Any operation with dock doors faces an uphill challenge when it comes to preserving the climate inside. In particular, air-conditioned and heated facilities must face the reality of losing large volumes of treated air when trailers must be loaded or unloaded. Managers will be asked to scrutinize every expense, and the loss of climate controlled air can be a significant expense.
So how can you minimize air and energy loss?
Posted in Docks & Shipping|
When it comes to storing controlled substances, in particular prescription drugs, the warehouse and bulk storage aspects are important for pharmaceutical, hospital central supply warehouses, or retail outlets. This is an area where many people who should not have access to medication may find easier opportunities for pilferage. The FDA offers some guidelines on how to operate securely, and within regulations. State licensing laws will typically reflect the minimum Federal requirements, but may exceed those, when it comes to the storage and handling of prescription drugs.
Posted in Security|
Especially in heavy manufacturing, machine shops, petroleum or chemical operations, large bundles of pipe, tubing, bar stock or other long, heavy loads must be stored and picked during the day. Multiple ways are available to store these loads. They can be picked by forklifts, by hand, by hoist or by crane. The choices you make will determine how you access the product (and how easily), how much space it takes and its safety. Here are the options:
In some operations, this is the default method. Sometimes these loads are floor-stored between bollards and a wall, or other obstructions that prevent them from rolling or falling outside the defined storage area. This method is the baseline, and it’s not pretty.
For any significant operation, this is going to slow you down, endanger people and cause inventory damage. It’s acceptable for a very low moving stock that is near to its processing machinery or otherwise in a niche somewhere that isn’t expected to grow.
A good majority of these loads are stored on cantilever rack. Drive around any industrial district and you’ll see cantilever racks holding tube and pipe loads everywhere, and for good reason. It works, it’s relatively inexpensive and it’s durable.
Stacking racks are the most versatile option, but also have severe limitations.
Posted in Pallet & Warehouse Racks|
There isn’t much other way to say it: If you have a forklift, it is almost surely the most dangerous piece of equipment under your roof. If you have many forklifts, that danger us multiplied.
How dangerous? According to OSHA estimates, there are 61,800 minor injuries, 34,900 serious injuries and 85 forklift related deaths in the United States every year. Since there are almost 900,000 forklifts operating at any given point in the United States, this is something that every operation needs to consider when your forklifts start moving on a busy day. 11% of them stand a good chance of being in an accident or collision every single year. Those aren’t great odds, considering that a forklift in a given warehouse is heavy, moving, and in a noisy and often visually crowded environment.
Tags: warehouse safety, Safety & Ergonomics, industrial safety
Posted in Safety & Ergonomics|
Wire gauge is a crucial element in wire pallet rack deck design and is also one of the first places manufacturers look to when needing to cut costs, meaning it’s one of the first places you should look when comparing decking for your pallet rack project. Lower cost is great, but only if you’re getting the capacity and durability you need.
Just because two decks are the same size in no way makes them the same deck. Here are the critical differences:
Tags: Pallet Rack, wire decking, industrial storage
Posted in Pallet & Warehouse Racks|
Pallet rack storage is relatively inexpensive and extremely common. In many facilities, it also consumes the majority of square footage. When you can cut down on this space, significant gains can be made that allow you to use the square footage for other purposes. Here are some ideas for reducing your rack storage footprint while maintaining storage capacity.
Tags: pallet racks, dock doors, storage density
Posted in Pallet & Warehouse Racks|
One of the more dangerous items that you’ll find at virtually every facility is the humble gas cylinder. In warehouses or manufacturing operations, you’ll find LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) canisters that power gas forklifts. You’ll also find vertical cylinders for welders, cutting torches, or other equipment operations. Too often, you will find them standing against a wall or on the dock with no protection at all.
Tags: propane tank storage, security, gas cylinders, LPG tanks
Posted in Safety & Ergonomics|
The amount on your purchase invoice isn’t the last time you’ll pay for that conveyor, but those ongoing costs of operations can be dramatically reduced by making good decisions at the point of purchase. Conveyor systems designed for future considerations slash costs and perform better.
Tags: Conveyor, warehousing, conveyor systems, ROI, Sustainability
Posted in Conveyor Optimization|
Shipping & receiving docks are a particularly dangerous area of most operations because so much activity takes place in a confined space. You have truck loading, unloading, staging, inspections, and much more. You have people like order pickers, drivers and guests potentially in the mix. In your average warehouse, the docks take up 20% of the square footage but host 80% of the activity. As you know, at times that activity can be fast-paced – even frenzied as full pallets are taken in, or loaded ones are being loaded into trailers. This is a time rife with possibilities for accidents. How can you prevent them?
Tags: dock layout, warehouse safety, forklift safety, shipping & receiving, Safety & Ergonomics
Posted in Docks & Shipping|
Most forklift accidents are blamed on operator error, but that is just partially true – and something of a cop-out. Rough estimates say that a quarter of forklift accidents could be avoided by addressing environmental concerns. When you eliminate those, it helps you understand better when a driver is truly ineffective, or just hamstrung by the way your warehouse is set up. In other words, before you point the finger at the driver, take a look at your operation. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: OSHA, warehouse safety, forklift safety
Posted in Forklift - Pedestrian Safety|
