First-in, first-out warehousing is critical when handling perishable goods such as bread and cakes. “Double handling is not uncommon within the shipping area of a bakery, but this inefficient product handling practice makes product tracking much more difficult and provides more opportunity for lost, misplaced or damaged product,” said Ken Mentch, sales manager, Workhorse Automation, Oxford, PA.

Workhorse Automation developed a freezer management system based on its automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS). The system tracks finished products through positive pallet displacements as it moves each pallet load from the robotic palletizer, into the 4-level freezer racking structure and then onto a truck. “The latest freezer management system installed can contain up to three days of production equaling more than 6 million buns,” Mr. Mentch said.

The Food Safety Modernization Act calls for greater than ever control over the movement of food products. Bakers would be smart to use dynamic tracking of their goods from raw materials through processing and into and out of the warehouse or freezer.