Conveyors are essential for manufacturing operations, but in some areas where they are exposed to dust, airborne debris, moisture or chemicals, there may be issues with their mechanical components. These environmental factors impact performance, equipment lifespan, maintenance burdens and safety, but can be dealt with if the conveyor is properly designed, used and maintained. Let’s dive into these issues.
Conveyors in Difficult Environments
May 2, 2019
by Scott Stone
Tags: Manufacturing, ergonomics
Posted in Conveyor Optimization|
How to Reduce Warehouse Noise
April 16, 2019
by Scott Stone
Anyone who works in a production facility or distribution center knows how loud these places are. The sound of forklifts, the constant whirr of conveyors, the thrum of generators, and the steady beat of all things mechanized can be overwhelming. There are also specific, distracting noise producers, such as small engines, stampers, and generators. Over time, people adapt to this environment, “tuning out” noise as much as possible.
Research from the National Institutes of Health is clear: sound affects productivity. It’s also unsafe on a number of levels for industrial workers.
Tags: conveyors, labor
Posted in Safety & Ergonomics|
How Heat Saps Warehouse Productivity, Causes Errors and Reduces Retention
April 2, 2019
by Scott Stone
Warehouses, shop floors, and manufacturing facilities can be difficult environments for workers, and heat makes it even harder. Hot days and hard work conspire to reduce productivity and increase errors. We’ve found some research that spells out exactly how much, and have some recommendations to reduce the issues.
Tags: labor, ROI
Posted in Safety & Ergonomics|
Crossing Conveyor Lines: The Options
March 19, 2019
by Scott Stone
The extensive conveyor lines that snake through many distribution facilities allow operations to transport, buffer and direct loads in a way that takes the best possible advantage of space. These conveyor systems are essentially the core around which a lean, efficient material handling operation is built, but they also create barriers to people moving around the facility since they can block the flow of foot traffic.
Tags: Shoptalk
Posted in Conveyor Optimization|
Light-Directed Assembly for Manufacturing
March 5, 2019
by Scott Stone
The advantages of pick-to-light for order fulfillment are well-documented: you can pick faster and more accurately without the burden of tickets or voice-activated systems. Your workforce can be trained in a fraction of the time, in a “fast food” type experience. It’s a technology that has found broader applications in many distribution centers simply because it’s a fast, easy way to improve.
Light-directed systems may have a more positive impact on assembly than they do on order picking.
Posted in Automation, Labor & Efficiency|
Conveyor Merges and Sortation: Low Volume Alternatives
February 5, 2019
by Scott Stone
Sorting, pushing and diverting products as they are transported on a conveyor system is one of the best ways to reduce costs, improve fill rates, eliminate errors and increase throughput — and there are multiple ways to go about it. Some systems are downright plodding–pushing only a few loads per minute–while others are dizzyingly fast, pushing out hundreds of diverts per minute. This post will profile some of the lower to medium speed options at your disposal.
Posted in Conveyor Optimization|
Order Fulfillment is the First Line of a Great Customer Experience
January 15, 2019
by Scott Stone
Your most important customer satisfaction function is probably your warehouse and order fulfillment operations. Order fulfillment impacts the things customers care about most:
- Is the right product picked?
- Did I get it on time?
- Did I get the right quantity?
- Was my shipment damaged?
Tags: shipping docks, ecommerce, Customer Satisfaction
Posted in Order Picking & Fulfillment|
Innovative Ways to Secure Your Facility with Wire Partitions
January 10, 2019
by Scott Stone
The typical application for a warehouse wire security cage is on the floor, in the plant, to create a secure storage room or tool crib. This usually means something with one to four sides, depending on the surrounding areas, a gate (or more than one), a ceiling, windows, or other additions. What are some ways you can create security beyond the simple cage?
Posted in Security|
How to Store and Handle Long, Heavy Loads: Tube, Pipe and Bar Stock
January 8, 2019
by Scott Stone
Pallet storage is easy, or at least easier than dealing with pipes and tubing
The idea behind pallets was to unitize and standardize the storage of standard blocks in racks designed to store those units. Standard units like pallets are easier store and handle. With pallets, you make sure your rack and forklifts can handle the pallet size and weight, and essentially you have a relatively dense, easily-accessed storage scheme. It’s more complicated for long, heavy loads like tube, bar stock and pipes. Let’s break down your options.
Posted in Manufacturing|
Moving, Reusing and Reconfiguring Conveyor Systems
December 11, 2018
by Scott Stone
Some conveyors are specifically modular. They’re meant to be moved around, plugged in and reconfigured. But most conveyors are semi-permanent, and occupy space for extended periods of time. When you want to re-use existing conveyors in new roles, move all or part of a system between facilities, or just reconfigure an area using the equipment you already have, you can save money, but there are some things to know to help ensure everything works smoothly.
Tags: ROI
Posted in Conveyor Optimization|