Scott Stone | Warehousing Insights | Material Handling Systems - Part 5
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Automation: Starting with a Clean Slate

October 10, 2023

manual and robotic palletizing.

How should your next automation project be evaluated? In many cases, companies try to replicate a manual processes through automation: if a person once rotated a tote, then picked from it and placed the contents into a container, that’s what the automation does. This kind of solution can provide excellent results, but may not be the optimal solution. What if you began with operational goals in mind that imagine a solution without the manual process?

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Posted in Automation, Labor & Efficiency|

Buffers, Conveyors, Robotics and Automation: What Works, What Doesn’t

October 3, 2023

conveyor system with cartons accumulating as a buffer.

Most every manufacturing or distribution facility builds in storage and handling buffers – and for good reason. Buffers hold product or processes when work flow isn’t balanced. For instance, a conveyor buffer may exist between picking and packing operations. This allows picking to continue even if the packing, quality control or shipping departments are backed up. Buffers maintain balance between functions and ensure continuity.

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Posted in Automation, Labor & Efficiency|

Comparison: Conveyor Systems and Autonomous Mobile Robotics

September 12, 2023

Comparison: conveyor system vs AMRs

Conveyors and Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) are both used in logistics, manufacturing, and warehousing, but have critical differences in terms of functionality, flexibility, and applications. Neither system is inherently superior to the other based on the use case, situation, load and operational goals. When you need to build a product transport system, they can often work in tandem to create the best solution.

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Posted in Conveyor Optimization|

Order Picking, Accuracy and ROI for Industrial Automation

September 5, 2023

order picking line in action, with hand scanner.

You could write a short novel–maybe a long one–about ROI for industrial automation projects.

If you’ve engaged in large-scale distribution or manufacturing automation projects, you probably have a good start on that very thing. ROI is a complicated endeavor with moving parts and shifting priorities. Because investments are always competing with other concepts, it often comes down to this: what’s most important to your company, your business environment and your industry.

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Posted in Order Picking & Fulfillment|

VLMs Vs. Vertical Carousels: Critical Specification Factors

August 8, 2023

Vertical carousels and vertical lift modules—VLMs for short—enhance organization, increase storage density, improve security and speed throughput. They serve components directly to pickers in waist-high ergonomic zones. 

While these systems are similar from a functional standpoint and look similar from the outside, they can have different use cases and application requirements. Kevin, a Cisco-Eagle Dallas account executive, zeroes in on the differences in this video. 

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Posted in Automation, Labor & Efficiency|

OSHA’s Warehouse Safety Emphasis Program: An Analysis

August 1, 2023

Illustration of an automated warehouse being inspected.

Warehousing grown for most of the last decade, with a 5-6% annual growth rate expected for the next 5 years. That level of expansion stresses labor availability and supply chains, but has another implication: safety. In July 2023, OSHA announced what it terms a “new national emphasis” for workplace hazards for warehouses, distribution centers and retail storage facilities. Since nearly 2 million people work in the industry, the agency is interested in reducing injuries across the board.

What are the implications of this emphasis?

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Posted in Safety & Ergonomics|

How to Use Conveyors for Ergonomic Truck Loading and Unloading

July 18, 2023

flexible conveyor extended into a tractor trailer for loading at a distribution center.

We recently discussed the various ways you can use conveyors to optimize the end of the line, which includes the ways they interface with trucks and trailers. The transition between the end of a conveyor system and the trucks where goods are loaded or unloaded are one of the areas where distribution centers can struggle. The traditional method has been to throw labor at the problem, but as we know in 2023, that is becoming a less useful and more difficult option.

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Posted in Conveyor Optimization|

Does a Warehouse Mezzanine Count as Square Footage?

June 20, 2023

storage mezzanine installed in a warehouse facility.

Above: is this a platform or a mezzanine? 

Mezzanines are a great option when you need to add more square footage into your warehouse or factory floor. They’re less expensive and easier to implement than alternatives like new construction or facility expansions, but also pose challenges when it comes sato dealing with code, safety and construction requirements.

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Posted in Mezzanines & Industrial Platforms|

Conveyors: Optimizing the End of the Line

June 13, 2023

Extendable conveyors feed truck loading docks at a distribution center.

Conveyors are primarily a transport mechanism within a facility: they move products from point A to point B to point C. Value is added at all points along the way. They’re the most efficient way to do that, even if that’s the only task they have. However, that’s rarely the only way they’re used. They’re loaded at point A, then transport the load to points of value down the line. Processes are is executed at point B, and something is finalized at point C — at the end of the line. Let’s dive into the ways you can drive value at the end of the line.

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Posted in Conveyor Optimization|

Ways to Optimize Industrial Labor

June 1, 2023

Manufacturing worker on a production line.

73% of warehouse operators said they can’t find enough workers. The National Association of Manufacturers sees shortfalls today, and more in the future: an astonishing 2.1 million manufacturing jobs will go unfilled by 2030. With labor shortages the norm today and for the foreseeable future, how can you optimize, retain and improve labor in your operation?

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Posted in Warehousing & Distribution|

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