June is National Safety Month – a time dedicated to raising awareness of workplace safety and reducing the risk of injuries. Prioritizing safety is essential to both workforce longevity and your company’s profitability, which is why so many solutions are designed with warehouse safety in mind.
To increase awareness of safety concerns in warehouses and support this initiative, we’re spotlighting how automation solutions play a role in improving warehouse safety. We’ve highlighted three solutions, cranes, heavy conveyors, and vertical reciprocating conveyors, that reduce the risk of accidents and injuries that can be caused by manual labor and heavy lifting.
Discover more in this blog as we explore these three material handling solutions and how you can implement them to create a safer work environment for your team.
Cranes: Automation Solutions for Heavy Lifting
One automation solution that can improve warehouse safety is the integration of cranes. With several types of cranes available, each can be installed into your facility to best serve your needs. Cranes are designed to accommodate different lifting requirements, effortlessly holding and moving heavy loads and taking the heavy lifting off of workers.
With precision and ease, cranes automate the movement of heavy lifting. This reduces repetitive and harmful strain put on warehouse workers and can reduce dangerous accidents that result from using heavy machinery such as forklifts. With choices between workstation, jib, top riding, underhung, and gantry cranes, these automation solutions streamline operations and create a safer environment for your workers.
| See how this facility used a Ton Top Riding, Double Girder, and Dual Motor Overhead Bridge crane in their service and unloading area.
Heavy Conveyors: Transporting Bulky and Heavy Items
Are your workers lugging material around your warehouse with a pallet jack? Heavy lifting can also be accomplished by conveyors. These automation solutions do a great job of enhancing safety and efficiency in the warehouse. Designed to move objects including large and bulky items throughout a facility, these conveyors can carry their own weight and a lot more.
By moving in a continuous motion, these heavy conveyors can be configured to function like an assembly line, transporting items throughout a facility instead of moving these heavy items with a forklift or manually. By having this task automated, the risk of injury from moving, lifting, or pushing items is decreased. From shipping containers to pallets to production materials, these heavy conveyors can move heavy loads while maintaining a small footprint.
| See how this parts distributor implemented a heavy conveyor into their new facility.
Vertical Reciprocating Conveyors: Moving Items from Level to Level
Another effective automation solution for creating a safer warehouse is the use of vertical reciprocating conveyors (VRCs). These solutions work like elevators to move heavy objects from level to level in a safe manner.
This eliminates the need for workers to manually carry objects up and down the stairs, thereby reducing the risk of damaging product or workers falling or overexerting themselves. Whether moving pallets, tires, or bins, this alternate to manual transporting items is more efficient.
| Learn more about how these solutions function or see how a VRC was implemented into an auto body shop in St. Louis.
Evaluate Your Current Setup
In the spirit of National Safety Month, we hope these three automation solutions encourage you to evaluate where your operations could use some more safety improvements. By implementing safety features or solutions, this demonstrates to your workers that you have a commitment to their safety.
Our automation solution team at ISS Material Handling is equipped with the knowledge to help design and integrate a system that supports safety and reduces risk of injury. From the beginning to the end of the project, our St. Louis material handling team will be there along the way to ensure your new solution works well for you. Reach out to us here or give us a call at 833-754-2164 to get the conversation started.
About the Author
John Fontaine
Automation Sales Lead
After a 9 year career as an officer in the US Navy Submarine Force, John developed vital experience in the advanced manufacturing and unmanned systems with business development roles at two major defense contractors. In directing the growth of ISS Material Shelving, a division of Industrial Shelving Systems, John’s mission is clear: to remain thoroughly customer-focused, ensuring that businesses who partner with ISS Material Handling seize the right opportunities for automation adoption, fueling responsible growth amidst challenging economic circumstances. When not in the office, John enjoys all things music, cooking, and fitness.