2013 Warehouse/DC Equipment and Technology Survey: Moving More, Spending Less

This article was originally posted in Modern Materials Handling.

Just as an effective materials handling system cannot be shaped around one data point, interpreting the results of an industry survey is about more than just the bottom line. For instance, take a look at the average materials handling budget as reported by Peerless Research Group (PRG) in the 2013 State of Warehouse/DC Equipment and Technology Survey. At nearly 26% less than last year, the average anticipated spending among the survey’s 597 respondents is just $334,510. In fact, about half of those respondents plan to spend less than $50,000.

But if we look at activity levels, facility capacity numbers have jumped up by as much at 10% in one year—following six consecutive years of decline. According to John Hill, director at St. Onge, capacity figures between 60% and 70%, although a big improvement, are still below a certain threshold. When they rise above 70%, he says, it’s often necessary to spend on materials handling equipment just to keep up. In the meantime, most businesses will tend to sit tight.

In fact, respondents expressed a great deal of optimism that they could handle it. When asked about their anticipated activity levels over the next two years, almost 95% said that they expected activity to increase or stay the same. To be fair, more than 50% of respondents suggested their warehousing activity would stay the same.

According to George Prest, CEO of Material Handling Industry (MHI), growth is projected to improve into 2014. Following industry growth rates of 14% in 2011 and 10% in 2012, 2013 could hover around 6% before breaking double digits again in 2014.

Click here for more information about the survey and to read the full article.

Conventional Material Handling Methods: Forklift Trucks

Forklifts are a more convenient alternative to manpower that lacks the physicality of manual labor by mechanically lifting and moving heavy loads; however, they do present a separate set of safety concerns. Congestion on the plant floor, reduced load control, vehicle instability and polluted air emissions are just a few of the potential risks associated with forklift truck operation.

Due to the instability of their design, forklift trucks can overturn from overload, incorrect load positioning, operator errors or poor maintenance—putting drivers at life-threatening risk. Further, forklifts increase the risk of collisions. By moving at high speeds throughout the facility, forklifts not only run the risk of striking other forklifts, but also increase hazards for employees. Additionally, ergonomic deficiencies also lead to potential injuries. Uncomfortable seating and poor shocks can cause operators to suffer back, neck and arm pain induced by exerting excessive physical effort to compensate for vehicle vibrations.

Forklift trucks can also impact the indoor air quality of the facility. These vehicles emit exhaust gasses that pollute the air within the facility, subsequently forcing occupants to breathe in these toxins. This will eventually lower the air quality for the building and poor indoor air quality can have significant health consequences, such as causing or exacerbating respiratory disorders, fatigue, headaches and more.

Conventional Material Handling Methods: Manpower

Manpower refers to one or more employees physically pushing or pulling a load to its intended destination. This method of material mobility presents numerous safety hazards to workers, including overexertion and musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). With manpower, the majority of the force required to build enough momentum to propel the load forward is through the initial exertion. Therefore, most injuries occur while workers are attempting to set a load in motion. Liberty Mutual Research Institute states that in 2009, the primary cause of serious workplace injuries arose from overexertion due to lifting, lowering, pushing, pulling, holding or carrying heavy loads—accounting for 24.5% of all work-related injuries and costing companies nearly $13 billion in direct costs each year.

Relying on manpower to move loads that weigh hundreds or even thousands of pounds contribute to the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders within material handling applications. These disorders make up as much as one third of all work-related injuries and effect nearly all tissues, including the nerves and tendon sheaths. The physical strain required when using manpower often causes sprains, nerve damage, hernias and joint dislocations.

To help instill safer material handling procedures, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) outlined parameters on what constitutes a material handling safety hazard. When deciding if a hazard exists, they consider the repetitiveness of lifting the distance from the load to the spine; the weight, size and stability of the load lifted; and the footing at the worksite. Though NIOSH provides helpful guidelines to avoiding injury when moving large or heavy loads, on a busy plant floor, operators do not always have the time to carefully calculate these factors before proceeding.

Back to Basics: Inventory Handling and Tracking Technologies

This article was originally posted in Material Handling & Logistics.

Inefficient or poorly-managed logistics operations increase overhead and reduce customer satisfaction, posing a significant threat to a manufacturer's profitability. Technologies can lend an almost scientific approach to logistics operations planning. With that in mind, let's look at just one area in which technology is making an impact—inventory tracking and handling.

The Fully Automated Warehouse

Full warehouse automation is the most comprehensive example of technology use in retail warehouses. The biggest manufacturers can find that success creates its own particular challenge when it comes to order fulfilment—a gigantic customer base, demanding swift delivery of a huge range of products, to innumerable locations ranging from retail stores to the very homes of the consumers themselves.

To create the operational fluidity necessary to satisfy their millions of customers, leading companies will often invest heavily in completely automating their warehouse facilities. Such facilities tend to have a completely integrated system where specialized warehouse management software interacts with specially designed automated racks, cranes, and stackers to ensure that inbound items are loaded, and outbound items located, retrieved and passed along a network of conveyor belts to the appropriate loading bay—with high accuracy rates.

IKEA, Walmart and Zappos are just some of the retail giants that currently employ these advanced systems as an integral part of their low cost/large scale operations.

Read the full article here to learn more about inventory handling and tracking.