Every facility has its heroes like the shiny conveyor systems, towering pallet racks and state-of-the-art automation that seem to draw all the safety focus. But just like in any good action movie, even the heroes have a few weaknesses. Warehouses and manufacturing facilities are no different! These “weak links” are the areas that, if overlooked, can cause big safety issues. You can create a stronger, more resilient facility by paying attention to these sneaky trouble spots.

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In this month’s employee spotlight, we interview Eric Dodd, Assistant Director of Field Services. He talks about challenges our service group faces, why training matters, and his favorite Houston sports moment.

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In the cold and frozen food sector, tremendous growth combined with a serious shortage of capacity is severely constraining companies today. “The frozen food market is currently experiencing remarkable growth, with its global value soaring to $265 billion. In the U.S. alone, new frozen food sales have impressively surpassed the $72 billion mark,” states Rick Kingery in the Colliers’ article “Capitalizing on the $265 Billion Frozen Food Market: Cold Storage’s Crucial Role.”

Adding to the challenge, “We estimate the U.S. will need up to 100-million-square-feet of additional cold storage space in the coming years,” states Marty Khait in an article posted on the Refrigerated & Frozen Foods Magazine website, “The Cold Reality: Why America’s Cold Storage Capacity is Running Low.”

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Your pallet flow system produces a smooth, orderly process first-in, first out product flow. To ensure it performs, regular inspections and timely repairs are essential. Although pallet flow systems typically require minimal maintenance, proper employee training and consistent checks can help avoid misuse and prolong the life of your equipment. Pallet flow systems are built to flow heavy pallets from infeed to picking, using brakes and dampeners. Over time, these components must be inspected, maintained or even replaced for optimum, safe performance.

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In this month’s employee spotlight, we chat with Lori Knaeble, Accounts Payable Manager within our Finance Department. Lori is vital to ensuring our accounting processes run smoothly and keep flowing, all with a smile or a laugh!

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Conveyors are the beating heart of any industrial or distribution facility. Their daily operation is critical for moving product through your facility and to the key functional areas. They must flow seamlessly, each one performing its task to move forward.

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In this month’s employee spotlight, we sit with Chris Henry, an engineering manager with our Systems Technology Group. Chris is a key member of this group, working with his colleagues to design controls solutions to customer specifications and create impactful programming.

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In this month’s employee spotlight, we talk to Markus Green, a safety specialist in our Dallas office. Markus leads our safety automation group in solving forklift/pedestrian interaction issues with advanced solutions. With June being National Safety Month, we talked with him about how he approaches safety for his customers.

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Mezzanines are a tried and true method of increasing space usage in your facility. We’ve all seen a warehouse tap into its vertical cube by adding a mezzanine or pick module solution. The results are increased storage and product movement while gaining more control of unused areas.

Once you’ve got a mezzanine in place, the journey to more efficiency doesn’t end! With an existing mezzanine, you want to consider all avenues of movement when on it or when transporting to it. Enhancing these methods only increases the ROI of your investment, while helping throughput. With this in mind, how your workers access your mezzanine is a prime area for consideration.

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In this new age of battling labor shortages while increasing throughput, finding the right means is critical. Forward-thinking operations that turn to automated solutions are finding a balance between worker and machine. This balance leads to new heights scaled in terms of productivity and engagement.

One way to enhance an operation in this regard is by implementing palletizers. These systems offer increasing speed, safety and structure of pallet production, but when considering such a solution where should you begin?

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