2009 - All editions of Material Handling Tips & Info

January 2009: The best of 2008

Includes articles on Cross-docking, industrial shelving specification, pallet rack safety systems, reducing labor costs in a distribution center, minimizing forklift impacts on pallet rack, PE Seals & calcs for mezzanine projects, an excellent case study on Simmons Pet Foods, a guide to incline conveyors, and another good piece on specifying mezzanine floor capacities.

February 2009: Electric Boat Vertical Lift Case Study

As part of a $20 million upgrade, Electric Boat, Inc. wanted to make access to submarines in the assembly process easier, faster and safer. They utilized a Pflow Vertical Lift in the process. This month also brought a guide to load transfers on belt conveyors, optimizing distribution and manufacturing during tough economic times, warehouse space saving tips, and a note about our website's unique ability to calculate shipping costs for a broad variety of items.

 

March 2009 - Get your Operation ready for Summer Heat

Summer poses unique challenges to warehouses, distribution centers, manufacturing facilities, and other larger scale operations that must often deal with heat-generating equipment, open dock doors, and sweltering temperatures. Productivity declines and the chances of accidents rise. So what can you do? Also, a piece on gravity conveyors, and when you should use rollers vs. skatewheels.

 

April 2009: Doing More with Less in your Warehouse

Achieving more with less is a core goal of most businesses. In the warehousing and industrial world, that means building more, shipping more, doing more – controlling more – with fewer resources. Also: comparing welded vs. woven wire security cages, calculating locker row "growth" (a Cisco-Eagle WebTool that does it for you), and a piece on why Dallas is one of the best places for distribution in the United States.

 

May 2009: Online Conveyor Calculators

We rolled out more WebTools in May, including our exciting new Conveyor Calculators. These are website-based calculators that require no download or software. You can do it right on our site. They cover several basic conveyor issues, and we intend to have more available in the future. Also, an article on the plight of today's warehouse manager: how to cope with a rapidly-changing DC environment that constantly demands more production for fewer resources. Also, a good post comparing types of storage media and their relative strengths for any particular situation. We also rolled out "man trap" security cages for docks and shipping.

 

June 2009: Pipe Handling Conveyors, Sustainability in the Warehouse

We recently started uploading conveyor white papers to our website. These are not the kind of white papers you won't read - the 30-page monsters. These are short, concise and helpful to anyone who has conveyor or is considering a project. Right now, we just have a few, but there will be many more uploaded over the next few months. Also in this issue: Supply chain sustainability, posting resumes on our website, and pipe handling conveyors.

 

July 2009: The most useless space in your facility

Articles on utilizing trash conveyors, how to safely and correctly use air balancer and jib crane systems, saving space in the dock area (where you just may have the most wasted space you have anyplace in your warehouse), depreciation incentives that may help you pull the trigger on capital equipment purchases this year rather than putting it off. A forklift safety simulator game is also linked.

 

September 2009: Pallet Conveyor Application Guide

Articles on mobile scissor lifts (when to use them, when not to), workbench & workstation design, and a pallet conveyor applications white paper you can download from our site. Also, we have a brief item on records storage, since it's closing in on that time of year where many paper records must be archived.

 

November 2009: The most amazing - and dangerous - forklift/rack collision you'll ever see

An amazing (and frightening) video of just how easily pallet rack can collapse and domino into a serious danger, an article on pushback rack load types and how not to sabotage your rack system, a comparison between ways to protect an often-overlooked component - dock door guides, and also some new conveyor white papers.

 

December 2009: Mezzanine Deck Surfaces, Automation and Optimization

This month, we have a link on picking the right mezzanine deck surface, which isn't quite as simple as you'd think. We also talk about improving productivity without taking the plunge into full automation. Also, info on dock safety gates and how to save money on industrial shelving by ordering particle board locally rather than shipping it.