Material Flow Technologies

How Horizontal Carousels Improve Warehouse Operations

admin — Tue, 06 Aug 2019 01:33:40 +0000

Speed. Efficiency. Accuracy. These are the most critical components of any successful warehouse or other storage operation. A warehouse is a necessary aspect of many business operations, and it needs to be supporting that business – not becoming a drag on productivity.

Horizontal carousels can help make this a reality. Computerized horizontal storage systems supplement your workers\’ efforts, improving operations, and often allowing for more efficient use of space as well.

Here are just a few ways horizontal carousels improve warehouse operations.

4 Major Benefits of Installing Horizontal Carousels

1 – Rapid item delivery

Carousels are computer-controlled and designed to deliver item picks in an expedited fashion. There\’s no need for your workforce to go searching among shelves, climbing up and down ladders. They simply input a code or scan a barcode, and the carousel delivers it directly to them a few moments later.

A single worker with a set of carousels can do the work of several people in a traditional warehouse.

2 – Better use of space

When your carousels are doing the hard work of finding and retrieving items, you have far less need for heavy machinery such as forklifts and cherry-pickers. This allows you to pack more items into the space you have. They aren\’t as space-efficient as some other automation options, such as vertical carousels, but they can still reclaim a lot of floor space.

3 – Accurate item picks.

Computerized item picking systems are accurate at rates of 99.9% or higher – can you say the same of your human workers? It is extremely difficult for a horizontal carousel to grab the wrong item, especially when most systems are responsible for storing that item in the first place. It \”remembers\” where it put each item, every time. This makes it difficult for mistakes to ever happen, without some form of human intervention.

4 – Greater worker safety

Warehouses are dangerous places to work – but why should that remain true when technology investments can make them far safer? When robotics applications handle the work of finding, retrieving, and moving items around, there are far fewer opportunities for your human workers to get hurt.

Material Flow Tech Has the Automated Storage Solutions You Need!

Material Flow Technologies specializes in helping warehouse-style operations improve efficiency, speed, and performance using state-of-the-art automation systems. We can create custom solutions from horizontal carousels, vertical lift modules, and more. Contact us to learn how we can optimize your operation!

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Vertical Grow Racks Maximize Your Cannabis Growth Potential

admin — Tue, 30 Jul 2019 07:05:40 +0000

If you have a thriving grow operation, you know that volume is what makes the difference between success and failure. How much product can you grow within your existing facilities?

Many operations hit a point where it seems that business growth is inhibited. Once all floor space is covered with plants, where do you go from there? Well, you go up! Vertical grow racks are reshaping the cannabis industry, allowing producers to fit far more plants into the same amount of space – and also improving growing conditions in the process!

How Vertical Grow Racks Can Grow Your Cannabis Business

Multiply your capacity

The first and most obvious benefit from vertical racks is that they allow you to increase capacity many times over. Rather than having to keep plants within arms\’ reach of your workers, you can effectively stack racks up to the ceiling. When they need to be accessed, the system simply rotates the stock to bring higher plants into reach.

In this way, you can increase your capacity many times over – overnight!

Easily implement hydroponics

The debate may rage among users as to whether soil or hydroponics produce better product, but there\’s no debate that hydroponics are more scalable and easier to work with. Vertical racks can easily be adapted to utilize hydroponic systems that will reduce your overhead costs, as well as eliminating the sheer bulk and weight of soil that would otherwise be needed.
(If your operation prefers soil, that\’s fine too. Vertical racks are strong enough to hold all the soil you need.)

Make more room for workers

When trying to pack more product into a room, it can become tempting to reduce walking space. However, past a point, this starts creating more problems than it solves. Workers need enough room to move around, access product and perform routine daily tasks. Vertical racks create this space while reducing the temptation to take too much space away from workers.

Utilize highly efficient LED lighting

LED UV lights are almost always the most efficient lighting solution for cannabis plants, particularly since they cannot burn the plants. Vertical racks are perfect for this setup! You can put rows of LEDs directly above each row of plants, making best use of the space available.

Material Flow Technologies has the storage systems to truly grow your marijuana operation! Contact us to learn how we can improve your yield.

