Ocado has had to cancel thousands of orders after robots collided at one of its fulfilment centres and caused a fire.
Three bots that help pick groceries crashed into each other at the firm's Erith site on Friday, forcing around 800 workers to be evacuated and causing mass disruption for customers.
The London Fire Brigade were called to the scene and worked throughout the night to tackle the blaze, which had damaged "less than 1%" of the grid on which the three machines crashed.
RELATED RESOURCE
"The correct protocols were successfully implemented including the evacuation of the building, the activation of the sprinkler system and the presence of the London Fire Brigade," the company said in a statement. "No one has been injured and all colleagues on site are safe. The damage is limited to a small section of less than 1% of the grid having been contained by planned fire attenuation measures.
"Aside from some residual smoke smell, the vast majority of the CFC is in good condition. While we expect some disruption to operations, we are working to restore normal service as soon as possible. We expect the facility to begin operating within the coming week and thank customers whose orders are affected for their patience."
Ocado fulfilment centres are highly automated and the Erith site specifically operates hundreds of robots - many of which run at speed around its grid, collecting and delivering groceries to factory staff.
This is not the first time one of its fulfilment centres has caught fire; in 2019, a distribution centre in Andover had a robot catch fire due to a fault in its battery charging unit. That site was completely destroyed after a four-day fire.
Accidents in mass automated factories do seem to be quite common and in some very rare cases, even fatal. In 2015, a man was grabbed and crushed to death by automated machinery that he was attempting to set up in a Volkswagen factory in Germany.
-
The race is on for Higher Ed to adapt: Equity in hyflex learningHyflex courses can improve student wellbeing and engagement, but only with meeting technology that leaves no one behind
-
Gen Z workers are keen on AI in the workplace – but they’re still skeptical about the hypeNews Younger workers could lead the shift to AI, but only think it can can manage some tasks
-
Intel makes high-level hires while factory workers are warned of layoffsNews The company is appointing four senior executives as part of efforts to refocus on engineering and customer relationships
-
UiPath names Simon Pettit as new AVP for UK and IrelandNews The seasoned leader will spearhead region-specific transformation projects as UiPath looks to drive operational growth and customer engagement
-
How to empower employees to accelerate emissions reductionin depth With ICT accounting for as much as 3% of global carbon emissions, the same as aviation, the industry needs to increase emissions reduction
-
Automate personalization with AWSWhitepaper How marketers can automate, deliver, and analyze billions of personalized messages and offers per day
-
Worldwide IT spending to grow 4.3% in 2023, with no significant AI impactNews Spending patterns have changed as companies take an inward focus
-
Report: Female tech workers disproportionately affected by industry layoffsNews Layoffs continue to strike companies throughout the tech industry, with data showing females in both the UK and US are bearing the brunt of them more so than males
-
How a hyper-automation platform can drive value for your bankWhitepaper Five ways automated processes can drive revenue and growth
-
How can small businesses cope with inflation?Tutorial With high inflation increasing the cost of doing business, how can small businesses weather the storm?
