Warehousing Insights | Material Handling Systems rack | Warehousing Insights | Material Handling Systems - Part 22
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10 Tips: Pick-to-Light Systems for Order Fulfillment

March 16, 2017
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pick to light for order fulfillment

Light-directed picking is the heavyweight champion when it comes to productivity gains, order picking speed, increased accuracy, and ease of operator development.

Because it’s 100% hands-free and requires no headpiece, it’s also highly flexible for many challenging fulfillment operations. We’ve compiled ten ways to analyze your operation to determine if these systems would be a fit for you. Obviously, more specific information will be needed, but this should get you started.

We spoke with Lightning Pick’s Dave Broadfoot about the best ways to ensure you are making a good pick-to-light decision.

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Posted in Automation, Labor & Efficiency|

Cheap Forklift Warning Lights Could be Incredibly Expensive

March 7, 2017
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forklift safety light mounted on carriage

You see them all over the place in warehouses these days – the ubiquitous blue forklift light gliding over the floor ahead of or behind a lift truck as it winds its way between rack rows, down aisles, across docks, and out of trailers. A wide variety of choices are available, including many inexpensive imports with a bewildering number of dense specifications. How can you tell the difference?

Let’s break down the ways you can avoid the “bargain” light that could cost you plenty.

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Posted in Forklift - Pedestrian Safety|

Factors for Robotic Bag Palletizing Systems

March 2, 2017
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robot placing bags on pallet

Above: SAS Automation standardized bag-gripper

Palletizing is a standard material handling application for industrial robots, and bag palletizing is one of the most typical applications. Why? Because bag palletizing is simpler and easier than case palletizing. If your operation requires bag stacking/pallet loading – and you want to improve speed, reduce mistakes, and create a more ergonomic system, here are the things you need to know.

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Posted in Automation, Labor & Efficiency|

Ways to Improve Forklift Driver Visibility and Awareness Factors

February 7, 2017
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Driver awareness—or lack of it—is responsible for many forklift accidents

Busy, frazzled, distracted, or plain inattentive drivers whose sightlines are impaired may have accidents. They’ll collide with pallet rack posts, building columns, walls, machinery and a variety of other things. Worse, they sometimes hit people. What can you do to increase driver awareness and the ability to see what’s around them?

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Posted in Forklift - Pedestrian Safety|

How to Protect Warehouse Pedestrians from Forklift Rear Swings

December 27, 2016
by

fall protection harness system in a warehouse

Forklifts aren’t cars, and they don’t drive like them.

They don’t brake or accelerate like cars, and they certainly don’t steer like them, yet accidents occur far too often because drivers and pedestrians don’t understand the difference. Pedestrians often misunderstand how forklifts maneuver and the dangers of walking or working around them. Forklifts aren’t dangerous to pedestrians only from the front or rear — they can also hit someone on foot from the side, frequently due to rear-end swings, since forklifts swing wide when they corner.

How can your reduce the chances for this type of accident?

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Posted in Forklift - Pedestrian Safety|

How to Solve the Ergonomic Problems of Floor-Level Carton Picking

September 27, 2016
by

order picker in a rack warehouse

When working with palletized goods stored at floor level beneath a rack beam in a typical warehouse, there are significant issues for order pickers who execute these tasks daily, including strains and stresses that can lead to major injuries, down time, and worker compensation expenses.

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Posted in Safety & Ergonomics|

In Tight Labor Markets, How Can Warehouses Thrive?

August 12, 2016
by

worker selecting box from warehouse rack

Distribution is growing — booming, some would say — particularly in larger markets. This trend is being driven by many factors, including a sustained economic recovery and low unemployment rates. Also, e-commerce powers like Amazon are in the midst of one-day or same-day delivery guarantees that require larger, more capable distribution networks that can serve major markets faster and usually within close proximity.

These factors help to create stress on labor shortages in these cities, as newer distribution facilities open and existing ones expand. Add to that, the ongoing woes with skilled labor and a generally aging labor force.

How can you cope with a tight labor market?

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Posted in Warehousing & Distribution|

Interview: Proximity Detection for Forklift – Pedestrian Safety

June 1, 2016
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ZoneSafe Pedestrian Safety System

Safety has always been important to warehousing and manufacturing, but in recent years, the emphasis has grown – and it’s no wonder.

The forklift has always been at or near the top of these concerns, due to its common use. There are nearly 900,000 forklifts in use in the United State. Forklift accidents are always in OSHA’s top ten  safety violations lists. But the reality is that despite the dangers they can present, forklifts are indispensable for material handling operations.

We sat down with Randall Chamberlain, assistant manager of Cisco-Eagle’s Safety Automation Group, to discuss some common questions involving ZoneSafe, a proximity detection technology that helps alert drivers that pedestrians are nearby as they do their work.

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Posted in Forklift - Pedestrian Safety|

How Forklift Warning Systems Help Separate Traffic & Pedestrians

April 14, 2016
by

Large modern warehouse with forklifts

Forklifts are ubiquitous in the modern warehouse

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.

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Posted in Forklift - Pedestrian Safety|

Demonstrating the Value of Warehouse Operations

April 12, 2016
by

man in business suit standing in front of pallet rack

You know that your warehouse is critically important to being able to satisfy customers. You know how warehousing mistakes can impact your company’s bottom line, and how excellent warehousing can boost it. You know that a lack of resources can cripple a thriving storage or distribution operation. You also know that there are people in some organizations who don’t understand this.

Communicating the warehouse’s value is almost as important as establishing it.

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Posted in Warehousing & Distribution|

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