The Material Handling Blog

Within the realm of industrial vehicle automation, the terms “dynamic path planning” and “obstacle avoidance” have recently generated buzz. On the surface, the idea of an AV (autonomous vehicle) having the capability to independently navigate around unforeseen obstacles appears to be a valuable feature. And, make no mistake, there are certainly specific applications where that feature can be beneficial. This blog post will expand on the other navigation methods and why AV OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) make the deliberate choice to use them.

In today's rapidly evolving global economy, industries are facing a unique challenge: labor shortages. The shortage of skilled and unskilled laborers is being felt across various sectors, with warehousing being no exception. Warehouses serve as the backbone of the supply chain, but the ongoing labor shortage crisis threatens their efficiency and productivity. Thankfully, technology has stepped in to address this challenge with the implementation of warehouse automation. In this blog post, we will explore the labor shortage issue, its causes, and how warehouse automation is revolutionizing the industry, ensuring smooth operations and boosting productivity.

In today's rapidly evolving technological landscape, automation has become an integral part of various industries, ranging from manufacturing and logistics to healthcare and transportation. With warehouse and distribution center material handling automation's widespread adoption, ensuring the safety of workers, equipment and the public is of paramount importance. To achieve this, various safety devices are employed to minimize risks and prevent accidents.

Collaborative robots’ (cobots) popularity has grown in recent years for their ability to work alongside human operators and in a diverse range of applications. These robots, specifically designed to share workspace with humans, automate tasks that typically require some level of operator intervention. Cobots have proven to be safe, flexible, quick to implement and easy to program solutions that benefit both distribution and manufacturing operations. Let’s dive deeper into capabilities and potential use cases for this advanced technology.

Bastian Solutions was once again excited to attend ProMat at McCormick Place in Chicago. This year's booth featured a live system demonstration that integrated multiple technologies, including several of our autonomous vehicles, Bastian Solutions SmartPick, AutoStore, Tompkins Robotics tSort, Bastian Solutions Conveyor, and more. We hosted a live seminar "Cutting Through the Noise: How to look beyond technology and meet business objectives". We also unveiled our newest product, the CB18 AGF, during a live press conference at our booth on Monday, March 20th.

Looking to optimize flow of cartons from two production areas and reduce overall labor requirements, Custom Apple Packers turned to RH Brown for automated sortation and palletizing solutions. We were able to design an integrated system that increased throughput to meet the customer’s requirements, while utilizing existing accumulation lanes.

Order fulfillment operations play a crucial role in today's fast-paced world, where customers expect their orders to be processed and delivered quickly and accurately. With the increasing demand for seamless and efficient order fulfillment services, businesses are turning to innovative solutions to meet the needs of their customers. One such solution is the use of robotic buffer systems.

Facing increased customer demand, space limitations and limited labor resources, Friesens Corporation knew they needed to challenge themselves to think creatively about their production efficiency. Increased demand and volume necessitated higher throughput that only more binding lines could accommodate, creating constraints on the existing floorplan and layout. Finding space meant taking a closer look at their production processes.

Hot, cold, corrosive – these environments, and more, inherently require a little extra care when it comes to planning labor and tasks. The same goes for introducing any automated technologies. After all, you need them to operate correctly and avoid any unnecessary damage. Often pulled in to support tasks that need to be reliably repeatable, industrial robotics are an excellent option to support safer work in unique environments. When looking at any robotics application, it’s crucial to consider the conditions under which the task is happening. Whether it’s palletizing, welding, paint, or part handling, the working environment – temperature, exposure, application, and materials – plays a key role in the way automation equipment is selected, outfitted, and designed. Let’s take a look at some of the most common challenging environments and what can be done if the environment is too harsh for most standard industrial robots.

With the increased demand for ecommerce fulfillment and varied distribution channels, more companies are turning to 3PLs to provide the logistics.

Putting a bag on a pallet and conveying it is a simple enough concept; however, the variations in product must always be kept in mind if you want to prevent product damage and misaligned pallets. Here are five points to remember when using bag palletizing systems... Read More >>

Analyzing the tasks, rates and capabilities can help not only maximize the robotic system but also help reduce the need for ancillary equipment and additional investments, creating a more streamline operation.

In today’s environment, technology and automation are growing and advancing at a drastic speed. Recent investments by venture capital and private equity firms are further evidence of that rapid growth. Whether industries are looking to increase the amount of throughput in their facility, reduce or eliminate any ergonomic risks, or increase overall efficiency of the operation, the right combination of technology and automation in an industrial robot can provide the solution. So why are some individuals still hesitant about implementing industrial robots? Common misconceptions in our industry could be playing a part in that. The top three most common myths touch on ROI, applications, and complexity.

When trying to determine the best automated solution for a manufacturing application, it’s important to ask the right questions.

From picking, packing, palletizing and beyond, here are some distribution center applications that can benefit from using cobots, or collaborative robots.

Time to impress upper management with four picking technologies you should know when beginning a career in the supply chain.

There have been many discussions regarding Americans losing jobs to overseas manufacturers and to increased use of robotic automation, and with fair wage employment on the rise in many other countries, there has also been an increase in the use of robots there. Amid these discussions and trends, recent studies show that, in fact, industrial robotics actually positively impact jobs and the economy.

You spent years trying to get this new automation project in the budget, and you just found out it's been approved!  So after months of planning, you've developed a detailed bid specification for what this project requires, and you've released a detailed RFQ. You might think all the hard work is behind you, but you're actually just getting started. Here are 5 tips to help you choose the right automation proposal...

Recently, I attended a meeting where a consultant was presenting his recommendations for a project that involved adding automation to an existing process. One of the key points that jumped out at me was that his justification for this project was focused entirely on the elimination of people. While the consultant suggested that the project would probably go forward because it was a strategic initiative on the part of the customer, I could only think about a more than 100-year-old poem entitled, The Calf-Path ... Continue Reading >>

While AGVs are most well-known for their use in distribution and manufacturing environments, application of the Automated Guided Vehicle has broadened during recent years to include advanced robotics technology that is no longer restricted to the industrial environment.

So you're planning to invest, or have already invested, thousands or millions of dollars in your industrial automation system to ensure the long-term growth and success of your company. That's great!  Now it's time to make a relatively small investment that will help you maximize the return on investment (ROI) from your new system, and here's how...

Last month a colleague of mine, Derek Cribley, wrote a blog article about the evolution of Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems (ASRS) since he first started working with them 15 years ago. To give you an appreciation for the breadth of solutions available, I thought I could share my experience from a recent project I worked on involving an ASRS system for pallet storage. Read More >>

As I was recently working on an Automated Storage and Retrieval System (ASRS)project, I had the opportunity to reflect on how much the technology has changed in just the past few years. One of the more valuable references I was using--from the Material Handling Institute of America --divided the ASRS technology into two main families: fixed aisle and carousel/vertical left module (VLM). However, some of the new advances in ASRS have a hard time fitting into either of these categories.

With the summer project season just around the corner many industrial manufacturing companies are shoring up plans for their big projects. I recently had the pleasure to walk a manufacturing plant from front to back and back to front again in search of automated material handling opportunities. It certainly was a shocking experience because in this case, the client went naked! While this client was the expert on their systems and operations, a trained eye in material handling-- especially robotic --was a welcome investment of their time.