As an invaluable tool, they must be operated properly and always with safety in mind. However, that’s not always the case. OSHA statistics reveal there are more than 30,000 serious injuries involving forklifts (and similarly powered vehicles) in the U.S. each year. Approximately 20 percent of those accidents occur when a forklift strikes a pedestrian. This can make the forklift the most dangerous equipment in your facility.
Posted in Forklift - Pedestrian Safety|
AisleCop® forklift safety systems are used by  many companies concerned with the safety of pedestrians who work near forklifts in warehousing, manufacturing and other operations. The system relies on a series of gates, sensors and intelligent controls to manage dangerous, high-traffic, or limited visibility areas. Aside from general traffic applications, AisleCop® is also utilized in innovative ways to guard work cells and other areas where people and traffic interact.
In a major product upgrade, new pedestrian gate systems have been introduced to increase the visibility and versatility of the system.
Tags: Warehouse Management, forklifts, industrial accident prevention, facility safety
Posted in Forklift - Pedestrian Safety|
Industrial traffic is a danger, particularly to pedestrians. The injury and fatality numbers are so frightening that any operation that mixes vehicles should consider options above and beyond simple training when it comes to these issues. There are plenty of options that help increase visibility, warn drivers and help protect pedestrians. One versatile option is the ZoneSafe proximity and warning alert system.
It’s now represented in North America by Cisco-Eagle. Let’s talk about what makes it different.
Tags: warehouse safety, RFID, forklift safety
Posted in Forklift - Pedestrian Safety|
Performance metrics are a universal way to measure a warehouse operation’s overall effectiveness, quality and productivity. In today’s fast-paced and competitive environment, setting benchmarks and goals for a company is essential, but it’s not enough to set lofty goals for the coming year in terms of revenue, profits or production. In the warehouse, success is the sum of all its parts. To reach overall production, quality, safety or service goals, an examination of each step is essential. Through this evaluation process of different performance metrics, managers can find actionable information and begin prioritizing problems within a warehousing or distribution operation.
We’ve previously discussed how key performance indicators (KPIs) demonstrate the value of warehouse functions. Now, let’s take a dive deeper into five specific performance metrics to consider implementing in the modern warehouse. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Warehousing & Distribution|
Most people work less effectively, are less comfortable, and have poorer attitudes in a messy environment. For industrial facility operators, housekeeping can sometimes lag behind with busy days where people hardly have time to look up, much less deal with the clutter and byproducts of meeting shipping deadlines or production demands.
Tags: 5S principles, industrial hygiene, warehouse cleanliness
Posted in Safety & Ergonomics|
When you have bulk materials to store and handle, when is it best to stack them on the floor, and when do you need to move it to storage equipment like heavier racks? How can you safely and effectively stack these materials on the ground? OSHA offers some guidelines on the question from a safety perspective. When you do opt for either floor stacking or rack storage, what are some safeguards you should take?
Posted in Material Handling|
In manufacturing & distribution, safety is an area of top concern, for both the protection of workers and financial ramifications for companies. We spent some time at ProMat with Kelly Kamlager from Ladder Industries to examine the importance of safety and compliance for industrial companies.
Tags: warehousing, OSHA, Safety & Ergonomics, hiring
Posted in Safety & Ergonomics|
A medium-sized chain of convenience stores once asked me to take a look at their Warehouse Management System (WMS) to see if it was time for an upgrade. After documenting all the functions it performed, we discovered that none of them could be described as serving warehouse activities. The system had lots of good purchasing functions—but offered nothing to support the actual warehouse.
Tags: Warehouse Management, WMS, Factory Automation
Posted in Automation, Labor & Efficiency|
When most of us look at steel shelving we see, well, steel shelving, but the truth is, you can customize it more than any other type of industrial shelving to give you additional storage options that better fit your specific storage needs.
Let’s examine some of the possibilities.
Tags: bin shelving, parts storage, compartmentalized, Rousseau, Hallowell, Western Pacific, steel shelving, open shelving, closed shelving, drawer modules
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?
Tags: warehousing, Racks, Safety & Ergonomics
Posted in Pallet & Warehouse Racks|
