The emergency request at Frankfurt Airport was that the high-bay racking was no longer working. We immediately began fault-finding. Quite a lot of our emergency requests start like this or similarly. Customers merely report that the system is not working: what exactly has failed, they often do not know themselves, because they lack the necessary specialist maintenance staff and usually only the machine operators or shift supervisors call.
Repair of the drive unit of a high-bay warehouse at Frankfurt Airport
work diary
Emergency call-out at Frankfurt Airport: high-bay warehouse down. Worn sprocket found, chain conveyor drive rebuilt, production back on line the same day.
Quite a lot of our emergency requests start like this or similarly. Customers merely report that the system is not working: what exactly has failed, they often do not know themselves, because they lack the necessary specialist maintenance staff and usually only the machine operators or shift supervisors call.
Here too, the most sensible approach for us was to head out to the site with our emergency vehicle and get our own overview of what was actually defective.
After some time spent on fault-finding, we found out that the roller conveyor would no longer convey, which allowed us to narrow down the cause somewhat.
We discovered that a sprocket of the drive unit was worn, causing the drive chain to jam and partially jump. As a result, the system went into fault mode and not only the chain conveyor was taken out of operation, but the entire high-bay warehouse.
As our customer works in airport logistics, the repair had to be very quick. Fortunately, the customer had the appropriate spare parts in stock on site, so we were able to start repairing the system straight away.
To do this, we disassembled the chain conveyor, removed all drive chains and sprockets, replaced all old parts with new ones and reassembled it.
After adjusting and aligning the chain systems and track systems, we were able to put the system back into operation and the customer's production could continue without faults.
Förderanlagen und Hochregalsysteme, die in zeitkritische Systemen und Produktionen eingesetzt werden, sollten vorbeugend gut gewartet und in Stand gehalten werden, um solche Ausfallzeiten zu reduzieren. Wie ein Umbau am laufenden System geplant wird, steht im Ratgeber Regalanlage im laufenden Betrieb umbauen.
What else we handle at the airport – with access to the security area and passes already in place – is described at Installation and maintenance at Frankfurt Airport.
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About the author
Tobias Schott
Managing director of Omega Mounting GmbH, Rodgau · more than 20 years of hands-on experience in installation and maintenance
A trained mechatronics technician, at home in maintenance, servicing and industrial installation since 2004 – first alongside his father, and since 2012 with Omega Mounting: from the overhead conveyor in Frankfurt to the crane system in a new-build hall. As appointed person for lifting operations, he plans and leads lifting operations in data centers and on industrial sites in the Rhine-Main region, is an instructor and examiner for cranes, aerial work platforms and telehandlers, and a safety officer. On assignments abroad he is known as the "German Troubleshooter" – the one you call when things get stuck on site. He did not learn what quality means from a manual, but from his father: Made in Germany as a standard for his own work, not as a label. That is why quality comes first at Omega Mounting – before speed and before price. The project diary shows the jobs his team has planned and carried out – without customer names, but with everything that can be learned from them.
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