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.

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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?

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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.

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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.

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Ergonomics in the warehouse is a constant focus that each operation looks to improve. You want your workers to perform better each day while reducing factors that contribute to missed time and injuries. One way to achieve this is by adding workbenches to your facility. When built to the right specifications, workbenches help people work faster, more accurately and more ergonomically. That’s why we’ve added a new guide to workstations.

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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?

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As with all equipment in your facility, your workers are important parts of the operations process and the bottom line. Keeping them safe is always a high priority, but just as important is making sure they can be comfortable (or at least as comfortable as allowed) so that performance and productivity have less of a chance of faltering.  You want to protect the human body from unnecessary strain and stress in all situations, but while standing is an area easy to offer help and reduce fatigue.

Applying the use of anti-fatigue mats throughout your facility can not only aid in this never-ending quest to protect workers but also enhance areas not thought of as important for continuous care.

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Dock door security cages are used to control access to warehouse facilities, docks and receiving areas where drivers, service workers and others enter a building. They are typically 2 or 3-sided and cover a dock’s personnel access door while allowing truck drivers and other visitors to enter the facility, but not the warehouse and general storage or production areas. This lets you admit visitors (or not) as your security and safety rules dictate.

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Maybe you’ve reached a point in your business where automation seems inevitable. You have to scale up to keep up, and you need new technology. We advise companies on this transition, and it can start with smaller changes than you might think. But if you haven’t broken the seal yet, you might be wondering: how do I discuss this with my employees?

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The right accessories make your forklifts safer, more efficient and more productive. Because forklifts are a staple of most every warehouse, finding ways to make them more versatile and safer will always pay off. We believe that every forklift and warehouse can work better, and have released this new forklift accessories guide that shares some of our experience on the subject.

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