Warehouse managers tend to focus on internal processes, equipment and systems, but making your dock apron and loading zone more efficient will save time, money and damage. Truck drivers who can’t clearly see the right dock in darkness or poor weather can’t maneuver effectively or square up to the dock quickly. They often must back in and out multiple times. Helping drivers align and organize will improve the entire flow of your shipping and receiving operation.
Posted in Docks & Shipping|
One of the critical aspects of pallet rack system design, aside from the specs of the rack itself, are the various clearances between rack components, the loads and the surrounding environment. Flue space can be critical for fire safety compliance. Space between a rack row and the row behind it can contribute to a safer and more effective rack system. Narrow aisles can contribute to accidents. Too tall? You could cause damaged and falling inventory, as well as damage to fixtures or HVAC components.
At the end of the day, the space around the rack is nearly as important as the rack itself.
Posted in Pallet & Warehouse Racks|
In this installment of Cisco-Eagle’s Shoptalk series, Missy, who works extensively with forklift safety lights and other accessories, discusses the different styles and types of forklift safety lights available, and how to choose the right light for your operation. Different styles of lights will bring you different levels of safety and protection. Missy lines out what each type of forklift light will do for you in this video.
Tags: Shoptalk
Posted in Safety & Ergonomics|
Buffers can be found in most warehouses and manufacturing facilities, and they take many forms. You can build buffers into racks, floor space, conveyors or external storage areas like truck trailers. When you need to temporarily store materials before they enter putaway, shipment, kitting, processing, or another production process, what are some of the best design, equipment specification and usage practices?
Posted in Space Optimization & Planning|
For order pickers, packers and others in industrial facilities, warehouse ergonomics is critical to both safety and effectiveness. The way you store and pick can enhance productivity — or hamper it. In an age of labor shortages and spiraling costs, it pays to design for ergonomics. The core of that is where you place items for picking and processing.
Posted in Safety & Ergonomics|
Above: in this automated e-commerce distribution center, picks are packed into cartons from totes on the conveyor line. Because conveyors deliver the totes directly to workers, and the work is executed at ergonomic heights, the process is fast and efficient.
Order fulfillment is only as fast as its slowest function, and packing–often the last stop before shipping–can be a bottleneck. We’ve analyzed many operations that underestimated the needs of the packing department from the start, while others realized over time that new requirements, new SKUs and order volumes that were fine at go-live eventually bogged the packing function. It’s not unusual for picking processes to react faster and better to these conditions than the packing area.
Tags: 3PL, Third Party Logistics, ecommerce
Posted in Order Picking & Fulfillment|
You should always analyze the economy of movement for repetitive tasks like assembly, packing, picking and repair. Imagine reaching to the same shelf, for the same carton, to pull the same part. How many times a shift does someone make that reach? How many working days a year? How many years? Shaving time and effort off a simple repetitive motion can shave time off your process and improve ergonomics over the years.
To do that, look at how many times–and places–your people reach for things on a daily basis.
Tags: ergonomics, workstations
Posted in Storage, Organization & Workstations|
Vertical reciprocating conveyors—or VRCs—make it easy to move materials between levels, such as onto a mezzanine or down to basement storage. As you might expect, this equipment involves enclosures and access features for optimum safety. In this installment of our Shoptalk series, employee-owner Christine Perry offers a quick look at these features.
Tags: Shoptalk
Posted in Lifting & Lift Systems|
Above: scissor lift/rotator at the end of pallet conveyor line
Conveyors and scissor lifts are frequently integrated due to the fact that it’s such an efficient way to manipulate loads along a conveyor line. Loads can be lifted, raised or rotated on a lift table for a variety of activities. When you need to actively work on a conveyed item, it’s ideal. Here’s how to go about it.
Posted in Lifting & Lift Systems|
Pallet racks are safe and stable storage for pallets and bulk loads in warehouses, factories and other facilities, but you should be aware of the kind of dangers they pose when misapplied, modified or neglected. In any safety program, you’re always looking for risks you can prevent. What are some avoidable risks when it comes to pallet rack?
Tags: Safety & Ergonomics
Posted in Pallet & Warehouse Racks|
