Conveyors - Full Listings
Material handling system implementations bring a world of concerns and
opportunities. Since these projects tend to be hyper-detailed and have
significant levels of cooperation between vendors, installers, plant personnel,
contractors and multiple departments, it's easy to sometimes focus on the
details while the larger picture is neglected. The two biggest factors people
tend to ignore, but should pay close attention to are probably return on
investment and sustainability.
When you make capital expenditures, you must understand your
return on investment before the first signature is made on the purchase requisition.
In fact, a reasonably clear line of sight to ROI before the first time a
proposal for equipment is requested. While this can be a
complex and time-consuming project, it's not as daunting as you might imagine.
ROI Considerations
- Workforce reduction due to the implementation of the
new equipment. This includes medical benefits, salary
and any employee related expenditures.
- Damaged, untracked, continually rejected, lost or
misread product.
- Better throughput, increasing production speed
- Quicker turnaround means less stock held.
- Reduction of other, now unused, production equipment.
Sell or lease to recoup initial purchase of the new
equipment.
- More efficient equipment usually means more floor space to be used for additional production or storage
for growth.
Material handling systems can be expensive. It's only by analyzing the
total cost of ownership that we can truly understand our investments.
Sustainability Considerations
Any proactive company today realizes that sustainability isn't a buzzword but an asset when making capital
expenditures. Not only is the equipment more efficient, it can make your production, process or facility
much more
sustainable and profitable.
- Materials supplied are energy efficient. Most manufacturers have reliable data that shows energy and cost
savings. You could save enough energy on a 1,000 foot run of conveyor in five years to pay for up to 90% of
the initial cost of the equipment.
- Highly efficient motors used in lieu of
"standard". Again, less energy and
usually less maintenance and oiling
required which means more efficient,
less heat generated, less wear and better
energy consumption.
- All bearings to be sealed, high-speed
premium. They run longer, generate less
noise and usually do not require greasing.
This will make your conveyor and
equipment run quieter, more efficient
and with less or no maintenance in the
future.
- Shutdown or limited run awareness. Make sure that the
equipment purchased does not require energy to
run at optimum speeds while product is not on it. Many cutting edge manufacturers, such as Hytrol
Conveyors, have many options, accessories and models that utilize premium performance
equipment with multiple sustainability features.
- Utilize natural flow or gravity areas within your facility. Whether it's storage rack or conveyor, usually gravity
feed or storage areas can be highly efficient and cost
effective. These products do not use any energy,
require very little maintenance and their overall cost
is about half of what powered conveyor or typical
storage and retrieval systems cost.
- When you plan for a new system or process, figure out
what to do with your waste. Whether it's dunnage,
boxes, packing tape, paper tabs, etc... now is the time to provide a new plan of attack. Use a simple
overhead or floor mounted takeaway belt conveyor to load the random waste. Have one or two locations
for dumping or recycling of these items, this will reduce waste, potential accidents due to materials piling
up, dumpsters located throughout the facility and the
workforce needed to continually monitor it.