Thursday, December 18, 2008

Aishah's field trip reflection

The educational field trip to Army Logistic Base (ALB) in Old Choa Chu Kang Road which I went on the 28th November was such an eye-opener for me, as I got to take a look at how do logistic warehouses works and operates. It was a great experience to start with, as it has impart me with more knowledge and see the real life processes that was mentioned during the E-Lectures.

When we reached, we attended a talk which introduced us more to the company. After which, we were brought around the warehouse to see their operations and practices. ABL had stored a wide range of goods but mostly is for the Army. They had a few different storage system installed such as Mobile Racking System, Pallet ASRS, Bin ASRS, Vertical Carousel System(VCS). The person in-charge of our group during the tour explained how each storage system works and some of his colleagues showed us how each of them works. This made me understand more about what i had read in the text book and also the lectures.

ALB adopted a through flow layout; the loading and unloading bays are at the opposite ends. The main areas are Unloading Bay, Main Area (reserve)- where we saw the Laser Guided Vehicle, Order Picking (forward)- where we the VCS, Marshalling and Loading Bay. The main aspect which is important is Safety. Safety is greatly emphasized in the warehouse to prevent accidents to workers and damage to the goods.

All in all, I think it was a fruitful trip for all of us. It was helpful to aid us in understanding better how warehouses operates in reality. Just by reading and knowing from books and notes is not enough, seeing how they work physically is such a great and meaningful experience.

By Aishah

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Darren aka Ji Kai 's field trip reflection

Woooo! The trip to Army Logistics Base was very interesting as we get to see different kinds of logistics equipment and how the warehouses store their goods in an efficient way.

We had an introduction on the warehouse of how they store their goods and also their relationship with the Singapore Arm Forces. The talk was very fulfilling as it covered almost all the things that was done and gone through in ALB. After the talk, we had a walk around the place where the staff that was guiding us tell us about the different equipment and storage system that was used and how they were used. One of the storage system was the mobile rack storage system. the rack is able to move by control system in order to reduce the aisle space. My friend Karen tried the safely measure in the system by stepping into the aisle, the rack stopped moving immediately which was extremely cool. Beside mobile racking, there was also the vertical carousel system. The whole storage was very tall and it store a lot of small medical stuff like medicine or cream. There are also other storage system and safety measure in ALB.

Overall, the trip there was very interesting and also fruitful. It makes me feel that I am learning new things about this subject.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Wan Yan's field trip reflection

There was a field trip to Army Logistics Base (ALB) which was located in Choa Chu Kang. We were first given a talk about ALB and then a walk around the warehouse. The items they stored include Armaments (Weapons), General Supplies, Electronics/Optics Equipment, Auto Spares, Ordnance Equipment and Medical Supplies.

The warehouse adopts a thru flow as its loading and unloading dock are opposite of each other. There are a total of 4 storeys in the ALB building and the is lift large enough to accommodate all of us.

Some of the storage systems installed at ALB include Vertical Carousel Systems, Mobile Racking System, VMS and more.

The vertical carousel system located in the Medical Supplies Store left the deepest impression for me. The picker just needs to enter to the system what he needs and the system would automatically turn out what he needs. There are also lights to indicate which product he should pick. It is a safe system as there is a sensor that would stop the machine from moving if it senses anything obstructing the system.

We also saw the Laser Guided Vehicle at the inbound area. Unfortunately, the vehicle was in maintenance when we were there, hence we could not see exactly how it works. The person who guided us said the LGV is normally used in companies which have a lot of incoming goods daily.

In conclusion, the ALB field trip is a good chance to improve my understanding of the logistical operations and material handling in a warehouse.

By Wan Yan

Sahilah's field trip reflection

The field trip to Army Logistics Base (ALB) 3 weeks ago has definitely helped me a lot to understand better of what had been taught and brought up in e-lectures. The trip had provided me with the reality side of the operations involved in a warehouse as I was able to witness the processes at of different stages/sections.

An example of what I learnt would be the different storage systems that are installed at ALB such as mobile racking, vertical carousel and pallet racking. As ALB practices a through-flow, this facilitates movement of goods within the warehouse and ensures everything is in orderly manner. I was attracted to the way things work within the warehouse especially vertical carousel. It really shows how much technology is much of advance now.

Besides the storage systems, safety is greatly taken into high level of importance in a warehouse as our guide really stresses on this matter. Working in a warehouse can be a very risky job unless you follow the procedures properly.

Overall, it was a helpful and meaningful trip for me, and I’m sure my course mates felt the same too!

By Sahilah

Introduction of members

We are from P04 doing on the topic: Layout designs for warehousing operations. Our group consists of Aishah, Sahilah, Darren and Wan Yan.

Name: Nur Sahilah Rasid
Nickname: Ela
Birthdate: 19 April 1990
Interest: Playing music, doing some retail therapy and meeting up with friends

Name: Sia Wan Yan
Nickname: Prawn
Birthdate: 24 August 1990
Hobbies: Sleeping, eating, watching anime and dramas, listening to music

Name: Wong Ji Kai
Nickname: Darren
Birthdate: 15 October 1990
Hobbies: Watching anime, comic and manga, listening to music, playing sports, slacking

Name: Siti Aishah Bte Abdul Razak
Nickname: Aishah
Birthdate: 30 January 1990
Hobbies: Reading, Sewing, Watching Movies, Surf the Net, Listening to Music