When your conveyor motor stops working, do you know what you need to know to replace it quickly? How do you even know what the original motor was rated?
Choosing a Replacement Electric Motor
February 10, 2015
by Scott Stone
Tags: voltage, motor, single phase, 3-phase, Baldor, replacement motor, Conveyor, enclosure, electric motor, horsepower, rpm, frame size
Posted in Conveyor Optimization|
Air Balancers and Hoists: What’s the Difference?
February 5, 2015
by Scott Stone
Lifting systems vary widely in type, capacities and sizes. Each is created to meet job-specific requirements of load capacity, cycle times, and lift range. Handling accuracy and smoothness are also considered. The two types of lifting systems addressed here are air balancers and chain hoists. They do essentially the same job: lifting an item into the air either from storage or a flat surface. So which might work for you?
Tags: air balancer, hoist, electric hoist, pneumatic hoist, chain hoist, lift systems
Posted in Lifting & Lift Systems|
10 Transportation Management Solution Considerations to Include in Your Logistics Strategy
February 3, 2015
by Scott Stone
Transportation management solutions are no longer just for moving freight at the lowest possible cost. Companies are using effective transportation management as a competitive advantage tool in the ever-challenging economic and commercial landscape. Additionally, shippers are now seeing both internal and outsourced transportation management solutions less as a commodity and more as a collaborative relationship between themselves and carriers as well as third party logistics services providers (3PLs).
Tags: logistics, transportation management
Posted in Docks & Shipping|
The Fundamentals: High Profile Span-Track Carton Flow Tracks
January 22, 2015
by Scott Stone
 What is high profile Span-Track?
UNEX’s high profile Span-Track was the first full-width roller track in the industry. Span-Track made its debut in 1992 and revolutionized the carton flow industry. High profile Span-Track increases efficiency by providing better flow, fewer hang-ups, and greater storage density than the alternatives—plastic wheel rails or other carton flow solutions.
Tags: carton flow, Unex, Video
Posted in Order Picking & Fulfillment|
How Dimensional Shipping Weight Affects You
January 14, 2015
by Scott Stone
If you haven’t taken a look at your shipping invoices lately or talked to your freight rep, you probably should do so before the day is out. Significant changes have been made in the way shipping costs are calculated and it will impact your bottom line – no matter what you’re shipping.
Tags: shipping, freight cost, UPS, FedEx, carriers, dimensional weight
Posted in Order Picking & Fulfillment|
Hytrol E24iâ„¢ integrates the E24â„¢ Motor and Card into a Single Unit
December 30, 2014
by Scott Stone
Hytrol Conveyors was the first to widely use 24-volt roller motors in its conveyor systems. In fact, Cisco-Eagle helped roll out the product at Pack Expo in 2007, and have strongly advocated it for many of our clients since. E24 resolves issues such as heat dissipation, limited motor life span, lack of sufficient torque, and the inability to use 1-3/8″ rollers, which has significantly limited using motor-driven rollers in what are otherwise excellent applications. Now, Hytrol has further increased e24’s flexibility and usefulness by merging the motor and card into a single unit.
Posted in Conveyor Optimization|
10 Ways to Keep Orders Moving During Your Busiest Season
December 23, 2014
by Scott Stone
I received a newsletter the other day that really hit home during this busy Christmas season. It was about keeping warehouse order pickers motivated in their work and I thought, “That’s really key during peak seasons when highly stressed workers can get burned out quickly.” So, how do you keep order pickers moving when they’re already under the gun?
Tags: worker satisfaction, motivation, performance improvement, warehousing, order fulfillment, worker safety
Posted in Order Picking & Fulfillment|
High Density Pallet Storage: Comparing Pushback vs. Drive-In
December 16, 2014
by Scott Stone
When comparing different methods of storing and accessing pallet loads on rack, the choices can be complex.
Do I go with Push-Back Rack using gravity feed to deliver loads to the front edge? What about the loss of vertical space? What if something gets hung up? How about Drive-In Rack? Do I trust my forklift drivers to maneuver carefully enough? What would a rack collapse cost me?
Tags: space savings, storage
Posted in Pallet & Warehouse Racks|
Records Storage Warehouses: Questions to Ask
December 11, 2014
by Scott Stone
The year is coming to an end, and many operations need to address records storage. We see an influx of companies coming to work with us on their records storage and archive storage areas from October through April. With new healthcare and other regulations, companies must store an increasing amount of paper records. If you have enough of a records storage load, and lack either the space or the time to manage your archives, you may opt to use a third party records storage facility.
When you are specifying a vendor, here are some questions you should ask.
Tags: pallet racks, ROI
Posted in Storage, Organization & Workstations|
Cluttered Receiving Areas: Problems and Solutions
December 4, 2014
by Scott Stone
Cluttered receiving docks seem to plague far too many industrial facilities. Part of the problem is that the way receiving affects the entire operation isn’t clearly understood. Also, receiving functions are sometimes seen as a low-value-add part of the operation. Either way, adequate focus isn’t always given to this vital function. When you can’t effectively receive shipments, everything upstream is compromised.
Posted in Docks & Shipping|