Conveyor Systems FAQ

What questions should you ask about your conveyor system project?

Q: What is a conveyor system?

A: Systems are usually defined as a conveyor, or group of conveyors, working in concert with each other or other machinery to achieve a goal. Conveyor systems can range from a very sophisticated distribution applications with hundreds of synchronized conveyors, controls, and integrations to a small number of conveyors that execute a specific task in a relatively small footprint. Conveyor systems typically have some level of controls and automation. They involve multiple conveyors working in concert with software or production machinery or material handling equipment or packaging machinery. In general, if your application requires multiple conveyors working either in concert with each other or with other machinery, it's a "system" by definition.

Q: What's the biggest benefit of a conveyor system?

A: The biggest reason to install a conveyor system is that it can automate materials movement and reduce the "hands-on" jobs of feeding a machine, moving a carton, or rotating a pallet. Conveyor systems free people for more appropriate, value-added tasks. There are plenty of angles, but the most important are:

• Labor cost reduction: Conveyor systems make it less expensive to move material within a distribution or manufacturing operation. When the volume justifies it, conveying an item is far more efficient than moving it by forklift, cart or hand. Reducing the number of people required to process a shipment, pick an order, or transport materials is often the most critical ROI factor.
• Throughput increases (the speed at which loads process through an operation): Conveyors can increase the amount of product that's delivered to a packing, picking, assembly or shipping operation. Conveyors justify themselves by delivering product to a function faster and more efficiently than other methods. For many companies, making sure deadlines can be met and orders can be processed quickly enough is so critical that conveyor systems will pay for themselves much faster than other alternatives.
• Space efficiency: Because conveyors allow you to move materials vertically, they can be installed on the floor, from the ceiling, and at multiple levels. This allows you to free up critical floor space. The only limitation might be your facility ceiling height.
• Error reductions: Because conveyor systems enforce standardization and can divert, accumulate or sort loads to their proper destinations, they can significantly reduce rework, errors, and issues with delivering the correct load to the correct destination.
• Conveyor systems control pace: Typically people think of systems in terms of their ability to increase speeds. But in some cases, it is desirable to regulate pace—slower, faster, and more attuned to the needs of the operation. Conveyors can serve as work buffers, allowing processes upstream to execute while serving up product and materials as quickly as needed.
• Injury prevention & safety: Conveyors are inherently safer than other material transport methods. Many companies are working to reduce the volume of forklift traffic in their facilities due to safety concerns, and have used that as a justification to implement a pallet conveying system. Any automation that removes people from lifting, straining and moving enhances safety, so cartons, totes, or even lightweight loads on conveyors are safer than alternative movement methods.
• Versatility: Conveyor systems can be designed for virtually any type of operation, from receiving to returns. They can be reversible; they can change heights; they can sort; they can rotate cartons or shoot them into a buffer for work down the line. They can be retracted. They can feed directly into a truck or dump items into bins as needed. A well-designed system can transform tedious work into fast-paced productivity.