Jan 13, 2022 | Maintenance, New Warehouse, Supply Chain
Preventive maintenance is a critical component of any maintenance strategy. It is a key factor in lowering maintenance costs, reducing equipment downtime, improving asset lifespan and efficiency, and increasing workplace safety. Having a clearly defined, well-thought-out maintenance plan is a crucial first step in long-term success.
Preventive maintenance is critical to any business looking to reduce maintenance costs and the number of reactive maintenance issues. But … what exactly is preventive maintenance?
Preventive maintenance involves taking the necessary precautions and actions to prevent accidents or equipment failures from occurring before they happen. Some examples of this would be: performing regular business and equipment inspections, cleaning and lubricating essential equipment, and tidying your business’s grounds are all examples of preventive maintenance.
The goal of preventive maintenance is to proactively prevent equipment failure and reduce the risk of accidents and downtime. Taking certain precautions to ensure minimal risk to your business ensures you and your staff can focus on organizational goals, instead of having to repair what is broken.
Any type of maintenance that is not reactive (i.e. a response to a problem, malfunctioning equipment, technology, etc.) is preventive, and there are many different types of preventive maintenance that pertain to different areas of a business, or specific timing.
In short, as a business owner or manager, you face a certain amount of risk when it comes to customer and employee safety, equipment operations and safety, and property upkeep, among other areas. Implementation of regular preventive maintenance measures can ensure your business is protected from substantial risks and accidents, keeping your business goals and safety goals intact.
CLICK to see how ABCO Systems can assist you with your Preventative Maintenance needs.
Feb 10, 2021 | 3PL, Automation, E-commerce, Maintenance, New Warehouse, order fulfillment, Storage, Supply Chain, third party logistics
In 2020, the world of e-commerce saw unprecedented growth due to COVID-19, with even the largest e-commerce retailers like Amazon struggling to keep up with the demand. As we know, Amazon has set the standard for order-fulfillment for fast and/or free shipping. Intuitively, a 2021 report by Shopify, a leading e-commerce store platform, shows that 67% of U.S. consumers expect either same-, next-, or two-day delivery, with a full 65% of consumers checking free-shipping thresholds before even adding something to their carts.
Moving forward into 2021, third-party logistics providers continue to adapt to this fast-changing landscape in order to meet the ever-growing need for e-commerce fulfillment.
Here are some of the key ways 3PLs can prepare for another year of growth in e-commerce:
Warehouse Automation
Looking to 2021, 3PLs will have to rely on integrated supply chain solutions like automation to increase inventory control. 3PLs benefit from cost-to-serve modeling to do so. In other words, the more 3PLs can save on their internal process efficiencies, the more profit they can make. Warehouse automation hardware like conveyor systems, print & apply solutions, inbound & shipping sorters, put-to-light technology, order-fulfillment picking devices, and infrared technology for application weighing are all worthy automation solutions that can make growth in 2021 seamless.
Automated Storage
During peak-growth, 3PLs often need to expand their warehouse capabilities. Thus, 3PLs should look to warehouse storage solutions to increase their operational storage efficiency. According to 3PL news, a 3PL industry newshub, automated warehouses use up about 40% less floor space than traditional warehouses. To decrease your operation’s footprint, automated warehouse storage solutions like push back storage rack systems, pallet flow conveyors, automated pallet storage and beyond can all reduce 3PLs storage costs.
Labor Management
3PLs looking to follow the largest e-commerce retailers lead in labor management can benefit from basic labor management practices moving into 2021. These practices include:
- Surveying team members on their concerns or challenges with new technologies
- Implementing change management teams to oversee changes
- Using robust systems to track laborer performance
- Creating systems for worker and supervisor feedback
- And putting worker safety at the forefront of all warehouse operations
Risk Management
A 2021 3PL Logistics Study by Infosys Consulting, Penske Logistics and Penn State University showed that readiness and continuity planning is a priority for 3PLs post-pandemic. Thus, internal strategies for unforeseen obstacles and challenges in the supply chain should be laid out for individual 3PLs in the coming year to better prepare.
In 2021, the 3PL businesses can emerge through another year of rapid growth by committing to smart practices and cost-saving hardware. By streamlining order fulfillment processes and investing in high-quality, innovative solutions— 3PLs may come out the other side just in time to grow with the trends.
