Because high-bay warehouses with narrow aisles and heights of 30 feet or more have become common, it’s critical to understand your facility floor if you intend to add racks, change layouts or otherwise alter the operation. If you’re adding or changing an existing facility, and the design has changed so that higher density, taller or heavier racks are in play, what factors should you consider?
Posted in Pallet & Warehouse Racks|
Mezzanines offer an affordable way to increase the vertical cube of your facility. This expansion can fuel growth and reduce the need for additional locations (especially in this new normal of sky-high commercial real estate).
When looking at a mezzanine install, or even when operating with an existing version, worker safety is paramount. One safety aspect to pay careful attention to is the risk of falling items from your mezzanine. To help reduce these risks, there are multiple methods of protection available, but which one is the best fit for your mezzanine?
Tags: Safety & Ergonomics, Space Optimization
Posted in Mezzanines & Industrial Platforms|
Conveyors used to transport, sort and deliver produce such as fruits and vegetables must be precise, sanitary and capable of carefully handling delicate foods. Production and packaging machinery should integrate with conveyor systems to ensure seamless operation. What are some produce conveying factors?
Posted in Conveyor Optimization|
Any aisle that overlooks an area where people work, shop or walk should be protected against falling items, and rack netting is one of the most common ways to do that. It’s relatively inexpensive, full-time protection that can also help you maintain NFPA flue space requirements.
Posted in Pallet & Warehouse Racks|
In the most recent installment in our Shoptalk video series, employee-owner (and Design Technician Manager) Edward Wallis discusses the differences between DEA-compliant security cages for controlled substances and general security cages. If you deal with pharmaceuticals or other sensitive inventory, you need to know the critical differences between general inventory and controlled substance secure storage.
With New Year’s Eve just now becoming a (possibly blurry) memory, beer providers are preparing not only for the next celebration but for the continued increase in consumption. With Covid-19 and its variants providing steady uncertainty, alcohol buyers are making sure their supply is stocked and that they have access.
To combat the demand and current supply chain woes, those that store and distribute beer, in particular, are faced with storage and accessibility challenges. You want to keep the flow (pun intended) moving so that sales are made and product is shipped on time, but what are some ways to help ensure this happens?
Posted in Pallet & Warehouse Racks|
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, Labor & Efficiency|
Above: wire security cage installed beneath a mezzanine using both wire mesh and solid sides
Wire security partitions are a great way to make your warehouse more secure. They’re used in tool cribs, for high-value inventory and to control access to restricted areas. You can specify a partition of almost any shape, almost any size and with a world of locks, windows and other options to create a versatile, secure storage area. You can also specify the wall type: woven wire, welded wire and solid. What wall type should you use?
Posted in Security|
In some countries, pallet rack safety standards are much more rigorous and defined than in the United States. The U.S. lives in more of a gray zone, with overlap from multiple organizations and building code standards. However, safety is always a concern for warehouses or other facilities that use pallet racks, and a lack of standards hardly means a lack of accountability.
Posted in Pallet & Warehouse Racks|
Automated storage and retrieval systems are becoming more commonly deployed in today’s modern distribution, manufacturing and warehousing facilities because they make more sense than ever in an age of escalating demand and declining labor availability. Is space tight? What are the error rates throughout fulfillment? What kind of space issues do you see moving forward? What are the safety and ergonomic concerns?
Tags: Order Picking & Fulfillment, ecommerce, ROI
Posted in Automation, Labor & Efficiency|