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Would Your Storage Operations Be Improved with Vertical Lift Modules?

admin — Fri, 26 Jul 2019 17:22:36 +0000

For many people running warehouses or similar storage operations, vertical lift modules (VLMs) could be one of the best investments they make. These revolutionary devices allow items to be stored vertically, even multiple stories high, while utilizing robotic technology to both deposit and retrieve items on demand.

This means that VLMs have the potential to solve a huge number of problems within a warehouse operation. They may not be the right investment for every business, but if you\’re experiencing any of these problems, VLMs would be worth investigating.

4 Problems That Vertical Lift Modules Can Solve

1 – Space limitations

Are your operations growing faster than you can find enough storage space for? Are you in a position of possibly having to pay for physical expansion? VLMs can prevent that. They can stretch to the ceiling of nearly any building, making use of a lot of the open-air space that’s wasted in a typical warehouse. VLMs can expand your storage capacity by 50% or more – without any new construction.

2 – Inaccurate picking

A typical VLM runs based on barcodes, QR codes or similar systems. This gives them extreme accuracy in item picking, well beyond what human workers can reasonably be expected to achieve. With a VLM system, your item picks will always be correct, meaning you avoid a lot of costly mistakes further down the line.

3 – Lossage

Another major benefit of making the system computer-controlled is that it becomes far more difficult for items to \”go missing.\” With a VLM, it\’s impossible for human workers to access the stock directly (at least not in a surreptitious manner) and any pick requests are logged. It\’s simple, secure and will almost certainly help ensure your stock remains where it\’s supposed to be.

4 – Needless human accidents

Warehouses are dangerous locations, especially multi-story warehouses which require the use of cherry-pickers and similar machinery. This sets up situations ripe for injury and workers\’ comp claims. With VLMs, your workforce keeps their feet planted on the ground most of the time. It\’s robots, not people, doing the dangerous job of climbing to the upper shelves.

Material Flow Tech Can Design the Vertical Lift Modules You Need!
Material Flow Technologies has extensive experience custom-designing storage and retrieval systems that cut costs, improve efficiency, and prevent wasteful incidents. If your warehouse operations are becoming a drag on your budget, contact us to learn about our services.

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Vertical Storage Solutions Reduce Waste and Inefficiency Within Your Facilities

admin — Fri, 19 Jul 2019 17:48:29 +0000

Vertical storage solutions are an excellent way to reclaim floor space while providing a safer and easier method for your workforce to access stock, components or tools. However, the benefits of vertical storage systems don\’t end there. They are also an excellent tool for reducing waste and inefficiency within a facility – quickly paying for themselves by eliminating drags on your bottom line.

If you\’re still on the fence about switching over to vertical storage, here are just a few ways these systems bring genuine long-term value.

Four Ways Vertical Storage Solutions Reduce Workplace Waste

1. Reduce overproduction

In organizations without strict inventory asset control, they are often tempted to produce on a \”just in case\” principle – creating stock or product that may not be strictly needed, just in case a run happens. However, better asset tracking reduces or eliminates the need for such wasteful activity. Vertical storage is fully automated, with robust item tracking which ensures you always know exactly what\’s on-site and accessible.

2. Reduce workforce downtime

Vertical storage is far safer for employees, particularly when compared to making them use ladders or cherry pickers to take items off of high shelves. Vertical storage systems complete eliminates the need for workers to climb heights to do their job, and that will translate into significantly lower accident rates – along with the downtime that accompanies most accidents.

3. Reduce labor costs in general

Vertical storage solutions are far more efficient than manual methods of item picking, and studies have shown them to increase productivity by up to 85%. Workers will spend less time hunting down items, and more time putting those items to use. Or, in situations where picking is their sole job, you may find you can reduce your workforce thanks to vertical storage.

4. Reduce picking errors

Vertical storage systems are automated and track the location of every item within their bays. Furthermore, operation is simple – it\’s no more complicated than working a vending machine and, in many cases, can be even further streamlined with use of barcodes or QR codes. This makes picking errors far less common, further reducing workforce costs as well as preventing costly problems further down the workflow.

