Komatsu has opened an Innovation Hub – which showcases the company’s focus on innovation and technology leadership across all aspects of its business – as part of its new Wacol Distribution Centre in Brisbane. The Innovation Hub is a facility within the Wacol DC, that “demonstrates Komatsu’s vision to empower a sustainable future where people, businesses and our planet can thrive together,” says Todd Connolly, Komatsu’s General Manager, Business Transformation.
Connolly states: “It’s been designed to inspire the next generation of Komatsu employees and management, along with our customers and other stakeholders, to continue our innovation journey along with us.” The Innovation Hub provides a range of interactive exhibits that demonstrates the latest technologies in mining, quarrying and construction equipment and solutions. Exhibits cover mining automation, Komatsu SmartConstruction, digital services, sustainability, supply chain and a ‘history lane.’
“Visitors to our Innovation Hub can go from displays of classic items of Komatsu equipment, to a vision of the future with a prototype all-electric remote control excavator,” says Connolly. “We have live displays of our Komatsu machine population throughout Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia – including location, operating status and machine condition – along with a countdown to our 150th anniversary in 2051. “There are also opportunities to try out a Komatsu excavator simulator, or see how our SmartConstruction offerings are having a direct influence today on the management of our instructure and resources projects of tomorrow.”
The Innovation Hub is also a celebration of Komatsu’s century of innovation, dating back to when the company founded in May 1921. The company is celebrating its centenary in the year since the anniversary. “Since the company’s founding, innovation has been at the centre of Komatsu’s DNA, and our new Innovation Hub brings together all our technology innovations under a single roof,” Connolly says.
Komatsu has just officially opened its new Wacol Distribution Centre, built to service over 3,000 customers across Queensland, the Northern Territory, NSW, New Zealand and New Caledonia. The A$48 million facility, located in Wacol, Brisbane, represents an expansion of 70% in warehousing capacity, improving parts and components availability, further reducing turnaround times, and streamlining ordering efficiency. Covering an area of 17,500 m2, it has resulted in the creation of more than 50 new jobs within the business, and is the single largest building Komatsu has ever constructed in Australia.
According to Sean Taylor, Komatsu’s CEO, the key driver of its new Distribution Centre is to improve customer satisfaction across the regions it serves. “By using the latest in warehousing technologies, we have been able to drastically increase the efficiency of this operation, with pick rates of fast-moving parts increasing by 300% – which will contribute to faster delivery times for customers. In addition, order consolidation innovations have driven a 22% reduction in individual packages, which contributes to a lower carbon footprint – an important driver in our commitment to lower emissions. At the same time, we have achieved a six-star energy rating for the building through the use of solar power and an energy-efficient design, while 89% of our waste from the site is diverted away from landfill.”
Taylor says a critical element of the facility has been to set the highest standards in workplace health and safety. “Our Wacol Distribution Centre incorporates the latest in safety innovations, including wire guidance systems to control forklift movements, dock safety controls that ensure people are kept out of harm’s way, and zero gravity cranes to minimise manual lifting.”
Komatsu’s own technology innovations also played an important part when constructing the new facility. “In preparing this site for the new building, our earthworks contractor was able to make use of our own SmartConstruction technology,” says Taylor. “A cornerstone of Smart Construction is our intelligent Machine Control, or iMC. “SmartConstruction links machine operation directly to site design. The semi-autonomous capabilities of Komatsu dozers and excavators ensured highly accurate compliance with the design, driving productivity and safety. Furthermore, Komatsu’s drone technology worked in concert with our contractor’s iMC machines to volumetrically scan the site to determine progress, in turn feeding data into Komatsu’s Edge technology, which has the ability to process millions of data points in real time. Our project management team, along with our contractors, designers and surveyors were all able to take advantage of Smart Construction’s ability to combine 3D design data with aerial mapping and intelligent machine data, so they could visualise the project at every stage of construction.”