Scott Stone | Warehousing Insights | Material Handling Systems - Part 19
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Essential Skills for Warehouse Managers

January 4, 2018
by

warehouse manager in a pallet rack aisle

It’s demanding to manage a warehouse, distribution, plant floor, manufacturing or order processing facility.

There are time constraints, labor shortages, long hours, and demands from both customers and management. The phone rings a lot with all kinds of issues. For warehouse managers, today’s age of rapid e-commerce order fulfillment, rising customer expectations, new technologies and regulatory issues have made the job more complex than ever. What specific skill sets should you cultivate as a manager?

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Posted in Warehousing & Distribution|

How Can You Go Forklift-Free?

December 12, 2017
by

forklift in a distribution center picking aisle

The forklift is ubiquitous in warehousing, manufacturing, distribution and other industrial operations, but many companies are actively working to reduce fleet size—or eliminate forklifts entirely.

Why eliminate forklifts?

This seems to be mostly about safety. Powered industrial trucks ranked sixth for OSHA violations in the most recent data. They’re always near the top. They cause about 100 deaths in the United States every year, and tens of thousands of injuries, with a high percentage termed “serious.” Forklifts are often the single most hazardous machine in any facility that operates them. Can you truly make a warehouse forklift free, as many EHS experts recommend? Maybe not, but you can minimize forklifts and keep them out of the most dangerous areas. Let’s dive into some methods.

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Posted in Forklift - Pedestrian Safety|

How to Use Conveyors to Increase Warehouse Ergonomics

December 7, 2017
by

conveyor ergonomics in a warehouse distribution operation

Conveyors are ergonomic equipment by nature. They reduce manual lifting, pushing, pulling and stretching by delivering product to workers and reducing the stress of carrying or pushing it manually. Whether in a large integrated system or a spur of gravity, conveyors are great for reducing the number of people who engage in potentially dangerous activities that could cause musculoskeletal issues. Let’s dive into ways to be sure your conveyors are contributing to an ergonomic operation.

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Posted in Conveyor Optimization|

Download our Guide to Conveyors & Conveyor Systems

November 14, 2017
by

Conveyor systems guide book from Cisco-Eagle

Check out the exclusive Cisco-Eagle Guide to Conveyors, which features helpful articles, tips and links to extensive conveyor resources. It’s a quick, free PDF download.

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Posted in Conveyor Optimization|

OSHA Safety Standards for Mezzanines & Platforms

November 9, 2017
by

mezzanine handrailing in a warehouse

We help clients with structural mezzanines and rack supported systems in a range of facilities.

Mezzanine options range from professionally manufactured to home-made to local fabrication shop to professional contractors. If you have a mezzanine or storage platform custom fabricated, you need to be sure your contractor is complying with OSHA & local safety regulations, particularly on guard railing, stairs and gates. If your fabricator doesn’t routinely work with mezzanines, this is something you’ll have to do on your own. The best policy is to look at established vendors if you don’t want to micro-manage the details of building permits, code compliance, and OSHA’s blessings. Here’s a breakdown of the handrail issues you might run into:

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Posted in Mezzanines & Industrial Platforms|

The Top Causes of Inventory Inaccuracy

October 31, 2017
by

Stock counting in a warehouse

Inventory issues cut to the core of any warehousing or order fulfillment operation. When your processes are set up right, you’ll have more accurate inventory. Experts estimate that every .5% of inventory inaccuracy costs the equivalent of a full time employee in these various types of waste. The time it takes to track down, repair, correct, and re-do may make this a low estimate, depending on the situation.

What are some of the root causes of inaccurate inventory?

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Posted in Order Picking & Fulfillment|

Flow Storage and Inventory Slotting

October 26, 2017
by

carton flow loads in a distribution center

What’s the optimal storage concept for your operation?

The ideal storage equipment for a given product can vary based on load, picking method, throughput, shipping issues and many other factors. Usually it involves a blend of shelving, racks, cabinets, and other means of organizing product in a given footprint. One of the questions that comes to mind is the line where a product or group of them is best slotted into shelving and bins, or if that product is best suited for carton flow solutions. Let’s examine the factors.

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Posted in Order Picking & Fulfillment|

The Warehouse Manager’s Guide to Walking Around: Pallet Racks

September 19, 2017
by

warehouse manager making notes

It’s always busy when you operate a warehouses or DC, but as noted philosopher Ferris Bueller once said, “life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” The same applies to your facility and specifically its pallet racks. A good way to ensure they’re being used correctly and safely is to stop and look around once in a while. In that spirit, let’s touch on some things to examine in your warehouse rack operation.

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Posted in Pallet & Warehouse Racks|

Strobe Lights vs. LED Warning Lights for Forklift Safety

September 7, 2017
by

forklift lights

It’s been a sudden transition: many forklifts no longer use flashing strobe or beacon lights and have transitioned to LED “blue light” forklift safety lights that project on the floor rather than flash on the forklift itself. Workers have never liked an excess of flashing lights, but to some extent this is because companies aren’t deploying the beacon lights for the right application. LED floor lights are true warning systems, while beacons are visibility enhancements for already visible trucks.

Why do warehouse workers prefer LED systems?

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Posted in Forklift - Pedestrian Safety|

Gravity Conveyors and Product Flow

August 3, 2017
by

Conveyor Comparison

Install Gravity conveyors on declines so that the infeed side sits higher than the end of the line for smooth product flow.  This is one of the easiest ways to move products quickly and economically. How can you set up your gravity conveyor for optimal product flow?

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Posted in Conveyor Optimization|

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