We’ve explained the advantages of 24-volt roller conveyor systems in the past, and wanted to get to you with this new product announcement from Hytrol: the Timing Belt Transfer. The E24™ powered timing belt strands and a pneumatic lift make this conveyor accessory powerful enough to sort up to 40 cartons per minute. The neoprene timing belts are coated with urethane to ensure positive grip when transferring the product. The drive sheaves come standard with ABEC-1 bearings, contributing to longer transfer life. The modular design of the transfer allows for simple system configurations.

Integrating an E24™ Transfer into your system is easy, as the standard configuration bolts into 3-inch roller centers in just minutes. For full bed width and extended configurations, an optional E24™ lineshaft kit is available so roll-to-roll o-rings are out of the way.

The National Safety Council has released its list of the top 10 OSHA safety violations for 2009, and there is plenty to chew on if you are running a warehouse, manufacturing facility, military installation, or distribution center. In fact, several of these categories drop directly into the laps of material handling operations. Worse news: violations are up over 30 percent.

The list is as follows:

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One of the more dangerous items that you’ll find at virtually every facility is the humble gas cylinder. In warehouses or manufacturing operations, you’ll find LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) canisters that power gas forklifts. You’ll also find vertical cylinders for welders, cutting torches, or other equipment operations. Too often, you will find them standing against a wall or on the dock with no protection at all.

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Cantilever racks are the best way to store long, heavy loads. Whether the load is a single item or a bundle of them (like lumber, tubing, or pipes), as long as you understand the load, these racks are ideal storage. One key to correctly loading and specifying them is nailing the necessary lateral spacing vs. load weight so that you have enough arms beneath the load.

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Over at the Operations & Fulfillment site, Curt Barry has written a brief, informative piece on reducing warehouse costs. In particular during a difficult economic climate, cost reduction is at the top of mind for distribution operations.

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We have published a 2010 Cisco-Eagle Full Line Catalog, with 132 pages of ideas, concepts, and equipment for industrial, warehousing, manufacturing and commercial productivity. You can ask us for a print copy or choose to download PDF copies of the book, by section.

All of the listed catalog files below are PDF files and open in a new window.

• Systems & Services (p. 1-15)
• Conveyors (p. 16-38)
• Carton Flow Systems (p.39-44)
• Storage Racks – Pallet, stacking, cantilever (p. 45-55)
• Industrial Shelving (p. 56-70)
• Containers, Bins, Totes (p. 71-79)
• Shop Equipment.Workstations (p. 80-85)
• Security Equipment, Cages, & Lockers (p. 86-95)
• Safety & Ergonomics (p. 96-99)
• Mezzanines & Industrial Platforms (p. 100-104)
• Lifts, Balancers, Jib Cranes (p. 105-110)
• Dock Equipment (p. 111-115)
• Carts & Trucks (p. 116-120)
• Casters & Wheels (p. 121-132)

The catalog in its entirety is a very large PDF (12MB) download, and also available.

Please note that the catalog does not list prices. Almost every item in it is priced on this website, with extensive details, specifications, photos, and in many cases video. See our online catalog for comprehensive information.

Conveyors, like any capital investment have multiple costs. The amount on your invoice is hardly the last time you’ll pay for that conveyor. If a conveyor is correctly specified and designed for future use, significant cost savings can be realized.

The three costs a conveyor system carries:

• Initial costs – the easiest to understand and quantify. This is the cost of equipment, installation, and controls.
• Operational costs – electrical usage  & pneumatics usage
• Maintenance costs – Spare parts, replacement parts, & labor costs

All of these costs are spread over the conveyor’s useful life, so a formula that might best express what your conveyor will cost is: TCO (total cost of ownership) = IC (initial cost) + OC (operational costs) + MC (maintenance costs)/ useful life of the system.

Higher initial costs may be recouped in lower maintenance and operational costs over time if the right decisions are made when the equipment is specified and ordered. The initial cost savings can be eaten up by higher operating and maintenance costs, but neither of those is as expensive as a system that cannot do the job it was deployed to do. Long term costs can easily outstrip the initial costs. What are the real, long term costs and what can you do to control them?

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Just a quick tip of the hat to the The North Texas WERC (Warehousing Education and Research Council) Chapter. They are planning a 1-day convention on Thursday, September 23, 2010. Even if you’re not a member, you’re welcome to go. Cisco-Eagle will be there, so come by and see us if you attend. Besides our booth, you can visit 8,000 square feet of exhibit showroom and attend four educational presentations with a total of 12 topic options. For an inexpensive, quick, but informative day, it’s hard to beat. There will be raffles, continental breakfast, a hot lunch, and excellent networking opportunities.

The conference is sponsored by TCU and DCVelocity.

• Where: Grapevine Convention Center, 1209 South Main Street, Grapevine, TX 76051
• When: Thursday, September 23
• Cost: $20 to WERC Members, $25 to non-members. Free to students & faculty with ID’s (must submit info prior to the 23rd).
• More information: Visit the North Texas WERC site

Shipping & receiving docks are a particularly dangerous area of most operations because so much activity takes place in a relatively small space. In your average warehouse, the docks take up 20% of the square footage but host 80% of the activity. As you know, at times that activity can be fast-paced – even frenzied as full pallets are taken in, or loaded ones are being loaded into trailers. This is a time rife with possibilities for accidents. How can you prevent them?

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Do your line employees help extend the life of your conveyors? If you don’t know the answer to that question, it’s probably “no.”

Employees are the first line of defense when it comes to minimizing maintenance problems, according to Cliff Holste at Supply Chain Digest. Are you adequately preparing them to fulfill that role? Are they trained, equipped, and encouraged to help you prevent issues with conveyors and other equipment? Past the jump, a couple of ways to help your line workers become more aware of ways to keep your systems running…

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