Ice Cream Dock distribution

[gwapa]

Hi All
I am working in a ICE CREAM PROJECT using Nh3 as refrigerante.
The main Storage Walk-in freezer will be at -28°C
There will be a Picking Room at -15°C . That is ,the differents presentation of Ice creams are taking to this room at -15°C to be palletizer and be ready to load in the refrigerated trailer.

Many leveler manufacturer advise one to use a cubicle beetween the Picking Room and the refrigereted trailer to located the leveler ,etc.

Other manufacturer advise to locate the leveler inside the picking room (-15°C) but using a vertical type.

The question is : which is the best approch nowdays? Or what is the state of the art technology nowdays?
Appreciate your advise
Regards
Gwapa

[Josip]

Hi, gwapa

Many leveler manufacturer advise one to use a cubicle beetween the Picking Room and the refrigereted trailer to located the leveler ,etc.

Regards
Gwapa

I was in Moscow in Nestle and install above type of dock houses/shelters with adjustable levelers and inflatable seals for trailers...seems quite good...outside of loading area....

Complete project is a little bit different....palletizing area is before cold store directly after production area.....and loading area is after cold store...similar we did in CR for Dos Pinos...

Best regards, Josip

[gwapa]

Hi Josip
Look the following video
What do you think about ?
Regards
Gwapa


http://www.ritehitevideos.com/swfs/RHVideo.html

[US Iceman]

Hi gwapa,

From your description it sounds like you are looking for ways to seal the doors to the outside ambient when loading the trucks. And, also how to stage the product between the storage freezer and preparation area (palletizing, wrapping, etc).

The dock area is what I would call a "movement area" where the ice cream pallets are moved from the staging/palletizing area to the waiting trucks. As far as the tightness of the dock doors you want them to be able to reduce the outside air infiltration as much as possible. This is one point where the dock seals and levelers really provide some benefit.

Secondly, you have the dock area itself. What temperature will you maintain in this space? The cooling of this area helps to reduce the infiltration load from the docks to the freezer/staging area.

The way I look at this problem is this: how many pallets will be loaded per day? Can the staging area become part of the storage freezer by placing the wrapped pallets on a conveyor and then directed to a -15C space for movement to the trucks?

I think the best solution is the one that offers the lowest energy cost and least disruption to product flow to the trailer.

[gwapa]

Hi US Iceman
I am attaching some sketch in order to mach concepts
Normally you have a dock area close to 5°C.This is the lowest room temperature when you evaporate at 0°C and you are using air defrost.

In our case the dock area will be at -15 °C, due to the fact that the ice cream could lost its organic a fisical propierties during dispach.

Now, there are are two way ( which I know) to comunicate the dock at -15°C with the refrigerated truck:

1. creating a cubicle inbetween the dock and the trunck where you locate the leveler, seal,etc.This cubicle wil be at ambient temperature
2. Using vertical leveler located inside the dock. The leveler will be hidraulic or electical powered

The leveler will low throught a refrigerated door .Outside the door will be located the seal
Please look http://www.ritehitevideos.com/RHV.html

If you observe closely you can deduct that both solution are energy equivalent . However the solution with vertical leveler look cleaner that the solution whith cubicles. In other hand the mantenince of the vertical leveler in a room at -15°C doesn´t look confortable. Also the hidraulic oil look as something special for low temperature.
Question:
Could be a third solution?
Have anyone experience whith vertical leveler inside rooms at -15°C?
I appreciate your very kind comments
Regards
Gwapa

[US Iceman]

Hi gwapa,

Thank you for the detailed information. As I review this information several items come to mind.

1. Before the dock doors are opened to the truck, does the customer have a requirement for the trailer temperature to be down to some minimum temperature?
2. How many pallets can be loaded into the cubicle at one time? This may slow down the loading of the truck.

Here is a link for your review. This may allow you to design the facility for quick movement of the product from the freezer to the picking area and reduce the impact of temperature change to the product.

http://www.hcr-inc.com/

[Josip]

Hi, gwapa

Question:
Could be a third solution?
Have anyone experience whith vertical leveler inside rooms at -15°C?
I appreciate your very kind comments
Regards
Gwapa

....there is always another solution

...about vertical leveler inside cold room at -15*C I do not think that is practical, but...who is listening me

....we installed dock levelers and inflatable power shelter within dock houses...all outside of loading area...

see attached photo..

Best regards, Josip

[gwapa]

Thanks Josip / US Iceman

Normally the trucks are refrigerated trailer which are at -28/-25°C.

When the back side of the trailer hits the seal or shelter which are located araund the cubicle or "Vestibulo" then the dock operator open the trailer´s back door and also the cubicle door
The cubicle is a small room 8 ft wide and 10 ft long and 9 ft hight.
As soon the operator open the cubicle door a corridor (tunnel) is formed between the picking area (-15°C) and the trailer .In this way the trailer is loaded without lost of time.The cubicle is a small room so the ice formation is also small and located in the cubicle. After the trailer is loaded and go away the cubicle door is closed .The cubicle becomes warmer with the atmosferic air and then the ice melts.As you can see this is not a clean process.
Beside that from the desing point of view (archquitecture) it is not nice to have a lot of cubicle along dock area ,that is the reason I am looking for the vertical leveler inside the picking area, but I don´t have experince with this vertical leveler inside cold areas. You know the oil ,mantenance and so on.
Thanks for your information and picture
Regards
Gwapa

[Josip]

Hi, gwapa

.......Beside that from the desing point of view (archquitecture) it is not nice to have a lot of cubicle along dock area ,that is the reason I am looking for the vertical leveler inside the picking area, but I don´t have experince with this vertical leveler inside cold areas. You know the oil ,mantenance and so on.
Thanks for your information and picture
Regards
Gwapa

....please forget about architects.....you need something practical not nice to see ....vertical levelers are OK for normal storage areas with positive temps...

.....you answered to your question....what ever you no need within cooling area keep it outside...less headache

Best regards, Josip

[TXiceman]

Remember...Architects make it pretty, engineers make it work. Generally architects and engineers do not play well together.

Ken

[gwapa]

You both are rihgt but it is a very hard fight with the Architects

I personally don´t like the cubicles But I think there are not other alternative

thanks
Gwapa