We published an article in the third quarter of the MHEDA Journal, Automation and Labor: Can’t They Get Along? The point of that article is that for American labor, robots aren’t currently reducing employment so much as changing it. Automated industries tend to be more profitable and less vulnerable to offshoring and other job-reducing factors.
Our friends at AutoQuip brought up another point—that automated systems and lifts can add valuable years to the working lives of high-skill, aging employees.
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Tags: labor
Posted in Automation, Labor & Efficiency|
Guardrails are used to separate people, structures, machinery and valuable assets from heavy forklifts weighing more than 10,000 pounds. The requirements for durability and impact resistance are demanding, yet many don’t understand what types of impacts their systems can endure, and under what circumstances. The issue is compounded by the fact that many manufacturers simply don’t provide impact ratings for their guard rails. Some companies fabricate and install home-made railing, which is likely to never have been rated at all.
What can you do to ensure your guard railing system can protect your employees and property the way it’s supposed to?
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Tags: traffic management, guard rail systems, facility safety, hand rails, bollards
Posted in Safety & Ergonomics|
Rivet shelving is one of the most versatile forms of industrial shelving available. With individual shelf capacities up to 1,400 pounds, it rivals the load capacity of heavy wide span or pallet rack but is designed for carton and case storage. It assembles quickly due to its tear-drop and pin connectors and is extremely sturdy whether using a single-rivet or double-rivet design. It’s also available in an amazing array of sizes and layouts.
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Tags: storage, rivet shelving, Penco, Western Pacific Storage Solutions, carton
Posted in Storage, Organization & Workstations|
Heavy inventory stored high on racks have a chance for pallets or cartons to fall. How can you prevent this problem?
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Tags: warehousing, Racks, Safety & Ergonomics
Posted in Pallet & Warehouse Racks|
In today’s fast moving storage operations, mobility, flexibility, and convenience are critical for keeping up with the rapidly changing demands of operations like assembly and order picking. Industrial shelving has evolved from simple bolt-up static types to a variety of mobile configurations that serve specific applications. Here are some ways to improve your operation by adding mobile shelves.
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Tags: aluminum, order pick, replenish, short term storage, mobile aisle, steel, assembly, mobile shelving, wire, shelf truck, security cage
Posted in Storage, Organization & Workstations|
Conveyors are often installed overhead or suspended from the ceiling to help conserve floor space or to interface with mezzanines or platforms. This may create potential fall hazards. Loads can fall from inclined conveyors as they are conveyed up or down, or be subject to other factors that can cause a fall from an elevated line. Even on a floor-mounted conveyor, a spill can split a case, land on an order pickers’ toes, or damage inventory.
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Tags: Belt Conveyors, guard rails, conveyor safety, fall protection
Posted in Conveyor Optimization|
What goes up…
In warehousing and storage operations where inventory is stored high on racks, stacked on floors, slotted into on multi-level shelving, mezzanine deck-overs or on suspended/overhead conveyor as it moves, there is one constant: things will fall. They fall because they’re stacked wrong. They fall because an order picker or a forklift bumps them. Things fall due to seismic activity, machine stops, or silly mistakes. Sometimes it seems like they fall for no reason at all.
What can you do to “stop the drop”?
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Tags: product damage, conveyor safety, warehouse control, Inventory protection
Posted in Safety & Ergonomics|
Is your facility in a seismic zone? Are you sure?
An increasing number of areas across the United States are demonstrating geological stresses and increased fault pressures that lead to earthquakes and smaller seismic events. So much more that our national seismic map was recently updated to include areas of the northeast and southern tier states not previously known for earthquakes, as well as enhanced zone classification in the inter-mountain west and known fault areas. Are you sure your pallet rack is correctly configured to withstand seismic ground forces?
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Tags: Pallet Rack, training, wire decking, seismic, earthquake, fall protection, safety net, wire mesh panel, pallet support, stretch wrap
Posted in Pallet & Warehouse Racks|
It’s common to store large amounts of inventory on
industrial shelving. The diversity of that inventory—bins full of parts, boxes of varying weights and other odd loads—can contribute to the dangers of falling product. Shelves are accessed frequently and by a variety of people, meaning that every time they are loaded, unloaded, picked or bumped, a spill could happen. A falling shelf load could cause worker injuries and of course ruin your inventory. What can you do about it?
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Tags: warehousing, shelving, plant safety, Inventory protection
Posted in Storage, Organization & Workstations|
When it comes to warehousing operations, there are many ways to approach a continuous improvement project. You can automate, you can reorganize. You can employ a consultant. Three of the constant factors are time, standards, and data.
Here are some insights on each of these important areas:
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Tags: wcs, benchmarking, data, facility optimization, WMS, lean warehousing, ROI
Posted in Automation, Labor & Efficiency|
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