This month, we cover the investments one state is making to staff its manufacturing sector, vertical automation options, AI in warehousing, and more.
April 2024 Insights: Staffing America’s Manufacturing Boom
April 25, 2024
by Scott Stone
Tags: Automation, Manufacturing, labor
Posted in Industry Insights|
Stress and The Warehouse Worker: What are the Issues?
February 27, 2024
by Scott Stone
This month, we delve into the stresses faced by warehouse workers, and how that may play into the sector’s competitiveness for labor as the available pool continues to contract. Also: detailed data on manufacturing output, ROI for industrial capital spending, and a bit more.
Tags: Automation, Manufacturing, labor
Posted in Industry Insights|
Cisco-Eagle Announces Strategic Acquisition of Trinity Controls
January 16, 2024
by Scott Stone
Dallas, Texas – January 15, 2024 – Cisco-Eagle, a leading material handling systems integration company, is pleased to announce the acquisition of Trinity Controls, an innovative controls engineering company located in Birmingham, Alabama.
Tags: Automation, controls, ESOP
Posted in ESOP & Company News|
How to Singulate Products on Your Conveyor System
November 28, 2023
by Scott Stone
What is singulation?
Singulation separates and single-lines cartons and other loads into lines as they move on a conveyor. Bulk and parcel applications frequently require singulation. Conveyors and control systems use multi-speed belts, dedicated singulators, skewed rollers and side-driven motors to unscramble multiple lines of products into single-file. Think of singulation as the process of organizing cartons or other loads into a single, neat line for future processing.
Singulation is pivotal for in sorting and organizing materials ranging from boxes to fragile electronics to sturdy automotive components on conveyor systems.
Tags: Automation
Posted in Conveyor Optimization|
October Insights: The “Robot Tax”, Worker Concerns with Automation
October 26, 2023
by Scott Stone
Coverage of issues relating to automation, labor management, material handling, inventory shrinkage, and labor issues for industrial facilities and the people who operate them.
Tags: Inventory Management, Automation, Manufacturing, labor, Robotics
Posted in Industry Insights|
Order Picking, Accuracy and ROI for Industrial Automation
September 5, 2023
by Scott Stone
You could write a short novel–maybe a long one–about ROI for industrial automation projects.
If you’ve engaged in large-scale distribution or manufacturing automation projects, you probably have a good start on that very thing. ROI is a complicated endeavor with moving parts and shifting priorities. Because investments are always competing with other concepts, it often comes down to this: what’s most important to your company, your business environment and your industry.
Tags: Automation, return on investment, order fulfilment
Posted in Order Picking & Fulfillment|
Conveyors: Optimizing the End of the Line
June 13, 2023
by Scott Stone
Conveyors are primarily a transport mechanism within a facility: they move products from point A to point B to point C. Value is added at all points along the way. They’re the most efficient way to do that, even if that’s the only task they have. However, that’s rarely the only way they’re used. They’re loaded at point A, then transport the load to points of value down the line. Processes are is executed at point B, and something is finalized at point C — at the end of the line. Let’s dive into the ways you can drive value at the end of the line.
Tags: Automation, labor, Packaging, Docks
Posted in Conveyor Optimization|
A Guide to Shoe Sorter Applications
October 5, 2021
by Scott Stone
Conveyor systems with shoe sorters are the go-to method for carton or parcel handling divert applications, but aren’t limited to just those types of loads. Shoe sorters are gentle with the product, fast and reliable with lower maintenance than other sortation options. What are the best applications for shoe sorter conveyors?
Tags: sortation, Automation
Posted in Conveyor Optimization|
Specifying High-Performance Parcel Handling Conveyor Solutions
September 2, 2021
by Scott Stone
The pressure on companies of all types to continuously ship faster and more efficiently has grown, particularly in the age of increased e-commerce, an extremely tight labor market and Covid-19 restrictions. Increased demand also affects retail distribution as companies work to develop effective delivery channels outside traditional ship-to-store.
The core mission of these operations is parcel shipping–an old art with new twists.
Tags: Automation
Posted in Conveyor Optimization|
Ways to Pick Full Cases Faster, More Accurately and More Ergonomically
July 16, 2021
by Scott Stone
Case picking is common in most e-commerce, retail and wholesale distribution operations, so it’s important to understand the best ways to pick cartons from start to finish through a process. Most warehouse operations will need at least some case-picking capacity. Beverage and grocery distributors almost always need a large full case picking function. Since order picking commands a high percentage of distribution center labor costs, finding ways to make it more efficient is critical.
Tags: Automation
Posted in Order Picking & Fulfillment|