Ocado automated/robotic warehouse fire (UK)
Ocado automated/robotic warehouse fire (UK)
(OP)
I caught the slightest whiff of information about this on another discussion forum.
The comments from the other forum indicated this facility is a highly automated warehouse distribution center with autonomous robots. A fire started, spread quickly with robots moving at rapid speed, and the facility made for robots and not necessarily humans. Apparently despite being heavily sprinklered, the place burned to the ground.
Details I have found are sketchy:
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-47160448
https://www.ifsecglobal.com/fire-news/ocado-blaze-...
Would any of our colleagues from Across The Pond care to provide enlightenment?
The comments from the other forum indicated this facility is a highly automated warehouse distribution center with autonomous robots. A fire started, spread quickly with robots moving at rapid speed, and the facility made for robots and not necessarily humans. Apparently despite being heavily sprinklered, the place burned to the ground.
Details I have found are sketchy:
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-47160448
https://www.ifsecglobal.com/fire-news/ocado-blaze-...
Would any of our colleagues from Across The Pond care to provide enlightenment?
TygerDawg
Blue Technik LLC
Virtuoso Robotics Engineering
www.bluetechnik.com
RE: Ocado automated/robotic warehouse fire (UK)
Brad Waybright
It's all okay as long as it's okay.
RE: Ocado automated/robotic warehouse fire (UK)
RE: Ocado automated/robotic warehouse fire (UK)
RE: Ocado automated/robotic warehouse fire (UK)
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RE: Ocado automated/robotic warehouse fire (UK)
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The Help for this program was created in Windows Help format, which depends on a feature that isn't included in this version of Windows.
RE: Ocado automated/robotic warehouse fire (UK)
Brad Waybright
It's all okay as long as it's okay.
RE: Ocado automated/robotic warehouse fire (UK)
Apparently this warehouse didn't use union robots, who have been fitted with robotic noses...https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/nze7ek/...
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RE: Ocado automated/robotic warehouse fire (UK)
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RE: Ocado automated/robotic warehouse fire (UK)
RE: Ocado automated/robotic warehouse fire (UK)
RE: Ocado automated/robotic warehouse fire (UK)
Think about all those polyethylene bins melting and burning like diesel fuel and the batteries for the robots. Unless the sprinkler system is using a special extinguishing agent, it isn't likely to do much. The high stack nature of the combustibles would make it difficult to get extinguishing media where it is needed.
700 people lost their jobs & cars aparently. Luckily for Ocado, they opened an even larger 200,000 order facility in the 3rd quarter of last year.
RE: Ocado automated/robotic warehouse fire (UK)
The problem with sloppy work is that the supply FAR EXCEEDS the demand
RE: Ocado automated/robotic warehouse fire (UK)
RE: Ocado automated/robotic warehouse fire (UK)
It really would be spectacular to see the video of that evolving disaster.
I wonder if the robots started moving faster in an ant-like frenzy to complete their tasks.
Keith Cress
kcress - http://www.flaminsystems.com
RE: Ocado automated/robotic warehouse fire (UK)
www.tynevalleyplastics.co.uk
Politicians like to panic, they need activity. It is their substitute for achievement.
RE: Ocado automated/robotic warehouse fire (UK)
Keith Cress
kcress - http://www.flaminsystems.com
RE: Ocado automated/robotic warehouse fire (UK)
We built fire resistant partitions in the building so that any incident could be contained.
And our fire suppression was closer to deluge than sprinkler, we handled a lot of flammable stuff.
And our system was tied into the fire detection/suppression system.
If the heat or smoke sensors tripped the machines in that zone simply stopped where they were, and machines in other zones all went 'home'.
This was 40 years ago .....
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P.E. Metallurgy, Plymouth Tube
RE: Ocado automated/robotic warehouse fire (UK)
the Space shuttle should be enough to convince anyone of that idea.
I suspect that with todays technology there probably exists an attitude of " that was then , today we know so much more and our computers say.....",
I suspect there was a complete absence of risk analysis in the design of this plant. and I suspect there wasnt anybody old enough to even ask " What if such and such event occurred?
Old lessons have to be relearned by every generation
RE: Ocado automated/robotic warehouse fire (UK)
For details as to the circumstances of this event, go to: https://www.eng-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=427490
John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
EX-Product 'Evangelist'
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:
The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without
RE: Ocado automated/robotic warehouse fire (UK)
Will be interesting to see if we ever do how they analysed the sprinkler layout taking into account the 1100 moving blocks above combustible material.
Remember - More details = better answers
Also: If you get a response it's polite to respond to it.
RE: Ocado automated/robotic warehouse fire (UK)
Keith Cress
kcress - http://www.flaminsystems.com
RE: Ocado automated/robotic warehouse fire (UK)
RE: Ocado automated/robotic warehouse fire (UK)
Ocado robots at Andover warehouse ‘hampered’ firefighters
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ocado-robots-at...
John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
EX-Product 'Evangelist'
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:
The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without
RE: Ocado automated/robotic warehouse fire (UK)
RE: Ocado automated/robotic warehouse fire (UK)
www.tynevalleyplastics.co.uk
Politicians like to panic, they need activity. It is their substitute for achievement.
RE: Ocado automated/robotic warehouse fire (UK)
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P.E. Metallurgy, Plymouth Tube
RE: Ocado automated/robotic warehouse fire (UK)
RE: Ocado automated/robotic warehouse fire (UK)
It seems clear that AI applied to the physical world requires all the usual senses (vision, feel, smell, etc.).
Sooner or later we will being seeing Autonomous Vehicles wandering around, oblivious to the fact that they're on fire....or worse.
I'm not sure that this seemingly rather-obvious conclusion has yet been 'hoisted aboard' by the applicable industries.
RE: Ocado automated/robotic warehouse fire (UK)
RE: Ocado automated/robotic warehouse fire (UK)
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-hampshire-4809...
RE: Ocado automated/robotic warehouse fire (UK)
Brad Waybright
It's all okay as long as it's okay.
RE: Ocado automated/robotic warehouse fire (UK)
Keith Cress
kcress - http://www.flaminsystems.com
RE: Ocado automated/robotic warehouse fire (UK)