18 racks and 18 layers on each rack. The Bin ASRS, which had 5 aisle, 5 cranes and a total of 29,000 bins. Other storage systems we saw were Very Narrow Aisle (VNA), Mobile Racking System, which was identified at the receiving bay and the Vertical Carousel System, which was identified on the 3^rd Floor and helped stored the medical necessities.

We had also identified the few Material Handling Equipments (MHEs) that are used in the inbound and outbound of the ALB. The forklift, pallet jack and the laser guided vehicle. We identified the laser guided vehicle at the receipt area, however, the vehicle was not in use at it was spoilt.

At the end, we finally saw the delivery trucks that ALB utilizes, which was the 40ft box truck.

The field trip was a fun, interesting and an enriching one. It helped all of us in many ways and I hope that we have more field trips like that in the future.

Zen's reflection

After visiting the Army Logistic Base, I have got a better understanding about how a warehouse functions and the different aspects of it. I’ve seen the 5 main operation areas of a warehouse in ALB; Good-in, Main Storage, Order-picking area, Marshalling and lastly Goods-out area. At ALB, I recognize that it uses a through-flow warehousing floor layout, of which the entrance and exit are opposite each other. My group mates and I estimates that the height of each warehousing floor of ALB building is around 12M high. ALB uses different storage systems, such as the Pallet ASRS, which is used to store vehicle parts. Also the Bin ASRS, for smaller items. There was Vertical Carousel System to store the medical products. It uses the goods to picker concept. I was asked to try to stop the carousel system by putting my hands in between the racks. The VNA; very narrow aisles uses a wire guided system to guide the cranes to the stocks. This makes the picker’s job so much easier. In order to have a better utilization of space, mobile racking is also part of the storage system. We were shown on how to move the racks and it will b immediately stopped when anyone enters the aisles, so interesting! While walking around ALB, we saw a few material handling equipments such as forklift, pallet jack. The workers there also showed us how to use it! Lastly, at the Goods-out area, we saw the 40 feet box truck that is used to deliver the different goods to different army camps. It was a very useful trip for Logistics students as it enhances our understanding for warehouse. I look forward to more of this field trips coming up.

Verena's Reflection

This was the first time I entered the Army Logistics Base and It was a great learning journey for me.

Being able to see the hands-on process instead of just reading it from the text was a great help in my learning process. I witnessed the unloading, reserve storage, picking, marshalling and loading area, all the 5 key areas of a warehouse.

ALB has a ‘through flow’ system of goods. The unloading bay is at one end, while the loading bay is at the other end. Their reserve storage is fully automated. No human personnel is allowed into the storage area unless otherwise specified. It is very effective and efficient as the items handled are in large quantities and bulky. If it were to be handled manually, a lot of manpower and time would be needed to fulfill the order. They also make use of the Pallet ASRS and Bin ASRS. The Pallet ASRS is for larger items whereas the Bin ASRS is for smaller items. Their order picking area is also automated by the carousel system. The order picker will key in the product they need into the computer and the goods will come to the picker where he will take what he needs. This reduces the amount of mistakes committed and saves the picker a lot of travelling time. They also have the mobile racking system at the receiving bay. I saw for myself how much space can actually be utilised by adopting this system.

Justin's Reflection

During my recent visit to the Army Logistics Base(ALB), it was a wonderful opportunity to be able to experience everything first hand. Once in there, I realised that they adopt the through flow layout and also managed to see the Goods in, main storage, order picking, marshalling and goods out areas. A total of 5 different kinds of storage systems are used in ALB, which are the Pallet ASRS, Bin ASRS, very narrow aisle(VNA), mobile racking and the vertical carousel system. It was really helpful to actually see how these systems work as it was very hard to understand without being able to see it happening. At the receiving bay, the powered mobile racking system is used and the goods are transferred to the main storage area as soon as they are received. I also learnt that the vertical carousel system is used to store only small items, for example medical products. It was located at the 3rd floor and retrieving the items were extremely fast, allowing the goods-to-picker concept. The material handling equipment seen at the inbound and outbound areas were the forklift and pallet jack. This allows the staff to move large pallets around the areas swiftly. Using large 40FT trucks to deliver their goods, it helps them to save on delivery costs since having larger truck loads would benefit the company with economies of scale. Thus it was a great learning journey at ALB and I am very grateful for that opportunity.

The group's introduction

I am Justin Lim, 18 years old and currently studying at Temasek Polytechnic. I enjoy playing tennis, soccer, table tennis and going to the gym. Other interests include going for buffets, fishing, listening to music. Of the few, it is only tennis where i play competitively for school and even clubs outside. Apart from just playing, I also do private coaching for tennis during my free time.

My name is Shaun, I am 19 this year and my star sign is Leo. A brief description about myself is that I am a very

helpful and caring person. I always like to help my friends and fellow classmates whenever they need help and approach me. My hobbies include creating and listening to music, and watching and playing football. I play a few instruments, like the drums, guitar and bass guitar.

I am Zen Low, 18 years old, currently pursuing a diploma in Logistics and Operations Management in Temasek Polytechnic. I am a cheerful and friendly person. I am a national bodybuilder and I have won quite a few bodybuilding titles during the past 2 years. I just won a bronze medal in the 2008 Asian bodybuilding Championships held in HongKong this July. I love to eat alot. However, due to the constraints of my diet, I have to stick to almost plain and tasteless food during the pre-contest period. For bodybuilding, we have to shed off excessive water and fats in our body to attain the dry and lean look on stage. Despite the toughness in this sport, I have a deep passion for bodybuilding. Apart from bodybuilding, I do lead my life like a normal teenager. I hang out with my friends and also plays computer games. Pool is my usual game during my free time. Bodybuilding is an expensive sport, therefore I have to work in order to sustain myself. I am doing freelance personal training as a part time job.

I am Verena, 18 turning 19 next year in April. Besides schooling in Temasek Polytechnic, i also work part-time as a retail assistant and give tuition. It is not easy juggling school and work, but with proper time management it is possible to get by. I enjoy going to bangkok for holidays. so much so that i can walk around the place like singapore. I am currently trying to learn the language so i can put it to good use in the future!

ALB worksheet given during the trip

1) describe/illustrate the type of flow ( through or U flow) of warehousing floor layout in ALB
Through flow.

-Receive/ Main storage/Order picking/Marshalling/ Goods out

2) Estimate the height of each warehousing floor of ALB building.
12M

3) Identify all the different storage systems that installed at ALB.
Pallet ASRS-18 racks and 18 layers
Bin ASRS- 5 aisles 5 cranes. For smaller item. Crane speed- 60bin/hr/crane.
VNA very narrow aisle- wire guided system
Mobile racking
Vertical carousel system

4) Where did you see the powered mobile racking system?
Receiving bay

5) Where did you see the vertical carousel system?
3rd floor. Used to store medical products. Small items.

6) What are the MHEs used in the inbound and outbound of ALB?
Forklift, pallet jack

7) Where did you see the laser guided vehicle
Receipt area.

8) What type of the delivery trucks are used at the ALB?
40 FT box truck.