For more information on ABCO Systems’ 3PL solutions visit https://abcosystems.net/3pl-warehouse-automation-solutions/ or contact us HERE.
Jun 9, 2020 | Feature, Maintenance, New Warehouse, Storage
Safety is critical to the continuing function of your daily operations. Accidents can happen anywhere to anyone – a trainee, a worker who takes a wrong turn, or even an experienced operator having an off-day. Efforts to protect your racking systems not only helps to reduce damaged merchandise but it also helps ensure the safety of your valued employees.
Forklift accidents can result in pallet rack damage, costly repairs, downtime, damaged inventory, and injury to workers. Rack protection is essential to maintaining your inventory and key assets because they keep the structure safe at various impact points.
No matter the size of your storage facility, pallet rack protection will increase your productivity and eliminate damages due to narrow aisle for trucks, lifts, and individuals encountering sensitive rack uprights. These factors are important particularly when you consider the damage a forklift can cause. ABCO provides the most suitable protector or guard for your pallet rack to ensure safety and no damages.
ABCO welcomes the opportunity to visit you and assess any at-risk products. There are several ways to protect your racking. The rack aisle protector, rack post protectors, wire mesh rack guards, and floor angle guide. These all offer protection to the most vulnerable parts of your warehouse and business. They can be formatted into the size and shape to fit your protection needs. ABCO helps to protect your inventory, investment, and your valued employees.
Contact us here for all of your rack protection needs.
Oct 1, 2017 | Maintenance
If you’re a warehouse manager, you know the importance of keeping your conveyor systems operating efficiently and safely. Keeping up with conveyor maintenance is not just important for keeping your business running smoothly.
Plus, even the simplest of maintenance procedures can help ensure that your conveyors keep running smoothly for years to come, which can save you huge money in the long run. And while upgrading to a new, luxury conveyor sounds nice, many businesses don’t have this luxury in their budget.
In this article, we’ll go over the top conveyor maintenance tips that every warehouse manager needs to know about.
1. Hire a Company to Perform Quarterly Maintenance
Maintenance technicians are perhaps one of the most commonly under-appreciated workers of a facility.
Yet, one of the biggest mistakes warehouse managers make is not hiring a maintenance company or underpaying one. A good maintenance technician will help you correct small problems with your conveyors before they become big ones.
Our on staff maintenance technicians are experienced experts on all types of conveyor systems.
2. Keep Spare Parts on Hand
Even if your conveyor is running like a well-oiled machine, there are eventually going to be mechanical parts that are going to fail.
And depending on which part fails, a breakdown could halt production for a long period of time. And even if a failed part doesn’t affect production, it can inflict serious damage on other areas of the conveyor system.
Therefore, it’s highly recommended that you keep a safety stock of all critical conveyor parts on hand. These include pushers, transfers, and package stops.
3. Audit and Documentation
Inspecting your conveyor system on a regular basis is key to ensuring that it runs smoothly.
But, if you’re around your system every day, it can be hard to notice any parts that are slowly failing.
Luckily, ABCO Systems can come in and perform a complete audit of your system. We can help ensure that your system isn’t headed towards complete failure.
4. Be Aware of Obsolete Equipment and Parts
Oftentimes, a budget is a huge contributing factor that prohibits a warehouse manager from replacing an entire system.
Therefore, it’s very important to stay current on which conveyor parts are obsolete. Knowing this can help you make wise decisions for your business.
For example, if you know that a certain type of conveyor is no longer being manufactured, it may be wise to stock additional spare parts for it so you don’t have to replace it in its entirety.
5. Know the Maintenance Calendar
Your conveyor should come with a manual that tells you when to check all the parts.
But, in general, it’s good to be aware of the approximate frequency in which items need to be checked.
Here is a quick guideline to keep in mind:
- Motor: Check noise, temperature, and mounting bolts monthly
- Reducer: Check noise and temperature monthly, oil level quarterly
- Driver Chain: Check tension quarterly, lubricate weekly
- Sprockets: Check for wear, set screws and keys quarterly
- Belts: Check tracking and tensions monthly, lacing weekly
- Bearings: Check noise monthly, mounting belts quarterly
- V-belts and O-rings: Check for wear, tension and sheave alignment monthly
Conveyor Maintenance: Wrap Up
By following this conveyor maintenance guide, you’ll never have to worry about being caught off guard by a major issue that halts production and causes your business to lose a lot of money.
