Storeplan was engaged to design, supply and install high-end storage systems to two separate facilities for Mercedes Benz. Both sites are situated within the Parramatta region, Sydney New South Wales.
Mercedes Benz Castle Hill – 2 Anella Ave, Castle Hill
Mercedes Benz Distribution Warehouse and Service Centre Seven Hills – 8 Abbott Rd, Seven Hills
Storeplan’s Directors, Ben and Cameron Firth began collaborating with Tony Duggan (Mercedes Benz Parts Manager) on the setup required for both Mercedes Castle Hill showroom and service centre & Seven Hills parts warehouse and service centre. Castle Hill was a new dealership and Seven Hills was the new facility being built to keep up with demand for parts storage within the eastern region of Australia.
The brief from Mercedes was to maximise the limited footprint the current warehouse storage system setup had, by creating solutions that increased warehouse efficiencies within in a safe, methodical system for the approximate thirty-thousand spare parts kept between each facility.
Solving the first issue of space, both sites were fitted out with the R3000 Systems – Multi-Tier at Seven Hills and single tier at Castle Hill. R3000 Modular Systems offer flexible framework configurations for bay-size adjustments. The two-tier modular storage system had an overall footprint of 16430mm x 16142mm. The extreme versatility of this system allowed for better customisation and accessibility for the unique parts that are kept onsite, whilst providing space for the large Interlock 1600 Selective Pallet Racking system to be installed. For aesthetics and brand presence, Mercedes also decided to have the systems painted to match their signature Mercedes Grey.
With regards to safety, the challenge for Mercedes at the Seven Hills facility was to ensure that the goods being stored on the mezzanine levels were easily accessible and placed securely onto the second floor and brought down in an efficient and safe process for their warehouse/customer service floor teams.
Storeplan’s solution to goods being placed on the upper mezzanine floor, was installing the Verge Rollover Safety Pallet Gate – a system designed to increase the safety and operational efficiency of elevated work areas by securing the exposed edge along elevated pallet drop areas. When one side of the safety gate is opened, the other side closes simultaneously, ensuring the safety of the team. This system is also run by remote control, so no physical hands are placed on the system whilst in motion. Click here to see our Verge Safety Pallet Gate in action.
Mercedes’s next challenge was to select a process that was the safest and most efficient way to get parts from the upper mezzanine level, down to the ground floor. The team at Storeplan designed and supplied a custom gravity conveyor system which allowed goods to be placed on a chute on the upper level and with minimal effort, be sent to land safely on the ground floor, ready for distribution.
‘Once we had an idea of what Tony and the team at Mercedes required, our team commenced our due diligence and arranged numerous site visits to ensure we could map out the best fit out. We had a look at their existing parts areas which had the basics of what they were hoping to replicate at the new Seven Hills facility, just in a much smaller and simpler scale.
Next steps involved Mercedes communicating with us the different parts (dimensions, details etc) and what sort of quantities they were looking to facilitate and provide at the new site.
Numerous changes to the design were made until we had the overall footprint that we needed to accommodate all parts. It is our mission and passion to ensure we curate the best design for our clients.’ – Cameron, Director
Watch the video below to find out more.
