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  • Information on the products and techniques to better store, handle, and move products in your facility.
    Blog > Archive by category 'Industrial Shelving'

    The 5S Approach to Workcells & Workstations

    January 4, 2012
    by Scott Stone

    workstation with 5S implementation

    Based on 5 Japanese words that begin with ‘S’, the 5S Philosophy hones in on effective work place organization and standardized work procedures. When correctly implemented, it reduces waste, increases efficiency, and overall work quality. You’ll also have a safer, more effective operation and employees who are more checked in than they were before. It simplifies work flow and helps you find inefficiency.  You may see things like empty flow racks, needless processes, over stocking, redundant operations,  looming maintenance problems, and more.

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    Posted in Docks & Shipping, Industrial Shelving, Manufacturing, Material Handling, Order Picking & Fulfillment, Safety & Ergonomics, Space Saving, Supply Chain, Sustainability, Warehousing, Workbenches & Stations| No Comments »


    Ideas to Keep Your Warehouse Clean

    January 3, 2012
    by Scott Stone

    a clean warehouse

    One easy way to gauge a warehouse or manufacturing plant ‘s effectiveness is to check how clean it is. Cleaner facilities are more productive, tend to be safer, and tend to be more organized.

    Whether your facility features gleaming floors or just keeps debris from packaging materials, pallets, and accumulated junk under control, being cleaner is well worth the time investment. People who work in a disorganized facility where things just feel sloppy won’t work as well. They may make more errors. They won’t have pride in the operation.  An inch of dust on rack beams or beneath conveyor legs sends a message to workers. You don’t need a sparkling facility with floors so clean you could have lunch on them, but a well-lit, organized, pleasant place to work can be helpful in employee attitudes and retention.

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    Posted in Docks & Shipping, Industrial Shelving, Manufacturing, Material Handling, Order Picking & Fulfillment, Pallet Rack, Safety & Ergonomics, Warehousing| No Comments »


    How the Movies Get Material Handling Wrong

    November 15, 2011
    by Scott Stone

    Mateial handling movies

    If you are in the warehousing or material handling industry, you’ll find yourself identifying warehouse and handling equipment in movies or television shows quite often. Many of us have seen, for instance, the NFL graphics of a large distribution system used on Fox network for years. I’ve pointed out Hytrol conveyors in movies to my wife for years, to the point where she says it first when she sees it.

    For fun, we have put together a list of the more famous scenes in entertainment history involving material handling equipment, and how it could have been done better.

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    Posted in Automation, Conveyor, Industrial Shelving, Lifts, News, Pallet Rack, Warehousing| No Comments »


    Proper Storage and Handling of Prescription Drugs

    June 21, 2011
    by Scott Stone

    warehouse storage - pharmaceutical

    When it comes to storing controlled substances, in particular prescription drugs, the warehouse and bulk storage aspects are important for pharmaceutical, hospital central supply warehouses, or retail outlets. This is an area where many people who should not have access to medication may find easier opportunities for pilferage. The FDA offers some guidelines on how to operate securely, and within regulations. State licensing laws will typically reflect the minimum Federal requirements, but may exceed those, when it comes to the storage and handling of prescription drugs.

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    Posted in Docks & Shipping, Industrial Shelving, Material Handling, Order Picking & Fulfillment, Pallet Rack, Security, Warehousing| No Comments »


    The importance of correctly installing lockers

    July 23, 2010
    by Scott Stone

    This video illustrates the reason why we always advise customers to securely bolt their lockers, racks and shelving to the floor.

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    Posted in Industrial Shelving, Safety & Ergonomics| No Comments »


    How much money does shipping shelves without particle board decks save?

    December 18, 2009
    by Scott Stone

    We sell loads of shelving all over the country, and one of the persistent issues is the cost of shipping. In particular, that’s an issue for industrial rivet shelving, which is the most economical type of shelving with the highest capacity. It is easily the most popular industrial shelf type going. For many customers, shipping an all inclusive shelving system is the easiest, most convenient thing — we do it all the time.

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    Saving Space: Shelves vs. Modular Drawers vs. Flow Racking vs. Vertical Carousels

    June 3, 2009
    by Scott Stone

    Vertical carousels and space savings

    This is a good visual comparison of how much space is utilized by various storage methods. The vertical carousel provides the same amount of storage space as several rows of shelving or modular drawer storage. In this particular instance, the carousel saves over 1,400 square feet of floor space when compared to shelving. Of course, you know the cost differences are significant, but there are other factors in making a decision about these types of storage equipment.

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    Posted in Automation, Industrial Shelving, Material Handling, Pallet Rack, Space Saving, Supply Chain, Warehousing| No Comments »


    Warehouse Space Savings Tip: Consolidate from Shelf Bins into Modular Storage

    February 14, 2009
    by Scott Stone

    modular drawer storage system

    This is a a series of posts we’ll be making about saving space in your facility. There are plenty of ways to better utilize space, and some of them might fit your circumstances while others certainly won’t. In today’s challenging business climate, it is particularly critical to use space wisely in your facility.

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    Posted in Industrial Shelving, Material Handling, Space Saving, Warehousing| No Comments »


    RMI Announces R-Mark for Welded Wire Rack Decking

    February 11, 2009
    by Scott Stone

    pallet rack with wire decking

    The Material Handling Industry of America recently announced that the RMI (Rack Manufacturers Institute) has certified several manufacturers of wire rack decking “R-Mark” compliant, meaning that these companies have conformed to the Institute’s testing and utilization standards. The industry developed the latest and most comprehensive consensus documents ANSI MH16.1 – 2008 – Specification for the Design, Testing and Utilization of Industrial Steel Storage Racks and MH26.2 – 2007  – Specification for the Design, Testing and Utilization of Welded Wire Rack Decking. Members of RMI voluntarily choose to conform to ANSI MH16.1 – 2008 and MH26.2 – 2007 and any successor document(s).

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    Posted in Industrial Shelving, Manufacturing, Material Handling, Pallet Rack, Safety & Ergonomics, Supply Chain, Warehousing| No Comments »


    Pallet rack frame and overall rack capacities – how to deal with larger, bulky items in rack storage

    November 20, 2008
    by Scott Stone

    pallet rack overall capacitySince overloading is a common source of pallet rack collapses, (in fact misapplication, including capacity issues, is the top cause) it’s important to understand how much weight your rack – not just your beams – can bear.

    For a piece of storage equipment that is relatively simple, ensuring that the rack can hold what you want it to hold is sometimes complex – particularly on very heavy loads, or large but not so heavy loads. This article focuses on upright frame capacities. Beam capacities are pretty simple – they’re listed per pair of beams by most rack sellers, and you just adhere to them with your pallet loads. But frame capacity is not as straightforward as a beam capacity…

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    Posted in Industrial Shelving, Material Handling, Pallet Rack, Safety & Ergonomics, Warehousing| No Comments »