The Material Handling Blog

We've all been there...working on that project, which never seems to go right. The project has passed hands multiple times. There is miscommunication between the customer, salesman, and the engineers. Every new idea you attempt doesn't seem to work as expected, and when you finally find a solution that works, it decides to stop working when the customer is watching. While no one enjoys being in these positions, at one time or another every company will experience one. And the question is how do you save face? Continue Reading >>

The topic of robotic, or automatic, mixed pallet building has come up quite a bit recently, so I thought I'd share some of the benefits and challenges that go along with it. To give you some background, a few years ago companies started building rainbow packs, which are basically a box or bag of products that contain smaller quantities of different flavors or product lines. This allows consumers to sample a variety of items without buying large quantities of each. So what does all of that have to do with robotic mixed pallet building? Well, the concept of rainbow packs actually stemmed from the advent of mixed pallet building first used by the material handling and logistics industries. Read More >>

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... Read More >>

If your business is in manufacturing or distribution, you are likely faced with a common dilemma in today's business environment -- lack of resources. Nowadays, businesses stay very lean in terms of personnel, and this often leads to some troubling questions for management. One answer might lie in the availability of a good field sales engineer. A field sales engineer (FSE) is an individual with both the sales and engineering experience needed to address technical solutions for your business. Read More >>

I've been in the industrial robotics industry for nearly a decade and during my career, I've had the opportunity to work for both integrators and for a manufacturer of industrial robotic arms. One of the questions that I've had many clients ask me over the years is whether they should buy a robotic solution directly from the manufacturer or from an integrator. Read More >>

In today's business world, many employees--including myself from time to time--wear multiple hats on a day-to-day basis. These additional responsibilities, combined with a decreasing amount of time in which to do them, create an atmosphere in which out-of-the-box thinking is often lost. Read More >>

Many companies wonder whether robots are safe to implement in their facility. Although an industrial robot will improve the ergonomic conditions in a production area, there is a perception that the robot will create an unsafe work environment. Although industrial robots do contain some potential hazards, they are all preventable as long as workers are well educated on the robotic system and the robotic integrator has fulfilled all job requirements, including proper installation, programming, and risk assessment. Read More >>