Material Flow Tech Has the Storage Solutions You Need

We specialize in improving storage operations through automation, with over twenty years\’ experience creating better workplace outcomes. Contact us directly to consult on your storage needs.

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Four Ways Horizontal Carousels Can Improve Your Warehouse Operations

admin — Thu, 30 May 2019 12:52:58 +0000

If you are looking to improve efficiency in your warehouse or other locations where products are stored, horizontal carousels may be the solution. These systems pack a lot of product into a relatively small, enclosed space, and use rapidly-moving carousels to bring specific items directly to your workers. They\’re available in a wide variety of sizes and capacities, with solutions available to fit almost any existing space.

These are just a few of the ways that horizontal carousels can greatly increase overall efficiency and productivity in product storage and picking.

Four Big Benefits of Adopting Horizontal Carousels

* Expand storage capacity without physical expansion
Horizontal carousels require far less space, per product, than traditional shelving. The addition of carousels can therefore greatly increase your overall capacity – potentially improving overall storage by 50% or more. For operations where storage space is growing tight, these can free up plenty of floor space and relieve the pressure.

* Greatly improve picking efficiency
These carousels are entirely computer-controlled. The worker inputs a code or scans a barcode, and the carousel automatically rotates around to present the stock. This is far faster than having workers manually search for stock on shelves, as well as being much less prone to mistakes. You can greatly speed up your picking with carousels.

* Protect your products
Products lying around on shelves are always going to be vulnerable to loss, as well as damage from accidental physical impact. Carousels are a solution here as well. By keeping most products inside an enclosure, any sort of theft becomes far more difficult. Some models even use vending machine style dispensing slots, to prevent workers from accessing any product but the one being requested. Plus, requests, of course, are tracked and documented.

* Reduce health and safety concerns
When you have fewer workers climbing around on ladders, or making use of cherry pickers, you also have far fewer safety concerns! You\’ll see fewer accidents and workman\’s comp filings. You might even be able to lower your insurance premiums by making your workspace safer.

Horizontal Carousels Quickly Pay for Themselves!

The bottom line is that carousels show an excellent ROI in a short amount of time, thanks to the numerous across-the-board improvements they bring. Your warehouse can be a smoothly-running profit machine, rather than a bottleneck. Contact Material Flow Technologies for a full consultation on our automated storage solutions!

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Vertical Storage Solutions Bring Across-The-Board Improvements to Your Warehouse

admin — Mon, 27 May 2019 12:44:54 +0000

Warehouse operators are facing challenges in numerous ways. Space is limited, and they are often pressured to find ways to store more stock without expanding physical space. There are also numerous health and safety concerns to consider, with an ever-growing list of safety regulations to follow. These factors and more can all drag down the profitability of a warehouse while creating bottlenecks to overall efficiency.
However, there is a solution to all these concerns: vertical storage solutions! Automated vertical storage systems bring numerous benefits to warehouses and will quickly pay for themselves with pure ROI.

Four Ways Vertical Storage Solutions Can Improve Any Warehouse

1. Reclaim wasted space
Far too many warehouses are wasting so much of the space they have available. Either they have to keep shelves far from each other, to make room for workers and support machinery, or else they ignore plenty of empty air above people\’s heads. Vertical storage systems allow you to make the most of your available space! They are more compact than traditional shelving while being able to extend upwards as high as space permits.
With a vertical storage solution, you will be able to instantly expand the capacity of your warehouse.

2. Improve picking efficiency
Even well-trained workers will take time to locate and pick items off of shelves, and mistakes will be common. With vertical storage solutions, both of these drags on efficiency go away. Robot-controlled picking is faster and more accurate than human picking, allowing you to move more stock, with fewer errors.

3. Reduce health and safety concerns
Imagine how much safer – and cheaper – your operation would be if your workforce never had to climb on a ladder or utilize a cherry picker. By having robots do the dangerous job of moving vertically around your warehouse, you can vastly decrease the chances of an on-the-job incident.
You might even be able to get lower insurance rates, with an automated system installed.

4. Protect your product
Products stored in a vertical storage system are inherently safer than products sitting on shelves. They are less likely to receive physical damage from unintended impacts, and they are far less vulnerable to theft. You can track every item request, or even restrict employee access to valuable stock – reducing loss significantly.

