The Material Handling Blog

Leasing larger, higher priced equipment is a very common practice for all sorts of companies, large and small. This makes sense because there are many benefits to doing so...

With the pace of business continually accelerating, it is nice to see the selection of new engineering design tools rising to the occasion. Although there is no substitute for sound engineering fundamentals, these tools can help engage an engineer's creativity by speeding up the iterative design process.

There are three key elements that differentiate a systems integrator from an original equipment manufacturer: product life cycle, successful integration of products, and choice of system products. Taking a look at these can help you make an educated decision when researching both options. Continue Reading >>

Behind all those flower bouquets, candy hearts, and jewelry boxes, there's a manufacturer and distributor who got them to you! So this year, I thought it would be fun to take a look at the numbers and logistics behind Valentine's Day because without all the behind-the-scenes work, well, the day just wouldn't be the same...

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 >>

Project management is more or less the art of making things happen, or moving a project forward to completion. Sounds simple enough, right?

In this day and age, it's absolutely crucial to develop a sound request for proposal, or RFP. There are several key advantages to taking the time and effort to do so, but this isn't a how-to on on RFPs. Instead, it is key information that you should think about as it relates to your projects.

The Vectura unit load stacker crane is a flexible and modular design concept which allows our customers to quickly configure the crane and ASRS to their specific application.

As I learned more about material handling systems, I thought--a silly thought I admit--that even Santa Claus would be more efficient with a conveyor system...

If you're anything like me, you've probably procrastinated on this year's holiday shopping. And if you're really like me, you have an engineer on your shopping list, and you're struggling to find him or her the perfect gift. Well, you're in luck because I've spent the last week digging around the Internet to find some ideal gifts, ranging from humorous to down right practical...

When expanding your facility, one key decision is the choice between modular construction and traditional stick-built or “hard” construction. Some of the typical considerations when making this choice are cost, lead time, and code requirements. While this is a good starting point, there are other things to consider. Let’s look at the following as a guide to help you compare the two building methods and their benefits...

During the design process of any system, it is desirable to know how the possible range of input values will affect the system output. One back-of-the-envelope method is to assume the amount of resources the system will use, err on the high side, and protect yourself against failure.