The digital transformation of ABB’s instrumentation warehouse 

ABB said its addition of robots, motion control, and digital twin tools led to a 90% improvement in overall logistics efficiency.

ABB’s Measurements & Analytics factory in the Italian village of Ossuccio — situated on the shores of Lake Como — produces pressure transmitters that enable industrial companies around the world to measure, monitor, and control applied force. This technology is key for both safety and efficiency and is a fundamental component in industrial digital transformation. 

Today, the Ossuccio factory exports the majority of its components to other ABB factories around the world through its logistics center. It’s a midsize operation that has relied on warehouse workers to prepare products for shipment.

But ABB, like its industrial customers, continues to strive for efficiency through innovation — regardless of the size of the operation. So, the company used its own in-house automation, robotics technology, and simulation capabilities to modernize the historic facility, which has been on Lake Como since World War II.

The modernization effort included the addition of ABB’s OmniVance FlexBuffer robot system, an advanced automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS) that manages all of the warehouse loading and offloading activities. According to the company, the robot not only transformed the warehouse into a fully automated operation, but it has also led to 90% improvement in overall logistics efficiency.

“We wanted to improve logistics at the Ossuccio site while also enhancing the entire manufacturing process,” said Mariafrancesca Madrigrano, general manager of the ABB Measurement & Analytics factory. “Upgrading the existing warehouse was an important project that we did together with our colleagues in robotics in order to align with the current state-of-the-art automation.”

The ABB Ossuccio factory is specialized in the production of pressure transmitters. Source: ABB
The ABB Ossuccio factory is specialized in the production of pressure transmitters. Source: ABB

ABB configures its own robots

The solution consists of two FlexBuffer systems connected by a conveyor, each one equipped with ABB robots. The control architecture includes ABB Group’s B&R Industrial Automation PLCs and HMIs to drive the conveyor system and robot control from ABB’s OmniCore control platform. 

“These are palletizing/depalletizing robots handling a combination of either boxes or totes within a combined application,” said Craig McDonnell, business-line managing director of ABB Robotics. “In this application, the FlexBuffer system is managing the inbound or outbound location of the totes, balancing of the tote or boxes between two separate buffering systems, and the complete software architecture to manage that.”

To that end, FlexBuffer allows for easy transitions between buffering, storing, and sequencing tasks. It combines temporary storage and sequencing functions to provide additional functionality over traditional ASRS.

The mixed-item variant of the FlexBuffer enables the user to store a wide variety of box sizes, all being handled with the same robot gripper. And the dynamic racking positions all boxes with minimal loss of space. 

The application at the ABB warehouse is an example of the scalability of the system, as the company‘s robots are typically found in larger e-commerce sites, McDonnell said.

“Over recent years, we’ve found there’s a big need for manufacturing processes to drive greater efficiency,” he explained. “Like in this plant, they were using a lot of robots in the end processes, be it welding or whatever it might be that you need for that specific process.”

“But the intralogistics feeding typically was the last part to be automated in many of these smaller factories. And the trouble was, it just ends up being too custom,” added McDonnell. “So, we’ve spent quite a bit of time coming up with a standardized modular system that you can use in small to medium-size facilities.”

The ABB OmniVance FlexBuffer System is a fully automated storage and retrieval system.
The ABB OmniVance FlexBuffer System is a fully automated storage and retrieval system. Source: ABB

Digital twins and digital transformation

The system was designed in ABB’s RobotStudio, a simulation tool for robot applications, which created a complete digital twin architecture. This reduces commissioning time as well as enables remote access after the installation. 

“In the digital twin, we build a complete duplicate all the way down to the deep robot motion in the actual runtime engines. Then you have much quicker commissioning times and troubleshooting assistance,” McDonnell explained.

While the decision to deploy the ASRS in the warehouse was driven by customer needs, the digital transformation aspect was an extra benefit.

“The reason digital transformation is important is because the goal of ABB is to serve the customer better,” said Madrigrano. “The big advantages have been that we’ve reduced the possibility of human error, and we’ve reduced throughput time.”

And the entire workforce benefits. Adoption of the system has enhanced working conditions for operators, alleviating the physical strain associated with manually handling heavy boxes.

In addition, many people were reallocated to other manufacturing areas that required additional manpower, giving the factory a greater flexibility during peak production times. 

Stephanie Neil, WTWH Media
Written by

Stephanie Neil

Stephanie Neil is an executive editor at WTWH Media specializing in digital transformation, automation, AI, analytics, IoT, cybersecurity, robotics, simulation, and workforce issues. She shares the end-user perspective on the business value of operations processes.

Neil previously worked at CPG Next, OEM Magazine, and Automation World. She is based in Scituate, Mass.