Material Flow Technologies Is Here

Material Flow Technologies are world leaders in automated vertical storage solutions! If your warehouse has become a costly bottleneck, contact us to improve its efficiency.

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Improve Your Grow Operation with Vertical Racking

admin — Thu, 23 May 2019 12:11:48 +0000

The legal cannabis market is booming, and if you\’re running a grow operation, chances are you\’re looking to expand your own operations as quickly as you can. Of course, space is limited, and some states specifically restrict marijuana growth to indoor operations. This can put severe burdens on growers and seemingly inhibit your ability to keep up with demand.

Well, you don\’t necessarily need to expand your physical facilities. You can improve your overall harvest and efficiency by investing in vertical growing solutions!

Why Every Grow Op Should Invest in Vertical Growing Solutions

A vertical growing solution is exactly what it sounds like a rack style arrangement for storing your plants which stretches upwards. These systems can be automated as well, rotating the stock, and use movement mechanisms to bring shelves down within arm\’s reach whenever you need to get at specific plants.

This can bring several big benefits to your operation!

* Vastly increase your harvest
How much vertical headroom is available in your grow room? If you are like the typical grower, there\’s probably a lot – and that\’s space which could be filled with more growing plants! Depending on the overall dimensions of your grow room, you could double your harvest or more, without adding a single square foot to your overall footprint.

* Rack specific lighting
Keeping your plants well-lit isn\’t a problem either. Each rack can have its own super-efficient LED lighting system, ensuring all your plants are happy and always receiving the perfect amount of light for their growth. Lighting levels can potentially be automated, as well, reducing the need for manual adjustment of lights.

* Diversify your crops
Many marijuana growers face a big problem keeping up with demand from a market that loves novelty and wants to keep seeing new cultivars appear while keeping within the realities of their growing space. Vertical growing solutions solve this problem! By expanding your available space for growing, you have room to experiment or have numerous more cultivars on-hand.

Maximize the Potential of Your Grow Op with Vertical Growing Solutions
There are few better investments you could make into the future of your marijuana cultivation business than a vertical growing system. The initial costs will be easily paid for with higher yields and greater crop diversity.

Material Flow Technologies are world leaders in vertical storage systems. Contact us directly to learn how we can improve your grow op!

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How Vertical Lift Modules Improve Order Selection

admin — Mon, 20 May 2019 12:27:39 +0000

Do your warehouses still depend significantly on human labor to handle order selection? If so, there is a good chance this is causing a bottleneck in your operations, as well as increasing the chances of worker injury while climbing ladders or carrying stock around. You can improve efficiency across your operation, while fulfilling customer orders more quickly, by integrating vertical lift modules (VLMs) into your order selection system.
These computer-controlled devices are largely automated, both storing and retrieving items based on programming. Switching to such systems brings numerous benefits to your warehouse operations.

Four Big Benefits to Adding Vertical Lift Modules to Your Order Selection System

1. Faster pick rates
VLMs are both faster and more accurate than human labor! There\’s no need to go climbing around on stairs or ladders, searching for the correct filing number. The automated system knows exactly where every item is stored and goes straight for it. The compact nature of VLMs further speeds up the process, saving extra time.

2. Reclaim floor space, or add more stock
Because VLM systems do not have to leave room for people to move and work, they make much more efficient use of space. They can also be as tall as you need, up to the maximum height of your storage area. In short, they pack far more product into a smaller space! You can use this to reclaim floor space for other work or to include a much larger supply of products without having to physically expand your warehouse.

3. Reduce loss
Loss is a serious consideration in any warehouse, often leading to a number of costly security measures whose effectiveness is questionable. VLMs are a great solution to the problem. Their method of storage makes them highly resistant to direct theft and being computer-controlled, it\’s impossible for a worker to request an item without that action being tracked. VLMs can significantly reduce loss without the need for extra security measures.

4. Improve storage speeds too
More advanced models of VLMs don\’t merely pick products – they also intelligently store them based on size and available space. You simply feed a new product into the system, and it automatically finds a perfect spot to put it. There\’s no need to manually program locations into the system.

