Material Handling | Warehousing Insights | Material Handling Systems - Part 3
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Can Your Floor Bear the Weight of a New Mezzanine?

December 13, 2008

structural mezzanine

Structural mezzanine drawing
Be sure your floor can handle a structure – and all the weight or activity planned for that structure

We’ve created an informative article you should check out if you are thinking of installing a mezzanine in your facility.

When implementing an Industrial Equipment Platform (mezzanine) be sure that you are not putting too much stress or weight on the floor of the building. Too much weight will cause the floor to crack – or worse. This article tells you how to calculate the correct load capacity and column spacing for any new structural mezzanine project. Floor capacity depends on the thickness of the concrete, but that’s not the end of the story. It also matters how much the soil underneath the slab will compress.

Click “Calculating Mezzanine Floor Capacities” to get the whole story…
Freestanding Mezzanine inquiry

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Posted in Mezzanines & Industrial Platforms|

Pallet Frames and Overall Capacities

November 20, 2008

pallet rack system in a warehouse

Since overloading is a common source of pallet rack collapses, (in fact misapplication, including capacity issues, is the top cause) it’s important to understand how much weight your rack – not just your beams – can bear.

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Posted in Pallet & Warehouse Racks|

How to Intermingle New & Used Pallet Rack Components

October 3, 2008

warehouse manager making notes

rack connection

When you are running an operation with lots of racking, it isn’t uncommon to have to replace an occasional upright or beam, or to add new bays onto an existing row. Sometimes you cannot avoid it, as the rack was purchased years ago, by someone else, or from a source you can’t even locate. It might be that you bought used rack and need to fill some gaps in, or it may be perfectly good, 10-year old rack that just needs some  damaged components replaced.

This is done all the time, and although it isn’t an optimum situation for rack stability and safety, you can minimize the issues by following the following guidelines:

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Posted in Pallet & Warehouse Racks|

10 Questions: Vertical Reciprocating Conveyor Specification

September 23, 2008

vertical conveyors of several types

A few months ago, we posted a Guide to Vertical Reciprocating Conveyors (you might find it useful if you’re looking at any application that moves a load up and down at least one level integrated with a shaft, mezzanine or other area). That guide includes the following questions, should be helpful as you move ahead with your project.

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Posted in Lifting & Lift Systems|

More Pallet Rack Safety Tips

September 9, 2008

Row of pallet rack storage

Safety in warehouses tends to be greatly about the interactions between forklifts, pallet racks, people and stored products. This list of rack safety tips is part of our ongoing efforts to help warehouses operate safely and efficiently.

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Posted in Pallet & Warehouse Racks|

Wire Pallet Rack Deck Capacities: What You Need to Know

August 17, 2008

pallet rack wire decking

Craig Chamberlain has an article over at the MHEDA Edge website that you need to read if you use pallet rack wire decking.

Here’s the money quote:

“Decking can, and often does, directly bear the total weight of the application’s load and transfers that load to the beams of the pallet rack. Regardless of the weight-bearing capacity of the rack’s beams, an improperly overrated deck can and will jeopardize the load-bearing capacity of the entire system and result in a failure.”

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Posted in Pallet & Warehouse Racks|

Palletizer Perspectives: Is Palletizing Suitable for My Operation?

August 4, 2008

Palletizer - palletized cans

With the growing popularity of automating the palletizing function, we arranged an interview with vonGAL, a leading manufacturer who has the largest installed base of palletizers in the country. Bobby Edmond is vonGAL’s Director of Applications, and has been in the business for 25 years. He has seen applications in a wide range of industries, and in companies large and small. I asked him if he would take time to share his thoughts, and answer a few questions of interest to those that might be considering palletizing for the first time.

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Posted in Automation, Labor & Efficiency|

Options for Mobile Weighing Technologies in the Warehouse

July 11, 2008

Mobile weighing systems

In dynamic distribution environments, accurate, fast weighing, counting, and dimensioning systems are more important than ever. This is particularly true in 3PLs and other operations where needs often change. Getting it right, and getting it quickly has become increasingly more important. One way is to utilize the newer mobile weighing systems on the market today.

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Posted in Warehousing & Distribution|

How to Minimize Forklift Impacts on Pallet Racks

July 3, 2008

Pallet rack and forklift in a warehouse

Pallet racks take a beating over time. They get loaded with exceptionally heavy pallets, by exceptionally powerful lift trucks over and over throughout the course of years. Chances are that if you have pallet rack in your warehouse, it’ll get hit at some point. When it does, inspecting (and generally replacing) it is your best course of action. But what about avoiding that hit, or its dangerous aftermaths in the first place?

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Posted in Pallet & Warehouse Racks|

Palletizers: Ergonomics and Justification

June 30, 2008

Conveyors induct pallets into a palletizer.

As interest continues to grow in automated palletizing, let’s take a brief look at a few of the issues surrounding these applications.

Over the next couple of months, I’ll be providing a handful of blog postings relative to palletizers. We will begin with what is driving the growth in the use of these products, then a look at basic systems, cost estimates, what you can expect from a properly applied palletizer system, and then share specifics from a couple of actual implementations in distribution centers. If you are experienced in palletizer systems, you will likely be familiar with much of what is covered here. If you are new to palletizing, or considering your first system, hopefully, this information will help you understand what the issues are and how you can navigate them.

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Posted in Automation, Labor & Efficiency|

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