A conveyor system is an investment that you don’t take lightly—you want the best equipment you can buy for your money. The most obvious cost of that equipment will be the cost on the initial invoice, but there’s more to consider when purchasing a conveyor…far more. That’s why you should consider the Total Cost of Ownership for your system, and what you can do to decrease it in the long-term. What are the total costs, and how can you reduce them?

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It would be nice if every aisle and intersection, every wall cut-away, every rack corner, were visible. But I’ve been in these places and seen the difficulty storage or manufacturing facilities endure when it comes to the delicate balance between work velocity, employee safety, and productivity. On the floor of a bustling facility, in those areas where lighting isn’t the best, where busy forklift drivers  are sweating to fill orders, you’re going to have odd intersections. No doubt about that. This is one such intersection in a real facility. Our traffic management and safety teams use it as an exercise. You have options to help reduce accidents at this intersection…what would you do?

• Read it here: Options for reducing accidents at a dangerous warehouse intersection

When approaching pallet rack choices, cost, storage density and construction elements all play a role in making a choice. While cost is always a prime concern, be mindful that cost is often tied to storage density. Cheaper pallet rack tends to not have as much storage density as more expensive rack. But before you consider cost, you must decide what applications you will use the pallet rack for.

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Lean manufacturing has been the rage for some time now, but the process isn’t as prevalent in the warehousing and distribution sector. This is unfortunate, because the principle of doing more with less speaks to the very core of warehousing. The reason to go lean in warehousing is to reduce reliance on warehousing. Here is a lean roundup of articles, blog posts, video, and more from around the web.

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Forklifts are ubiquitous in warehousing and other industrial operations, but aren’t necessary in many other applications, such as small assembly shops, retailers, auto dealerships, and others that require materials movement but do not need a forklift, with its maintenance costs, safety issues, driver requirements and its footprint in a smaller facility. What methods can you use instead?

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