Disaster Recovery Planning for the Materials Handling Industry

Disasters can be natural or man-made.  They can strike without notice, like a fire or hurricane, or can be seen coming from a long way off, such as a work stoppage.  But all disasters have one thing in common: They can cause a suspension in your normal business operations. Effective disaster planning can shorten the amount of … Read more

Types of Air Compressors for Industrial Applications

Air compressors have multiple functionality. In domestic use, they can be used to inflate basketballs, footballs and other sporting equipment, air mattresses and even automobile and bicycle tires. In industrial applications, compressed air can be used to operate machinery, for manufacturing operations, for cleaning, for eliminating pollutants from a confined workspace, and many other uses. … Read more

Assessing the Ergonomics of Material Handling in Your Workplace

An examination of the ergonomics of workers’ movement can improve productivity, reduce the amount of workplace injuries, and lower costs, according to a report compiled by the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Whenever materials are handled in a warehouse, manufacturing facility or other workplace, there is always the opportunity for wasted energy, wasted time, … Read more

Ball Transfer Tables: Their Uses and Benefits

If you are looking for ideas to improve the efficiency of packaging, manufacturing or over materials handling, you need to look no further than your computer’s mouse. If you turn over a mechanical computer mouse, you will find is operated by a small rubber or plastic trackball that controls where the cursor on your computer screen is located. Apply … Read more

Columbus McKinnon Introduces New Ratchet Level Hoist

Columbus  McKinnon recently unveiled its lightest and most compact 3/4 and 1-1/2 ton ratchet lever hoist. The CM Bandit is the first ratchet lever hoist to be certified by the Hoist Manufacturers Institute for technical, service and after-market support, according to a company news release. Its design allows use in confined spaces.    

Why Every Business Needs a Wet/Dry Shop Vacuum

If yours is like most businesses, you probably already have a mop and mop bucket in your supply closet. This is the same type of cleaning equipment that has been used since at least the 18th Century to clean up spills and accidents. But should your business really be depending on 300-year-old cleaning technology to support your operations? You … Read more

Robots Take Over Workplace, Plot World Domination

Looking like a cross between R2D2 from “Star Wars” and Number 5 from “Short Circuit”, ADAM, the newest robot from RMT Robotics was rolled out, literally, during this year’s PROMAT trade show in Chicago. ADAM, an anagram for “Autonomous Delivery and Manipulation”, is a highly dynamic autonomous mobile robot (AMR) that is designed to improve productivity by robotically … Read more