warehouse | Warehousing Insights | Material Handling Systems - Part 6
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Industrial Workstations: The Key to Improved Productivity in the Warehouse

April 19, 2016

Modern packaging and shipping work bench station

Providing employees with a comfortable, ergonomic, and efficient workspace is a necessity in any picking, packing, assembly, inspection, quality control, manifesting or other industrial operations. A proper industrial workstation, tailored to the task and employee, goes a long way toward creating a healthier and more productive workspace and environment.

There are dozens of options for workstations, ranging from a simple bench to a more elaborate set up designed with the job in mind. Let’s take a look a few industrial workstations and their unique benefits.

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Posted in Storage, Organization & Workstations|

Demonstrating the Value of Warehouse Operations

April 12, 2016

Executive in the warehouse

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|

5 Ways Folding Gates Make Your Warehouse Safer

March 17, 2016

Folding security gate: warehouse dock door application

Safety and security are critical for warehouses and other industrial facilities. Many times, safety means controlling access to your facility and keeping unauthorized people out of areas where they aren’t allowed. Industrial-strength folding gates make your facilities more secure, but allow frequent, easy access to those who need it. Whether it’s a doorway, hallway, or loading dock, folding gates make warehouses safer. Let’s dive into it.

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Posted in Security|

What’s the Right Warehouse Rack System for Your Operation?

March 8, 2016

Forklift in front of rack and shelving warehouse system

A warehouse rack system is a humble part of any storage operation that can quietly make or break its success. While that may sound dramatic, it’s a fact that in a warehouse or distribution center a rack system is at the core of operations. It’s involved in several stages of operations and it follows that it should be carefully considered.

The good news is warehouse racking systems are available in many different configurations. Most can be customized to suit your warehouse’s specific space and business needs, fill the cube and operate in most any way you’d like. Whether you are storing pallets, beverage loads, heavy components, furniture, food, cartons or any other load, rack systems can be designed to fit your application.

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Posted in Pallet & Warehouse Racks|

5 Key Warehouse Performance Metrics for an Effective Operation

January 28, 2016

warehouse operations

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|

How to Properly Evaluate Your Warehouse Management System (WMS)

October 15, 2015

warehouse-management-system

What Does a Warehouse Management System Do?

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.

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Posted in Automation, Labor & Efficiency|

How Warehouse Safety Technology is Changing Everything

May 19, 2015

order picking in a rack aisle

Scene: a typical, busy warehouse

 

A fulfillment center with row upon row of pallet racks. Eight dock doors occupy one wall of the building, some for receiving, some for shipping. Pick workers work in the rack aisles pushing carts and pallet jacks loaded with picked orders. Other pick workers have empty totes on carts for pulling orders. Fork trucks stock pallet rack and pull bulk stock for large orders. Dock doors are left open much of the time, even when there’s no trailer at the dock.

How many potential safety risks can you envision in this scenario? How do you prevent those from happening?

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Posted in Safety & Ergonomics|

Ergonomic Safety Tips for the Warehouse

April 2, 2015

Warehouse workers

Everyday functions of most warehouses and industrial operations fall within the realm of manual material handling–constant lifting, bending, stretching, reaching, pushing and otherwise manipulating materials by physical force. People are moving cartons, picking orders, reaching for packing materials and performing other tasks. Manual material handling contributes to musculoskeletal disorders, to the tune of more than 500,000 reported annual reported cases of strains and stress in shoulders, backs, arms and legs.

While you can never eliminate it, you can reduce the worst aspects of it. Let’s dive into some ways.

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Posted in Safety & Ergonomics|

Advantages of Modular Buildings in the Warehouse

March 17, 2015

Modular Building

In the past year I’ve toured manufacturing facilities that have office space right on the plant floor.  Those offices had been added as the company grew and needed more supervisors or engineers on the floor. They were using modular offices, of course. Later, I was fortunate to attend a training session on modular offices done by one of our suppliers, and it was amazing the forethought and engineering that goes into these modular buildings.

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Posted in Warehousing & Distribution|

Records Storage Warehouses: Questions to Ask

December 11, 2014

records storage facility

The year is coming to an end, and many operations need to address records storage. We see an influx of companies coming to work with us on their records storage and archive storage areas from October through April. With new healthcare and other regulations, companies must store an increasing amount of paper records. If you have enough of a records storage load, and lack either the space or the time to manage your archives, you may opt to use a third party records storage facility.

When you are specifying a vendor, here are some questions you should ask.

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Posted in Storage, Organization & Workstations|

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