When I was a kid, on rainy days my friends and I used  kitchen chairs, old blankets and lots of clothespins and built our own special space for imaginary adventures. Our rag-tag shelter was temporary, but gave us the sensation of being in our own little world. Frequently, in manufacturing and warehousing facilities, work zones and independent departments need separation from the larger whole for either safety or autonomy purposes, and there are products out there that answer those needs. Products like curtain walls, acoustic walls, thermal barriers and welding screens. Read the rest of this entry »

Every facility has its own  devices, equipment, and programs to promote safety. There are signs, strobes, beeps, mirrors, bright colors, vests, id tags, and more. When it comes to seeing a hazard approaching, or being able to see what’s around the corner, it can be hard to determine which technology works best. That’s why I decided to take a look at the advantages and disadvantages of two widely used technologies and one fairly new one. Let’s see what can be gained with each, it’s best application, and what you might miss.

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The focus when it comes to order picking is usually (and justifiably) on the fastest-moving product. You slot your warehouse for fast movers. You pareto-focus on the 20% of the product that generates 80% of the business, as you should. But it’s also useful to consider the slow-moving inventory and pick locations. Simply putting the slowest movers in the least accessible area may make them consume more order picking time and storage space than necessary.

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Ever find yourself wondering how you can get more out of your pallet rack? Do you have goods that take up very little space, but your pick operations don’t call for entire pallets full of the product? Then you might need to look at ways to achieve more density in your storage, and we’ve recently found a gem of a product that can help you out. It’s called Dynamic High Density Storage and it’s made by SpeedCell.

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Sometimes, good can come from great tragedy. Take for instance, the changes in emergency egress signage and marking standards since the 9/11 attacks. During the great devastation of that event lessons where learned about emergency egress – painful lessons. People could not find their way out of dark towers when the lights and emergency generators went offline. A better way had to be designed. Read the rest of this entry »

The Industrial Truck Association has designated June 10 as National Forklift Safety Day which will “serve as a focal point for manufacturers to highlight the safe use of forklifts and importance of operator training,” according to the ITA website.  Given the issues every operation deals with due to forklift safety, an event like this, that serves as a way to increase awareness for improved safety practices, is an excellent idea.

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When it comes to warehouse storage, pallet racks provide an optimal, easy-to-maintain solution. They’re the most common way of storing pallet loads in the world, and they’re used in the vast majority of warehouses, manufacturing facilities, commercial operations, and even retail stores. Whether you’re dealing with selective, pushback, drive-in, or other types of racks, the issues are frequently similar.

Safe pallet rack operation involves understanding how to properly use racks; an otherwise safe rack can become dangerous and expensive if used incorrectly. Here are 5 common mistakes people make with pallet racks—and what you can do to ensure you don’t make any of them in your warehouse.

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It’s not easy to understand when facility layout is causing significant problems for an operation.

Everything in a warehouse or distribution facility can be affected by the way the warehouse is planned and laid out. You may be suffering from over-forecasted demand for product and under-forecasted need for square footage. Executives may not fully understand what it takes to receive, store, and ship orders. What are some of the more common problems when it comes to facility layout?

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It’s always dangerous when forklifts and people inhabit the same work areas.

You’ve probably heard the statistics when it comes to the forklift and its safety, but one of the most disturbing is the injury rate compared to incident rate. Forklifts cause just 1% of industrial accidents, but are responsible for a staggering 10% of all injuries in the space. So what can you do to help keep people and industrial traffic separated?

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Supply chain expo Modex, held every other year in Atlanta, GA, offers attendees access to the latest manufacturing and supply chain technologies.  More than 800 exhibitors from industry, commerce, and government displayed their supply chain solutions on the 180,000 square foot show floor.

During the show, Cisco-Eagle demonstrated our automated forklift safety system, AisleCop®, a Best New Innovation Finalist for the MHI Innovation Award.  When possible, we snuck away from our booth to tour the floor and connect with some of the industry’s leading innovators.

One of the key trends we’re seeing organizations emphasize this year is safety.  To get a sense of how manufacturers are handling safety, we posed the following question:

“What are some of the key trends/ways you are seeing organizations shape safety in the workplace this year?”

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