The Vaughan Constructions and Woolworths partnership has set a benchmark with the completion of a new fully automated highbay distribution centre in Dandenong, Victoria.
Reaching 45 meters tall, the facility is the largest industrial highbay structure in Victoria. The purpose-built facility boasts over 69,217m² of warehouse and corporate office space.
With multi-story racking systems, high-speed conveyors and sorting systems, the centre provides Woolworths with the capacity to sort and distribute stock at far greater levels of accuracy and at a pace not ready available in traditional warehousing operations.
"Vaughan is proud to partner with Woolworths to once again support supply chain expansions and operational efficiency improvements, furthering their national growth.’’
Andrew Noble, Managing Director, Vaughan Constructions.
A complex power control arrangement includes Australia’s largest commercial solar installation. With the capacity to generate the equivalent of 250 homes, Woolworths will reap the benefit of energy savings over the long-term. Uninterrupted power connectivity includes automatic UPS backup, and an onsite generator allows the facility to operate off the grid even in the event of power failures.
Constructing a facility of this size and stature required the creation of unique installation techniques. Due to the sheer height of the highbay, sprinkler installation differed significantly to the majority of warehouses completed nationally.
After three months of planning and development with our contractors, a safe and inventive solution was devised combining the use of swing stages with boom and scissor lifts.
Woolworths engaged Vaughan Constructions to deliver their largest single investment project in the company’s history under a Design & Construct contract. Vaughan was appointed on the project off the back of the successful delivery of Woolworths’ first automated food processing facility, Woolworths Meats in Truganina.
Practical completion was achieved on Wednesday 21 March 2018, three months ahead of the contracted delivery date.
