How to Organize Any Work Space with Shelving

Entropy is a concept that says the universe prefers chaos to order. If you’ve ever tried to organize a workshop, garage, or storage closet, you probably are already familiar with this theory. But any workspace can be quickly and conveniently organized with the addition of a few shelving units. Shelves provide a simple solution to … Read more

Warehouse Management Courses – Worthless or Worthwhile?

Courses and stand-alone classes are all of the rage for post-college learning, especially when you hit the professional market. This can be a necessity in a number of cases, especially as technology has evolved so radically over the last few years and changed how we look at some of the processes we deal with in … Read more

Outside Storage Solutions to Increase Profits

When it comes to running a business profitably, every penny counts. Every square foot of interior work space needs to add to the bottom line. Paying to keep inventory or supplies in a heated and maintained indoor facility may not be the most cost effective use of your resources. Moving materials such as lumber, inventory, … Read more

Outsourcing Your Cold Storage Could Save You Money, Time

If your warehouse or manufacturing facility handles products that need to be held in sub-freezing temperatures, you probably are already familiar with the challenges that presents. Employees are required to work in severe conditions. Costs for power to constantly maintain temperature are already high and are always escalating. And the regulatory oversight involved with holding products below freezing can be a … Read more

Why You Should Consider Replacing Your Wood Pallets

benefits of foam palletsWood has been used to make pallets for decades and there are still millions of wood pallets still being used in warehouses and in the supply chain worldwide. Yet if you have ever worked with wood pallets, you know their drawbacks: They are heavy, can splinter and often expose dangerous sharp nails when their boards become loose, among other problems. If you currently are using wood pallets for your materials handling needs, you might want to consider switching to pallets made from 100% recycled post-industrial recycled foam. They offer a number of advantages, including being moisture-proof, lightweight and nest-able to save space.

A Safer, More Affordable Solution

Heavy-duty structural foam pallets, on the other hand, offer a safer and more durable alternative to your pallet needs.  Their polystyrene foam core is coated with a high-impact polystyrene skin that can’t absorb water. They are food safe and universally approved to transport food products. Wood pallets, on the other hand, can pose serious bio-hazard risks because they are susceptible to bacterial and chemical contamination, including E.  coli and other food borne illnesses.

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Proper Use of Safety Cans

Safety cans are used to store dangerous and flammable chemicals, such as gasoline, kerosene and diesel fuel. They are specifically designed to ensure that these materials are kept safe and handled property to reduce the risk of fire or explosion. Safety cans include a number of features that make them the preferred choice of Underwriters Laboratories … Read more

A Little Planning Can Improve Warehouse Racking Efficiency

warehouse rackingIf you are considering installing new shelving in your warehouse or replacing existing shelving to make it more practical, taking the time to consider the long-term implications of your warehouse racking system can increase efficiency and reduce long-term costs.

The first thing to consider is your storage density. Deep-lane storage opportunities — such as double-deep, drive-in, drive-though, pallet-flow and push-back racks — can make your warehouse more versatile and profitable. Obviously, if you need continual access to every pallet in our facility at all times, deep-lane storage is not the best option. But if you don’t require 100% selectivity, it usually will pay off in the long run.

FIFO or LIFO?

Before making a storage density decision, you need to consider whether your warehouse is Last-In First-Out (LIFO), or First-In First-Out (FIFO). FIFO operations do better with pallet flow racks while LIFO lends itself to deep-lane storage. If you use buried loads in a LIFO operation, you could be unnecessarily increasing your material handling labor cost.

Another thing to consider is your picking profile. Are your typical orders primarily picking pallets, cases or pieces? Do you pick from bulk to replenish a forward pick zone? How you configure your warehouse racking will be a function of your most common picking profiles. While most setups are not 100% efficient, by building your flow to your most common picking profiles, you can optimize your efficiency the greatest number of times.

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Why Select Metal Cabinets Over Wood Cabinets?

  Metal cabinets are for filing and storing files. Filing cabinets and drawers is necessity any offices. An organized office is not only good to look at but documents can be accessed on a given time. A metal cabinet can store files of different sizes. You need to choose metal cabinets over wood cabinets for … Read more

How to Select Plastic Storage Bins

Using plastic storage bins looks more organized in placing all your stuff for safe keeping. In order to know the right storage container you need, you must first determine how much materials you want to store and keep. Gather all your things and estimate how many storage bins it needs to fit in all your … Read more