The Material Handling Blog

Overhead conveyor is a common and useful component of many material handling system designs. It saves valuable floor space and can provide a safer working environment for employees as long the proper safety features are included. One key safety component of overhead conveyor is safety netting.

E-Commerce Sales around the globe have eclipsed previous records continuously for the past ten years, and it’s easy to see why. Consumers can purchase everything from household commodities to a lock of Justin Beiber's hair and all from the comfort of their home.

Carton flow rack can be a valuable tool that allows users to save space and increase efficiency in order fulfillment operations. The key is selecting the right type of carton flow rack for your facility. There are several options to choose from, and there are several factors that must be considered.

Conventional wisdom has always suggested that concrete floors are superior construction when it comes to mezzanine floors. A popular choice for new construction by many general contractors, concrete is a proven flooring material offering both durability and longevity. Concrete construction, however, comes at a cost, a very high cost.

Within a complex material handling system, product may need to be transferred between elevations. The most commonly used piece of equipment for this elevation transfer is an elevator lift. For light duty applications such as totes and boxes, a pneumatic lift elevator is a very economical solution.

The material handling industry is wrought with products that are simply a bear to move. For some products there are plenty of “okay” options, but an optimal one is seemingly nonexistent. So do you just call it quits, close the doors, and never sell another of your difficult to convey products? Of course not.

When it comes to procuring industrial equipment, we have to look at what option is best for our companies. Many businesses often seek to save as much money as possible when it comes to acquiring this type of equipment. Some businesses have available capital to invest in purchasing new equipment, while others prefer leasing.

Our Bastian Solutions Conveyor brand flighted conveyor merge may sound like some sort of fancy, new piece of technology that uses cutting-edge controls to parse products at lightning speed through the air. Well, it’s actually much simpler than that. In fact, it kind of removes the need for controls. And fancy technology. It’s really quite simple.

As we wrap up the month of love and get even farther into 2016, maybe you’re asking yourself, “What can I do for my employees to make 2016 even better for them?” One place to start is ergonomics.

One of the most challenging and often times dangerous items to handle and store are beer and wine kegs. Not only are they awkward and heavy, but their round, oblong shape leads to very inefficient storage. In addition, the rapid expansion of the craft beer industry has led to a significant increase in the number of keg SKUs requiring storage. With wine makers also jumping on the keg bandwagon, the number of wines being distributed in kegs is also rising. As more beer and wine distributors must handle kegs, it's important to do so properly and safely. Below are a few helpful solutions for your keg handling needs.

While there is no one-size-fits-all answer for how high pallet flow rack can go, let’s look at the major variables that are taken into consideration when designing a racking system for pallet flow.

Goods-to-person picking, the new buzzword in material handling, is a great option for operations with a high number of SKU’s and a relatively low cubic velocity of SKU’s, but in an operation that has very fast moving or large items, it can be prohibitively expensive to use this technology throughout. Sometimes it is best to use, or supplement a goods-to-person operation, with a pick module.