The Material Handling Blog

One of the biggest pain points in the life of a maintenance technician or installer is conveyor belt tracking. Here are a few helpful tips to lookout for and an easy, 3-step process to get your belt running right down the middle.

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 all this innovation and growth in the goods to person warehouse automation sector, it’s vital to factor the impact on the whole system’s integration, tied together through software and controls. To compensate, WES systems are getting larger and more complex in order to integrate with new technologies provided by other vendors coming to market. To truly optimize a goods to person system, customers should consider each GTP technology’s merits, but also the software that will manage its operations.

O Diretor de Fulfillment atribui a você um projeto para especificar um novo sistema de triagem e transportador capaz de "dobrar" as capacidades atuais. Por onde começar? Primeiro, comece entendendo e desafiando a verdadeira triagem e os requisitos do sistema. Os sistemas de transporte e triagem são soluções projetadas. Como a maioria dos problemas de engenharia, a solução geralmente é tão boa quanto suas entradas.

In 2021, Bastian Solutions announced that RH Brown Co., a fourth-generation family-owned material handling solution provider, became the newest Toyota member company. We talked to RH Brown Co. President Scott Larsen, who launched system integration and automation offerings after taking the helm as the fourth-generation leader. “With the evolution of the company, our primary focus on our customers hasn’t changed. Our primary focus today is working closely with our customers to identify specific project objectives that are most impactful to the success of their business,” says Scott Larsen.

Pick to light has become a staple of warehouse distribution and order picking. Here are the top 5 benefits. What if there was an easier, automated way to locate these items? Say, when you want to find an item a beacon of light illuminates to direct you to the appropriate aisle, and then another beacon of light illuminates to get you to the correct shelf, and eventually the exact location on the shelf.

Who Needs Support? Everyone. Simply put, any warehouse software system with automation should require a support plan with immediate access to technicians to troubleshoot critical issues. Downtime for fulfillment operations quickly adds up to lost revenue and the ability to restore operations is critical, especially for systems that rely on heavy automation. Without dedicated support, operations will be at the mercy of their software partners existing backlog. Priority is given to the customers with current support contracts. This can lead to long response times, and an inability for partners to commit to resolution dates for those without contracts in place. If critical issues do pop up that can be expedited, they typically come at a very high hourly rate for the effort. Don’t get caught in a tough situation. Here are six details worth knowing about warehouse software support plans.

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 >>

When it comes to pallet transport, pallet monorail systems offer a solution that can be significantly less expensive than an equivalent roller conveyor system. Accommodating various applications and adjustable for performance levels, once you’ve determined that a pallet monorail system is the right transportation solution for your application, the next step is putting together an initial concept design.

Bastian Solutions and Toyota Assist with Automation in Warehouses It’s no secret that ecommerce has changed the way people shop as well as how quickly customers expect to receive their orders. This expectation of fast delivery puts pressure on distribution centers to operate faster and more efficiently than ever before. So, how do you make sure your business can compete in today’s ever-changing, high-demand environment? The solution is automated guided vehicles (AGVs). While traditional forklifts such as order pickers, reach trucks and stackers are extremely useful for managing inventory and transporting heavy products, it is beneficial to have automated systems in place to take some of the complex work out of fulfillment. How do you determine when it’s time to integrate an automated vehicle solution in your DC (distribution centers)? Discover how these automated systems can help you navigate your warehouse confidently and take your operation to new heights.

Safety first. That can’t be stressed enough. Over the last five years, fatal workplace injuries are on the rise and non-fatal injuries has slowly decreased. The most recent November 2020 report by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) revealed that throughout 2019 there were 5,333 fatal work injuries, a 2 percent increase from year prior. Non-fatal injuries, however, remain mostly unchanged but are in a downward trend compared to the last few years. They stand at 2.8 non-fatal injuries per 100 full-time workers. Employee safety and protection has been a primary concern with the COVID-19 pandemic but the leading causes for non-fatal and fatal injuries are still crucial to keep in mind – falls, slips, trips, contact with objects and equipment, exposure to harmful substances, fires and explosions, and transportation accidents.

Manufacturing is without doubt one of the largest economic sectors, contributing 11% of total GDP in the U.S. Like several markets, manufacturers felt the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and are trying to reach pre-pandemic levels. Manufacturing processes are being forced to be reviewed for more efficient and leaner operations, to accommodate employment challenges and improve labor safety, all while keeping operating costs low and return on investment high. Compact and scalable automation options are trending across consumer-facing markets like grocery and retail but when it comes to manufacturing, leading advanced technologies are also proving to be foundational for future growth.