Material Flow Technologies are world leaders in vertical lift modules and other storage systems! Contact us to improve your warehouse efficiency.

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Automated Vertical Storage Solutions Can Optimize Your Auto Shop

admin — Sat, 06 Apr 2019 06:06:58 +0000

If you run any sort of garage or other type of vehicle repair shop, undoubtedly keeping track of parts and tools is a major concern. Your staff needs quick and easy access to the right items if they\’re going to make best use of their time. However, if you\’re still doing item management manually – with shelves and boxes and drawers – there are much better alternatives!

Vertical storage solutions are automated systems which use smart item management and vertical storage to speed up item access and accuracy. They can significantly streamline your operations!

Four Ways Vertical Storage Solutions Improve Garage Operations

1. Reduce your storage footprint

Because vertical storage solutions are built upwards, they have relatively small footprints. You could install a storage unit that\’s as tall as your garage ceiling, with parts going all the way up – but without having to worry about human accessibility. You could replace entire walls full of shelves with a single storage unit. That means more room for work to be done, or potentially even another repair bay!

2. Highly accurate item retrieval

One key feature of vertical storage units is the use of smart computer systems to track items and their placement. This is generally done via bar codes, although other optical systems are available as well. Your worker simply keys in the code for the item they want, and the system fetches it. Likewise, all they have to do is drop it into the return bin, and the system puts it back into storage.

3. Smart storage optimization

Many vertical storage systems are aware of the sizes of items placed within them and can automatically optimize their use of space. If a worker is returning a 3.5\” item, for example, the system knows to look for a best-fit space to store it. The system will automatically put it in a 4\” spot, rather than taking up a 6\” spot.

4. Reduce Loss

Perhaps this isn\’t an issue at your facility, but if you have a problem with items \”walking away,\” vertical storage prevents it. By storing items vertically, within an enclosed space, they\’re far less accessible when work isn\’t being done. Further, the system can track items which have been taken, making it easier to know if they aren\’t returned.

Material Flow Technologies

Material Flow Technologies is dedicated to improving your operations through improved storage solutions! Contact us for a full consultation.

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Understanding the Differences Between Vertical Lift Modules and Vertical Carousels

admin — Sat, 30 Mar 2019 16:54:02 +0000

Automated storage systems are a great investment for any business looking to streamline item storage and retrieval, and they also open up additional storage space by storing items vertically rather than horizontally. When you don\’t have to worry about humans having to directly access item shelves, you can cram a lot more items into the same space!

While there are numerous automated storage systems you might invest in, they are going to broadly fall into two categories: vertical lift modules (VLMs) and vertical carousels. Here\’s a quick breakdown of their differences, and when each would be appropriate.

I. Vertical Lift Modules vs Vertical Carousels: What\’s the Difference?

In short, the difference between lift modules and carousels is what\’s actually moving.

With a vertical lift module, you have two sets of static shelves, with a retrieval mechanism running on a track between them. You key in the item you want, then the retriever moves up and across, grabs the item, and returns it to you.

With a vertical carousel, the shelves themselves are hooked into a mechanism that rotates the entire set of shelves either clockwise or counterclockwise. The bottommost shelf is usually the one you have access to, while the others are often sealed away.

II. The Benefits of Vertical Lift Modules

The two main benefits of VLMs are that they are better at storing heavy items, and at storing a mixture of items of different sizes. VLMs can handle heavier objects than a carousel since the items don\’t move much. VLMs can also be physically larger than carousels, potentially up to 100ft high.

Additionally, most VLMs have smart onboard software that allows them to self-optimize storage space based on item sizes vs available slots. The smartest VLM can practically organize your inventory for you! Of course, such features cost money.

III. The Benefits of Vertical Carousels

Vertical carousels are best when you have a mixture of smaller / lighter items which your staff can hand pick from. They are, for example, excellent in garages and workshops that need a compact way of storing lots of parts and tools. They\’re faster and more intuitive to use. In addition, they\’re often going to be less expensive than VLMs.

Optimize Your Storage With MFT!

Material Flow Technologies is dedicated to creating and implementing optimal bespoke storage automation technologies. Contact us directly to consult on your storage optimization options.

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