The type of AGV and the way it navigates are two huge considerations in any automated material transport project. Vehicle type dictates functionality, interface and payload factors, but navigation is critical to overall performance. After all, AGVs travel; that’s their primary role. The way they do wind their way through rack aisles, across dock areas, near work cells, around conveyors and throughout the warehouse can make or break a project. The options range from simple methods like tape guidance to highly-automated laser and contour systems.
Comparing AGV Navigation Methods
Posted in Automation, Labor & Efficiency|
Vertical Package Transport: Incline Conveyors vs. Reciprocating Lifts vs. Spiral Conveyors
High-velocity order picking operations frequently need to transport cartons vertically–on and off mezzanines or pick modules, into workstations, onto work platforms, over traffic aisles or to merge with overhead conveyor lines. You can accomplish this with incline conveyors, vertical package lifts, spiral conveyors, automated package lifts and manual methods. Each method has its limitations and its advantages.
Posted in Automation, Labor & Efficiency|
How to Prevent Pallet Rack Push-Through Accidents
When heavy pallets are stored on horizontal beams in your pallet rack system, there is always some danger of a pallet or items stored on it, being pushed through the back of the rack. Items or full pallets can then fall or push the pallet behind them toward the next aisle in double row systems. What are some options to reduce the hazards related to push-through accidents?
Tags: Safety & Ergonomics
Posted in Pallet & Warehouse Racks|
AGVs, AMRs, and Conveyors: Automated Product Transport Applications
When you need to move loads—pallets, totes, cartons or other items—through a facility without manual involvement, the options fall into three broad categories: AMRs (automated mobile robots), AGVs (automated guided vehicles) and conveyor systems. Each of these methods has its advantages, and all can be integrated to work with each other.
Posted in Automation, Labor & Efficiency|
Bryan Gauger Promoted to President of Cisco-Eagle
Bryan Gauger will become President of Cisco-Eagle on January 1, 2023, according to CEO and Chairman Darein Gandall.
Tags: Employee ownership, ESOP
Posted in ESOP & Company News|
How to Handle and Remove Corrugated Box Waste in Distribution Applications
Without efficient waste handling flow, systems bog down as people work to clear trash from their work areas. It’s a distraction that significantly impacts productivity and safety, so removing trash from a large scale picking or packing system can be problematic. Pick systems tend to generate empty cartons, and dealing with that waste material can be costly and time consuming if not planned in advance. Devising the right waste (or empty carton) strategy cannot be minimized during the system design process.
Posted in Order Picking & Fulfillment|
Forklift-Pedestrian Safety: Docks, Shipping and Receiving Areas
Because shipping docks are busy, sometimes chaotic areas, they can become a safety hazard if not properly managed. During a busy shift, you may find multiple forklifts, carts, walkies and other traffic trying to work across a series of bay doors, all with pedestrians potentially in the same areas. They can adjoin staging areas, which often allow even more forklifts and pedestrians to work in the same, shared area. That’s where accidents are most likely to occur.
Posted in Forklift - Pedestrian Safety|
Warehouse Safety: Pedestrians, Workstations and Forklifts
Above: work areas facing away from an active traffic aisle with pallet stacks that impede visibility for both pedestrians and forklifts.Â
Forklift accidents make OSHA’s top-10 list every year without fail because forklifts are ubiquitous in American industry and interact with hundreds of thousands of people every day. One of the key places to prioritize safety is for pedestrians—the people on foot who work near and walk around forklifts on a daily basis.
Posted in Forklift - Pedestrian Safety|
Five Decades of Partnership and Growth: Hytrol and Cisco-Eagle
Above: Hytrol President David Peacock (right) presents a 50th anniversary award to Cisco-Eagle CEO Darein Gandall (left)
On November 5th, 1970, Warren Gandall booked the first order in Cisco-Eagle history. Richard Nixon was president that day and if you pumped a gallon of gas, it set you back 36 cents. The company, Eagle Material Handling, was primarily a shelving and rack distributor with only three full-time employees. One of the fledgling company’s most important days—the day it became a Hytrol Conveyor integration partner—wouldn’t come until 1972.
Posted in ESOP & Company News|
Racks, Shelving and Automation: Options for Effective Storage
Warehouse racks and industrial shelving are sort of like alligators and crocodiles: they look alike, they do similar things, and they are often mixed up. Both are vertical structures that have horizontal shelves for industrial storage. But they aren’t the same thing–they have distinctive missions and functions. Most warehouses use both types of storage for various types of loads, and there are gray areas where either can be used, depending on the storage strategy. Knowing the differences can help you store your inventory more efficiently and effectively.
Posted in Automation, Labor & Efficiency|