Somewhere in your facility, there may be a place where someone frequently shouts “shut the door!”
Perhaps you have operations that require maintaining temperatures within certain limits. There may also be areas heavy-traffic areas where a conventional overhead door’s slow lift and close rates cause delays, slower throughput and cause reduced productivity from waiting on a door to open.
These are situations where a high-speed door may solve a variety of problems. From limiting airborne debris, dust and contaminant infiltration to temperature regulation, high-speed doors pick up the pace in your facility even as they limit the amount of exposure to negative environmental influences. They open and close so quickly that forklifts and people hardly need wait on the door in order to pass through the doorway. Let’s take a few minutes to explore the types and key features of high-speed doors.
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Tags: forklift, high-speed door, vinyl mesh door, aluminum frame, steel frame, stainless steel frame, self-repair, collision
Posted in Docks & Shipping|
Incentive programs are surprisingly common for industrial operations, and they can produce significant savings, quality increases and improved employee satisfaction – if the program is built correctly. In manufacturing, assemblers are often incentivized for quality and speed. In warehousing, it can be reduced product damage, pick rates, error rates or any number of other categories. When companies build out these programs, there are opportunities to create great value. How are companies going about this?
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Tags: labor, ROI, industrial, Incentives, warehouse workers, bonus programs, personnel
Posted in Manufacturing|
Things get a little messy sometimes in most industrial facilities. Or a lot messy.
Areas where sprays and aerosols are used aren’t friendly to the rest of the operation, but they also need to exist in the same facility. Perhaps thermal zones are needed where there was once plenty of space. Welding stations may be in areas more highly populated with other workers. Amongst all these considerations is also the fluidity of your operations as the company grows and changes. Are permanent solutions (walls) the right answer?
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Tags: privacy screen, vinyl walls, curtain walls, welding screens, acoustic panels, thermal walls
Posted in Safety & Ergonomics|
Warehouse security is sometimes slighted – other than perhaps exterior door locks and perhaps alarms. Security professionals will tell you that security is substantially about access to desirable items. How can you limit it? Let’s take a look at security equipment that can reduce temptation and help to keep vandals away from expensive exterior equipment.
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Tags: woven, welded, mesh, expanded steel, security cabinet, truck, security products, wire cage, wire partition
Posted in Security|
Since Hytrol rolled out the e24â„¢ 24-volt motor conveyor in 2008 at Pack Expo at the Cisco-Eagle booth, we have implemented many projects with the new technology. In fact, it has become 18% of power roller conveyor sales since then. Many manufacturers have copied the concept as well. Its advantages and cost savings are well documented, but this comparison takes it a step farther for several existing types of conveyors.
Posted in Conveyor Optimization|
Above: the edge of this pick module, which leads to a fall of over 20 feet, is guarded by a series of pallet flow swing gates.
When companies install storage platforms, the hustle and bustle of a busy working day can soften safety processes–a kind of soft that might lead to a hard and very expensive landing. Here are some ways you can reduce issue with work platform falls.
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Tags: handrail, mezzanine gate, pedestrian safety, pedestrian gate, Space Optimization, Safety & Ergonomics, guard rail
Posted in Mezzanines & Industrial Platforms|
Facility space is expensive—very expensive—so it’s become increasingly important to utilize it to its full potential in any industrial facility. We’ve seen many companies find ways to expand their crowded operation utilizing mezzanines and other elevated work platforms that help seize the vertical cube. There are multiple methods for moving materials between vertical levels, and vertical reciprocating conveyors (VRCs) are one of the best.
With an array of carriage types, drives, designs and power sources available, what vertical lift might meet your needs?
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Tags: pflow, vertical lifts, vrc, pallet handling, Mezzanines
Posted in Lifting & Lift Systems|
Everyday functions of most warehouses and industrial operations fall within the realm of manual material handling–constant lifting, bending, stretching, reaching, pushing and otherwise manipulating materials by physical force. People are moving cartons, picking orders, reaching for packing materials and performing other tasks. Manual material handling contributes to musculoskeletal disorders, to the tune of more than 500,000 reported annual reported cases of strains and stress in shoulders, backs, arms and legs.
While you can never eliminate it, you can reduce the worst aspects of it. Let’s dive into some ways.
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Tags: ergonomics, lifting, manual material handling, musculoskeletal, industrial safety
Posted in Safety & Ergonomics|
Like the Paul Simon song goes, there are 50 ways to pick an order—except in reality there are far more.
With such a variety of methods, processes, technologies and equipment options out there, it can be challenging to determine the best ways to improve order processing efficiency and productivity. In this article, LIDD’s Charles Fallon discusses 10 ways for distribution center managers to boost their order picking crew’s performance.
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Tags: Automation, productivity, labor
Posted in Order Picking & Fulfillment|
In the past year I’ve toured manufacturing facilities that have office space right on the plant floor. Those offices had been added as the company grew and needed more supervisors or engineers on the floor. They were using modular offices, of course. Later, I was fortunate to attend a training session on modular offices done by one of our suppliers, and it was amazing the forethought and engineering that goes into these modular buildings.
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Tags: modular office, building, construction, adding room
Posted in Warehousing & Distribution|
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