VISIT TO MONTAGUE’S NEW COLD STORE AT

TRUGANINA OUTSIDE MELBOURNE

Montague Cold Storage has been in business for over sixty years.

Family owned, Montague’s started life as a supplier of fruit and flowers

before becoming one of the largest cold store operators in the states of

Victoria and Tasmania with over 140,000 pallet spaces available.

Phase 1 of Montague’s new Truganina store was commissioned at the

end of 2014 and has a capacity of 30,000 pallet spaces. I was delighted

to be shown around the facility by the Facilities Director, Glenn Edwards.

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The facility has a separate entrance and waiting zone for trucks.

Only a third of the available area has been utilised in phase 1.

LOADING AREA

At 20 metres wide the loading dock has ample

space to make up loads. Pedestrians are

encouraged to use the elevated walk way. There

is also a demarkated walk way next to the loading

bays, with pedestrian gates at each bay to

prevent fork truck\pedestrian accidents

A well protected pallet conveyor allows picked

pallets to be shrink wrapped and then returned to

the freezer to await dispatch. It can also shrink

wrap incoming pallets and take them into the

freezer.

The high speed doors for the conveyor in and out

feeds have fans which prevent a build up of

frozen condensation.

Ammonia detector and alarm situated on the

elevated pedestrian walkway.

Double leafed insulated and forklift proof doors

have been used. Note the special replaceable

tiles on both sides of the door in this heavy use

area.

Freezer door entry protection is substantial and

far more than would be normally seen in South

African stores.

LOADING DOCKS

The loading docks at Truganina have been designed for maximum

efficiency and in line with Health and Safety legislation. After entering

the site through a special entrance, the trucks wait at a marshalling point

until directed to a particular loading bay. Backing up to the loading bay is

assisted by ground guides which make sure that the rear of the truck is

correctly placed. Then the trailer’s rear protection bar is locked in

position. Until the lock is in place, the internal loading bay door will not

open nor can the dock leveller be activated. The lock prevents the truck

from moving away from the loading dock with a forklift inside. The driver

then enters vestibule of the loading dock through the door and opens the

truck doors. The air seals activate to prevent the ingress of warm moist

air, the dock leveller is put into position and the internal door opens.

While waiting for the truck to be loaded/offloaded, the driver has access

to bathroom facilities and a canteen. He is observed by the cold store

staff as they must sign off that he is fit to drive the truck to its next

destination. As his load is processed, the driver stands on an

observation platform in the loading dock to check the pallets. When the

doors are sealed and the paperwork completed, the lock is released and

the truck leaves via a gate that only opens when the cold store staff

have checked that everything is in order.

Loading dock showing ground guides and driver

entrance. The traffic lights show when the truck is

free to leave.

Driver entrance from inside showing door to

viewing platform.

Internal door to loading dock area. Note the light

to assist with loading, the viewing window and the

door protection.

Extensive use is made of sensors to prevent

unauthorised actions in the loading bays.

Trailers which are processed without a

prime mover must be supported.

Dispatch gate.

The truck schedule in the control room

resembles an airport departure board.

Rear protection bar locks are in use at most

Australian cold stores.

FREEZER ROOMS

The freezer rooms are constructed from PIR panels. The local fire

authority required that the freezer ceilings be fitted with sprinklers. Had

the cold store been placed on the other side of the road, it would have

fallen under another fire authority making sprinklers unnecessary. Hitting

a sprinkler head will not in itself activate the system. Excessive heat

must also be picked up by sensors.

The freezer rooms are equipped with double deep racking. Case picking

is an important aspect of the business and takes place inside the

freezer. Product is supplied to the pick faces via roller beds. Stackers

are not allowed in lanes where case picking takes place. Racked picking

bays have been made wider than normal to allow for better access to the

cases. Space has been created underneath the roller beds to allow room

for the picker’s feet.

The racking is of high quality and well protected. The upper levels have

guides to assist with placing the pallets.

Ceiling shot showing the sprinkler pipes.

Pallet location information is on the rack

frames. This particular frame spans a floor

joint hence the larger slots and bolts in the

load beam to allow for movement.

Pallet racking is 8 levels high with all pallets being 1200mms in the height. The Australian pallet base is 1165mms by 1165 mms and has slots into which the load beams fit. Cold store lights are operated by movement sensors and are LEDs.

Glenn Edwards, Montague’s Facilities Director,

shows how the extra space in the picking bays

assists the case picking process. Note the

protective fencing above Glenn’s head.

Goal posts and rack end protection are welded to plates cast in the floor. The welding is designed to fail before the plate is ripped out of the concrete.

Rack frame protectors.

Rack frame protectors are

anchored with M20 bolts.

MATERIALS HANDLING EQUIPMENT

Stackers with extendable forks are used to place and retrieve pallets in

the double deep racking. Their front wheels must be able to go under the

bottom level of pallets. Cases are picked via man on pallet movers.

Stand on forklifts are used in the trucks. The stackers have no heated

cabs and the fork lifts/pallet movers are all of the stand-up variety. High

quality freezer clothing is worn by all cold store employees.

The battery bay is well thought out including intelligent chargers which

include automatic maintenance of battery water levels. The pallet

movers have inbuilt printers and the scanners are attached to the

machine with extendable restraints. Every machine has a driver control

device, which limits who can drive what, and also sends information

regarding impacts to the responsible manager.

A stand on forklift

On board printer

Scanner attachment

New narrow mast stacker with

camera to assist with high level

pallet placings.

Driver control unit on every

machine.

COLDSTORE CONSTRUCTION FEATURES

Some cold store construction features are attached for interest.

On lower levels, cold store outer cladding is made from

perforated IBR sheeting. The holes allow for ventilation

but prevent direct sunlight on the insulation panels.

Freezer ceilings are angled to allow moisture to run off. Cable support bracing is insulated to minimise temperature transfer. Main columns are not insulated inside the freezer but only at the top with insulation and electrical heater cables. The column base rests on a wooden block.

The freezer box is constructed

from PIR Panels.

A heated glycol/water mixture is used when

necessary to keep the subfloor above zero degrees

Celsius. Each circuit has its own shut off valve.

Water is collected from the roof of

the freezer and stored for use in the

condensers.

The switch room is air

conditioned.

Outside lights can be easily

serviced from the roof space.

Inside a “penthouse” evaporator.

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

Despite the repeal of the Australian carbon tax, direct electricity and

supply charges are a cold store’s highest individual cost. Apart from

250mm thick PIR panels, LED lighting with movement sensor activation

and strict freezer door control, the compressors, condenser and

penthouse evaporator fans have all been fitted with variable speed

drives. A prominent member of the RWTA’s (Refrigerated Warehouse

and Transport Association) energy efficiency committee, Glenn has

strenuously promoted the use of energy saving technology. Although still

in a start-up phase, energy usage is 50% less when compared to other

cold stores in the Montague Group. Average energy usage is a fantastic

1.3KWhrs per M3 per month. The Powerstar Voltage Optimiser has not

yet been commissioned.

The engine room has been built to

accommodate future extensions.

Powerstar voltage optimisation system waiting

to be installed. It will match the incoming supply

to the needs of the equipment and return any

excess to the grid. A12 to 15% energy saving is

expected.