Racks will often be damaged over a long lifetime of use. When you see a bent beam, out-of-square beam, damaged upright or other issues with your pallet racks, you can’t ignore it.
Bowing, Leaning and Out-of-Square Pallet Racks: Causes & Solutions
July 8, 2021
by Scott Stone
Posted in Pallet & Warehouse Racks|
Choosing the Right Pallet Conveyor
June 15, 2021
by Scott Stone
Above: a powered roller conveyor transporting a heavy load at Simmons Pet Foods.
Pallet conveyors transport skids, pallets, sheets and other extremely heavy loads. This can be accomplished with chains, belts, rollers or even ball transfers. The pallet conveying solution is critical for efficient, speedy product or process flow. Given the options, which conveyor type is right for you?
Posted in Conveyor Optimization|
How to Safely Modify Your Pallet Racks
June 1, 2021
by Scott Stone
The nature of pallet racks—adjustable beams and teardrop connections on uprights—invites reconfiguration. Many rack manufacturers’ beams easily connect to other manufacturers’ teardrop uprights, which lets you mix & match components. This versatility can invite trouble if all the factors aren’t considered. Before you adjust beams, add new loads or reconfigure your racks, consider all the factors.
Posted in Pallet & Warehouse Racks|
How to Help Drivers Park Faster & Safer at Your Truck Docks
May 18, 2021
by Scott Stone
Warehouse managers tend to focus on internal processes, equipment and systems, but making your dock apron and loading zone more efficient will save time, money and damage. Truck drivers who can’t clearly see the right dock in darkness or poor weather can’t maneuver effectively or square up to the dock quickly. They often must back in and out multiple times. Helping drivers align and organize will improve the entire flow of your shipping and receiving operation.
Posted in Docks & Shipping|
Pallet Rack Clearances: Lateral, Vertical and Building Structures
May 11, 2021
by Scott Stone
One of the critical aspects of pallet rack system design, aside from the specs of the rack itself, are the various clearances between rack components, the loads and the surrounding environment. Flue space can be critical for fire safety compliance. Space between a rack row and the row behind it can contribute to a safer and more effective rack system. Narrow aisles can contribute to accidents. Too tall? You could cause damaged and falling inventory, as well as damage to fixtures or HVAC components.
At the end of the day, the space around the rack is nearly as important as the rack itself.
Posted in Pallet & Warehouse Racks|
How to Design and Utilize Storage Buffers
April 20, 2021
by Scott Stone
Buffers can be found in most warehouses and manufacturing facilities, and they take many forms. You can build buffers into racks, floor space, conveyors or external storage areas like truck trailers. When you need to temporarily store materials before they enter putaway, shipment, kitting, processing, or another production process, what are some of the best design, equipment specification and usage practices?
Posted in Space Optimization & Planning|
Improve Productivity with Ergonomic Storage System Design
April 15, 2021
by Scott Stone
For order pickers, packers and others in industrial facilities, warehouse ergonomics is critical to both safety and effectiveness. The way you store and pick can enhance productivity — or hamper it. In an age of labor shortages and spiraling costs, it pays to design for ergonomics. The core of that is where you place items for picking and processing.
Posted in Safety & Ergonomics|
How to Make Packing More Efficient
April 6, 2021
by Scott Stone
Above: in this automated e-commerce distribution center, picks are packed into cartons from totes on the conveyor line. Because conveyors deliver the totes directly to workers, and the work is executed at ergonomic heights, the process is fast and efficient.
Order fulfillment is only as fast as its slowest function, and packing–often the last stop before shipping–can be a bottleneck. We’ve analyzed many operations that underestimated the needs of the packing department from the start, while others realized over time that new requirements, new SKUs and order volumes that were fine at go-live eventually bogged the packing function. It’s not unusual for picking processes to react faster and better to these conditions than the packing area.
Tags: 3PL, Third Party Logistics, ecommerce
Posted in Order Picking & Fulfillment|
A Guide to Workstation Reach Zones
March 23, 2021
by Scott Stone
You should always analyze the economy of movement for repetitive tasks like assembly, packing, picking and repair. Imagine reaching to the same shelf, for the same carton, to pull the same part. How many times a shift does someone make that reach? How many working days a year? How many years? Shaving time and effort off a simple repetitive motion can shave time off your process and improve ergonomics over the years.
To do that, look at how many times–and places–your people reach for things on a daily basis.
Tags: workstations, ergonomics
Posted in Storage, Organization & Workstations|
Integrating Conveyors and Industrial Lifts
March 2, 2021
by Scott Stone
Above: scissor lift/rotator at the end of pallet conveyor line
Conveyors and scissor lifts are frequently integrated due to the fact that it’s such an efficient way to manipulate loads along a conveyor line. Loads can be lifted, raised or rotated on a lift table for a variety of activities. When you need to actively work on a conveyed item, it’s ideal. Here’s how to go about it.
Posted in Lifting & Lift Systems|