With the rapid increase in the pace of manufacturing and distribution, facilities that automate manual processes will increase their ROI and grow their bottom line.
Customer demand is ever-increasing, right along with the costs to service that demand. You want your warehouse to deliver faster and more efficient results without sacrificing production. You’re looking at automating components within your facility to produce this change. But how can you really get started?
Tags: Warehouse Management, warehousing, Material Handling, Supply Chain, Manufacturing, distribution center, e-commerce, warehouse productivity
Posted in Automation, Labor & Efficiency|
When a prospective client wants to visit your 3PL facility, it’s critical; you could be on the verge of new business.
You want to show them why they should select you as their 3PL of choice; that you’re the best choice; that you can be trusted to help them serve their clients. It’s no easy task running a successful warehouse or third-party logistics company – it’s a multi-faceted organization with its own specific attributes and specialties.
Tags: Warehouse Management, warehousing, Material Handling, 3PL, lean warehousing, warehouse, Third Party Logistics, warehouse flow, ecommerce
Posted in Warehousing & Distribution|
The forklift is ubiquitous in warehousing, manufacturing, distribution and other industrial operations, but many companies are actively working to reduce fleet size—or eliminate forklifts entirely.
This seems to be mostly about safety. Powered industrial trucks ranked sixth for OSHA violations in the most recent data. They’re always near the top. They cause about 100 deaths in the United States every year, and tens of thousands of injuries, with a high percentage termed “serious.” Forklifts are often the single most hazardous machine in any facility that operates them. Can you truly make a warehouse forklift free, as many EHS experts recommend? Maybe not, but you can minimize forklifts and keep them out of the most dangerous areas. Let’s dive into some methods.
Tags: Warehouse Management, Material Handling, Industrial Lifts, forklift
Posted in Forklift - Pedestrian Safety|
Â
With the rising costs of workers’ compensation insurance and global pressures to increase productivity, warehouse and distribution center managers are taking a much closer look at improving ergonomics. With as many as 65% of worker’s compensation claims associated with manual materials handling, insurance companies are raising their rates—or mandating ergonomic improvements for continued coverage.
Equipment suppliers are responding to the need, engineering and designing features into their products to help workers minimize the strains associated with lifting, reaching, twisting, pulling and pushing. These new product features can also help address the demand for increased productivity as well.
Tags: Order Picking & Fulfillment, Safety & Ergonomics, Material Handling, order fulfillment, warehouse safety, ergonomics, plant safety
Posted in Safety & Ergonomics|
We help clients with structural mezzanines and rack supported systems in a range of facilities.
Mezzanine options range from professionally manufactured to home-made to local fabrication shop to professional contractors. If you have a mezzanine or storage platform custom fabricated, you need to be sure your contractor is complying with OSHA & local safety regulations, particularly on guard railing, stairs and gates. If your fabricator doesn’t routinely work with mezzanines, this is something you’ll have to do on your own. The best policy is to look at established vendors if you don’t want to micro-manage the details of building permits, code compliance, and OSHA’s blessings. Here’s a breakdown of the handrail issues you might run into:
Tags: warehousing, Material Handling, OSHA, Mezzanines, industrial safety, code compliance, building codes, Space Optimization
Posted in Mezzanines & Industrial Platforms|
Working at height continues to rank high on the list every year when it comes to OSHA statistics, potential causes of major injuries and even fatalities.
Research shows that far too many people end up injured or worse because of their work on ladders, rooftops or other spots above the ground. As a result, it is extremely important for EHS leaders to be aware of the potential hazards their personnel face when working at heights, as well as the best ways to keep employees safe on the job.
Tags: industrial safety, lean warehousing, warehouse safety, industrial accident prevention, Safety & Ergonomics, Warehouse Management, warehousing, Material Handling, lean manufacturing
Posted in Safety & Ergonomics|
Choosing guard rail can be confusing unless you understand clearly what kinds of conditions you are guarding against and what assets you are protecting.
Whether it be asset protection from industrial vehicle usage or fall protection for workers, there is a guard rail that can fit each need. Our new Guard Rail Guide offers you insights on the various options that we offer, as well as handy comparisons of rigid and flexible systems. We also help you understand how guard rail impact ratings are calculated and used, so you have the knowledge to make the right selection for your facility.
Tags: warehousing, Material Handling, Safety & Ergonomics
Posted in Safety & Ergonomics|
Forklifts are ubiquitous in warehousing and other industrial operations, but aren’t necessary in many other applications, such as small assembly shops, retailers, auto dealerships, and others that require materials movement but do not need a forklift, with its maintenance costs, safety issues, driver requirements and its footprint in a smaller facility. What methods can you use instead?
Tags: lift transporters, powered lift hand truck, portable stacker, counterweight, non-forklift, Material Handling, stackers
Posted in Safety & Ergonomics|
In recent years, many vendors have created products to help increase pedestrian safety in warehouses, factories, and other areas where forklifts operate. This is no wonder: accidents in this area are far too frequent, and often very devastating or even fatal. Because Cisco-Eagle provides such solutions, we have been asked about the compliance of these products to industry standards, such as the AIAG’s Pedestrian & Vehicle Safety Guidelines.
Tags: Material Handling, industrial safety, warehouse safety, forklift safety
Posted in Forklift - Pedestrian Safety|
If you are in the warehousing or material handling industry, you’ll find yourself identifying warehouse and handling equipment in movies or television shows quite often. Many of us have seen, for instance, the NFL graphics of a large distribution system used on Fox network for years. I’ve pointed out Hytrol conveyors in movies to my wife for years, to the point where she says it first when she sees it.
For fun, we have put together a list of the more famous scenes in entertainment history involving material handling equipment, and how it could have been done better.
Tags: Material Handling, movies
Posted in Warehousing & Distribution|
