You can see some of the mistakes happening in this video. Others aren’t so obvious.
This Forklift Accident Was Preventable
February 16, 2010
by Scott Stone
Tags: forklift safety, industrial accident, warehouse safety, pallet racks
Posted in Safety & Ergonomics|
Warehouse Safety: Distracted Forklift Drivers
January 6, 2010
by Scott Stone
If you’ve ever stopped at a traffic light, and shuddered at the texting, teenage (or all too often, an adult) driver in the next lane, you probably thought this is an irresponsible person who shouldn’t be behind the wheel. Given statistics that smart phone users are impaired as drunk drivers, it’s a serious and deadly issue; most states have laws specifically forbidding texting on the road. The question is, do you tolerate that kind of distractions for forklift drivers in your warehouse? Should you have the same rules? (Short answer: yes).
Tags: warehousing, Pallet Rack, forklift safety, distracted driving
Posted in Forklift - Pedestrian Safety|
How to Improve Order Picking without Automation
November 20, 2009
by Scott Stone
Cliff Holste at Supply Chain Digest (opens in a new window) has a good piece on ways to improve picking productivity.
Distribution centers will benefit from emerging automated case picking technologies, but those don’t fit for every operation, at every level. They’re also expensive upgrades, so your ROI has to be considered as well.
Tags: Order Picking & Fulfillment, Warehouse Management, warehousing, order fulfillment, distribution center, ROI
Posted in Order Picking & Fulfillment|
Ways to Protect Overhead & Dock Doors from Forklift Damage
November 4, 2009
by Scott Stone
Walk any warehouse, manufacturing facility, or commercial storage operation and you’ll almost always find two things: forklifts and dock doors.
If that building has been in place for any length of time, you’ll also find dinged, dented, ruined or replaced dock door guides, pallet rack frames, building columns, etc. While many operations take steps to use guard rails or bollards to shield their critical machinery, dock doors can be left out.
Posted in Safety & Ergonomics|
Get Your Pushback Rack Load Right
October 12, 2009
by Scott Stone
Push back rack systems are excellent high density storage solutions — perhaps the most economical way to squeeze space out of a crowded warehouse. All loads are stored and retrieved from the same aisle. This reduces the number of aisles needed in a facility, freeing up more space for storage. Aisles can take a great deal of space up in a typical warehouse, so by implementing a pushback pallet rack system, you essentially swap selectivity for space. Push back rack systems provide a Last-In-First-Out (LIFO) inventory rotation, so you have to be certain your load fits. If it does, congratulations — you’ve just saved a lot of space.
But there are issues that can arise when pushback rack is inappropriately specified or utilized.
Posted in Pallet & Warehouse Racks|
Pallet Conveyor Application Guidelines
October 2, 2009
by Scott Stone
Many operations utilize pallet or slip-sheet to convey bulked material, whether in manufacturing, work in process, to convey from a palletizer, or in shipping areas. While some applications require these palletized items to only be carried the last few feet of their process, many rely solely on the pallets to carry their product throughout a facility. Today’s processes require a smarter and often unique footprint for these palletized items. However, historically these unique footprints have been difficult for the material handling, namely conveyors, to handle effectively.
Tags: conveyors, pallet conveyor, skid conveying
Posted in Conveyor Optimization|
How to Design Workbenches & Workstations
September 24, 2009
by Scott Stone
It ought to be fairly simple, but specifying the right workbench for your application is something that requires thought and pre-planning if you want to maximize your time and labor. Minor differences in the type of bench can provide critical benefits that add up to major productivity gains over time. Benches aren’t the simple, static equipment many believe. Here are some traits to consider.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: work bench, warehousing, workstations, ergonomics, workbenches
Posted in Storage, Organization & Workstations|
10 Steps to Supply Chain Sustainability
July 17, 2009
by Scott Stone
The Material Handling Industry of America has posted a video that may be helpful if you are starting the process of “greening” your supply chain.
Baby steps are important, especially at the plant level. For instance, in a recent Cisco-Eagle white paper (PDF), we point out the value of energy efficient conveyor motors. A thousand feet of conveyor outfitted with energy efficient motors could cut enough energy costs over five years to pay for 90% of the cost of the equipment. Also, besides its money savings and “green” profile, you are also saving on heat, which means the equipment may require less maintenance, and endure less wear and tear. It’s a win-win.
Tags: Sustainability
Posted in Warehousing & Distribution|
Reduce Cooling Costs with HVLS Fans
June 15, 2009
by Scott Stone
It’s summer, and it’s hot. No doubt, if you have an air-conditioned facility, your electric bills are headed someplace north of the top of the Eiffel Tower. HVLS (high volume, low speed) ceiling-mounted fans can reduce climate control costs, in particular when your facility is already air-conditioned.
Tags: heat stress, heat exhaustion, industrial fans, cooling, fans
Posted in Safety & Ergonomics|
Storage Efficiency: Shelves vs. Modular Drawers vs. Flow vs. Vertical Carousels
June 3, 2009
by Scott Stone
Storage systems are designed for different goals, but space efficiency is always important for growing and evolving warehouses and manufacturing facilities. Which storage equipment suits you, your application, product and needs?
Above: a visual comparison of space utilization featuring various methods. The vertical carousel provides the same amount of storage space as several rows of shelving or modular drawer storage. In this instance, the carousel saves over 1,400 square feet of floor space compared to shelving. Flow racks also compare favorably to shelving in terms of space utilization.
Tags: warehouse storage, space savings
Posted in Space Optimization & Planning|