Welcome to 2023, and our look at the world of manufacturing and distribution.
January Roundup: Just-in-Time, Manufacturing Employment, Industrial Guardrail Standards
January 24, 2023
by Scott Stone
Posted in News, Manufacturing, Supply Chain| No Comments »
AGVs, AMRs, and Conveyors: Automated Product Transport Applications
January 5, 2023
by Scott Stone
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, Manufacturing, Material Handling| No Comments »
December Roundup: Manufacturing Digital Technology
December 20, 2022
by Scott Stone
Welcome to our December roundup of articles, videos and news for busy industrial operations professionals. The focus in 2023 seems to be the threat of both labor shortages and a potential recession, both of which offer challenges to warehousing, distribution and manufacturing operations.
Posted in News, Automation, Manufacturing| No Comments »
November Roundup: Conveyor Safety, Manufacturing and Automation
November 15, 2022
by Scott Stone
We’ve curated a number of the most insightful tips, articles, opinions and videos we’ve been seeing this month.
Posted in Conveyor, News, Manufacturing| No Comments »
Warehouse Safety: Pedestrians, Workstations and Forklifts
November 10, 2022
by Scott Stone
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 Manufacturing, Material Handling, AisleCop, Safety & Ergonomics, Warehousing| No Comments »
July Roundup: Distribution Center Metrics, The State of Logistics
July 26, 2022
by Scott Stone
Every month, we curate the best of what we’ve read, watched or downloaded in the world of manufacturing, distribution, logistics, storage and handling. Here’s what we have seen in July.
Posted in News, Warehousing, Manufacturing| No Comments »
How to Reduce Conveyor Headaches, Repair Costs and Downtime
June 16, 2022
by Scott Stone
We spoke with Tim Harris, our manager of Field Services Group. Tim’s expertise when it comes to conveyors – and how to keep them running tip-top – is unparalleled. Tim and the Field Services group maintains many miles of conveyors from virtually every manufacturer, in just about every environment. Here’s what he had to say.
Posted in Conveyor, Manufacturing, Material Handling, ROI| No Comments »
New Rules for Industrial Automation ROI
January 4, 2022
by Scott Stone
In October 2019, I wrote this article on ROI factors for automation projects. That was just over two years ago, but the world is–to understate the case–a different place now. We endured a relentless Covid-19 pandemic that still persists. The “great resignation” has accelerated. Ecommerce demand was already ascendant, but is on an even faster track. The labor pool got shallower and continues to contract. What should we consider when we look at these projects in 2022 and beyond?
Posted in Automation, Manufacturing, ROI, Order Picking & Fulfillment| No Comments »
Where to Add Warehouse Guardrails
February 9, 2021
by Scott Stone
Facility safety for many warehouses focuses on industrial traffic and vehicles like forklifts or stackers, and no wonder—the damage that a simple mistake can do, and the people that can be harmed—is considerable. There are many varieties of guardrail systems, and they all function a little differently but have the same role: solid protection for a critical area when all else fails.
Posted in Safety & Ergonomics, Warehousing, Manufacturing| No Comments »
Vertical Pallet Movement Options
September 15, 2020
by Scott Stone
In modern warehouses and manufacturing facilities, the vertical cube should be fully exploited, meaning that you should use overhead air space in your storage and processing operations because it’s less expensive and more efficient. Before you expand or relocate, it’s always better to use that space. You’ve already paid for it and the environmental costs of using it.
Using that space comes with some limitations. One is that you’ll need to transport pallets up to mezzanines or other machinery. While that’s more difficult than moving cartons or other lighter loads, there are ways. Let’s examine some of those options.
Posted in Warehousing, Manufacturing, Material Handling, Space Optimization & Planning| No Comments »