Victoria's SWH automates distribution centre

Victoria's South West Healthcare (SWH) will automate its new Regional Logistics Distribution Centre (RLDC) in Warrnambool thanks to a partnership with supply chain automation vendor Dematic.

The new RLDC, which commenced construction in January 2023, is relocating from its original location at the Warrnambool Base hospital campus to make way for the Victorian Government-funded Warrnambool Base Hospital redevelopment project at the existing hospital site that includes freeing up space for vital health services within a brand new multi-storey clinical tower.

The RLDC will provide goods, equipment, linen and warehousing services to the Warrnambool Base hospital as well as other public health services in the region.

SWH provides more than 150 medical, nursing, mental health, allied health and community health services to the 110,000 people who live across the South West of Victoria and in Warrnambool, one of the fastest-growing regional cities in Victoria. It is also the region’s largest employer, with 1996 people working across multiple locations.

The new RLDC will feature a fully equipped, purpose-built linen service and a fully automated centralised warehouse supporting the varied health services — providing clean linen and health service supplies to public health services in the region. Replacing the existing, outdated facility will provide a safer and more contemporary work environment for the South West Healthcare Linen Services and Supply staff members.

The Dematic automated order fulfilment solution features an AutoStore goods-to-person (GTP) system that provides automation technology innovation with a high level of flexibility for future growth. It requires a minimal footprint, needing up to 80% less space than an equivalent manual racking layout, which requires clear space for forklifts and personnel in aisles. AutoStore bins stack vertically and don’t need clear aisles.

Items required to fulfil orders arrive from the AutoStore storage system to the GTP workstations precisely when they are needed. Operators then build orders at the ergonomically designed, high-rate workstations efficiency and safely. The system is highly configurable and scalable, with the option to add extra modular storage within the AutoStore grid to accommodate future product growth and storage demands.

The Dematic solution will be integrated into South West Healthcare’s host system with Dematic’s warehouse control system software, providing complete system management and optimisation capabilities. The new RLDC is due to be completed in late 2023.