It is called "service" but it means support, continued assistance and "tailored" training. It is called "service" but it means making the most of all the specific features of an automatic storage or shelving system.
Ferretto Group incorporates its more than 60 years of experience in a targeted training service dedicated to the personnel in charge with its storage systems. In this way, the company’s materials storage and handling systems can fully serve the needs and meet the requirements of any individual company. In the sphere of Service activities, training is just one of the added values offered by the Ferretto Group.
Ferretto Group helps customers make the most of their systems by providing tailor-made training activities. This is a process that involves the customer from the commissioning stage, during which the customer's personnel join the Ferretto Group staff to begin getting familiar with the units and procedures employed in the storage system. Targeted training on the management of inbound and outbound goods, the tracking of materials, and the automatic and manual handling cycles allows the staff to immediately learn how to properly use the machines and the system as a whole.
Thanks to adequate knowledge of the systems, customers can maximize their potential and timely identify any necessary corrective actions, such as the preventive replacement of components subject to wear or the regulation of power transmission members when a certain number of operating cycles is reached. In this way, storage systems can be managed efficiently and safely.
In this regard, the training on inspections offered by the Ferretto Group is also very important. In fact, with the aid of the user manual, the customer can define and constantly monitor the required maintenance activities and establish a continuous relationshipwith the Ferretto Group team. The latter, based on the results of the inspections, can give instructions and possibly intervene to ensure proper and continuous operation of the machines.
Further training phases concern troubleshooting, problem solving and the use of remote assistance and the helpdesk: all aspects that guarantee the efficiency and timeliness of any corrective measure when needed.
Training is not the only activity with which the Ferretto Group Service department supports the companies that choose the quality and innovation of its storage systems.
Other fundamental services include:
To give an example of how all the above materializes in customer service, we would like to illustrate the main phases of the activities carried out by Ferretto Group for the construction of a self-supporting automatic storage system supplied to the global tire manufacturer Michelin.
Phase 1 - Support in the design of the project
Ferretto Group assisted the customer since the beginning, during the study and design phase, which was aimed at identifying the most efficient storage system, which should be able to meet Michelin's needs and to best support its production processes.
Step 2 - Analysis of the customer's specific needs and requests
Then, the Ferretto Group Service team analyzed every single aspect of the project and every single requirement of the customer. These activities included the analysis of the performance needed, the request for the certification authorizing use of Hazardous materials (carbon black, in fact, is an explosive material), the identification of accessories such as Hazardous certified shutters and pallet cleaning machinery, the management of all internal transfers via slave pallets that are stacked and de-stacked by automated systems according to the needs of the operators and the optimization of storage locations.
Step 3 - Preparation and installation
The shipment of the equipment and the logistics for its onsite assembly were planned in advance, and a framework agreement with the shipper was also reached during the preliminary phase. This was indispensable in view of the distance and the amount of material to be sent. At this point, Ferretto Group developed the project, produced the materials and proceeded to the construction phase by installing shelving, panels and electromechanical components.
Step 4-On-site support
After setting up the storage system, the Ferretto Group technicians carried out the commissioning operations, supplementing their own team with two staff members from a local company who, through appropriate training, achieved operational autonomy and the necessary competence to provide technical support to the customer when needed.
These two staff members also monitored the system for 3 months after commissioning, providing support during the customer's production ramp-up until the 24-hour production target was reached.
Step 5 - Service Activities
To ensure the maximum efficiency of the storage system, the Service department currently provides two different support services: remote assistance 24 hours a day and four cycles of "preventive maintenance" carried out on-site and lasting 4 weeks each. During this routine maintenance, the Ferretto Group technicians will carry out inspection and registration activities on transmission equipment and replace any consumables. They will work together with the customer's maintenance team, as one of the objectives is also to train the local staff until they are completely autonomous.