If you have any questions about conveyor maintenance, please drop us a comment below. Or, please contact us and set up a maintenance checkup today!
Nov 23, 2016 | Maintenance
Reactive Maintenance focuses on fixing equipment and bringing it back to its operating condition after it’s already broken. Emergency repairs such as this, cost 3-9 times more than planned repairs. This kind of approach is significantly more expensive because of unexpected shutdowns during production instead of pre-planned maintenance shut downs. Rush shipping for emergency parts cost much more than regular shipping and staff is often forced to work overtime to repair machinery.
Planned Maintenance
Planned maintenance reduces stoppage and the additional costs of emergency repairs. A scheduled plan gives you the opportunity to improve your operations and continue to operate at full speed.
Some Disadvantages of Reactive Maintenance
- Shorter life expectancy of equipment – Reactive maintenance does not keep your equipment running in optimal condition. Over time, systems that have not been properly maintained wear and break faster and don’t maximize their initial investment.
- Safety issues – When work is scheduled, technicians have time to review the procedures and safety requirements to complete the job correctly. Technicians tend to take more risks when maintenance work is reactive because they are under pressure to get equipment running without further time delays.
- Time-consuming – Reactive repairs tend to take longer. Factors like time to diagnose, travel time, time to pull parts from stores or emergency order, and time to pull correct manuals and schematics, all impact how long it takes you to get back up and running.
- Sporadic equipment downtime – Planned maintenance can be scheduled while unplanned repairs can happen anytime.
- Interferes with planned work – Emergency repairs are usually prioritized at the expense of day to day work. Planned work may have to be delayed or cancelled entirely.
- Collateral damage – A minor issue could quickly turn into a major repair without proper maintenance.
- Indirect costs – Unplanned downtime can lead to schedule problems if equipment cannot be returned to production in time. This can damage your reputation with clients and cause revenue issues.
- Repeat issues – Emergency repairs do the bare minimum to get the equipment up and running. This can lead to future issues and eventually cause more downtime.
- Higher energy costs – When equipment is not properly maintained, it uses more energy. Doing simple things like greasing moving parts or changing filters can reduce energy consumption by up to 15%.
At ABCO Systems, we offer our clients a full maintenance plan that is designed to address any potential problems that could pop up at any time. When you sign up for this plan, you can expect the following:
- Regularly-scheduled maintenance
- On-site visits to inspect machinery
- Real, low-cost resolutions for discovered issues in the system
Our qualified inspectors and technicians make it their responsibility to find failure points that could lead to future problems. A maintenance plan with our company is one of the best preventative steps that you can take.
Contact Us Today
If you’re ready to commit to keeping your systems up to par, contact ABCO Systems for the next step. We can be reached at 201-507-0999, or you can also fill out our online contact form.
Jun 17, 2014 | Maintenance
In the market there seems to be some confusion about how you whether you should use pallet rack or wire deck.
For instance, many people use wire rack for pallet support. Often wire decking is not rated for supporting the weight of a pallet. The better solution here is pallet rack support.
Here is a quick breakdown of what each of these products add to your warehouse racking.
Pallet Supports: Pallet supports are an added stability for your pallets.
Why do I need added support for my pallet racks? Don’t the pallets bear the weight of my product?
Theoretically, however as we all know the uniform strength of pallets aren’t very uniform.
Also if you have pallets that don’t quite reach across the span or might require extra support, this is what you need. There are a variety of pallet supports for different applications and come in galvanized to powder coated supports. In addition to style, they also support different weights and can vary in length.
Pallet support bars are usually designed to connect over the pallet rack step beam or sit inside the step of the beam to support the bottom of load and reinforce the system as a whole. They are generally used with selective style pallet racking
Pallet supports are affordable, but you can also purchase used pallet supports to save even more money.
Pallet supports will not prevent loose material from creating a hazard to people, products or machinery below the racks. For that you need…
Wire Decking: Wired decking’s main selling point is that it can be added to pallet rack so you can store split cases and open cases. An additional advantage is that it prevents the aforementioned loose articles from damaging anything below.
Like pallet supports, wire decking comes in a variety of styles to fit with your rack.
While wire decking does provide a measure of support and stability to your pallet rack, it is not sturdy enough to support pallets alone.
Wired decking has mostly replaced the old wooden or plywood decking formerly used in warehouse. In addition to being more durable, it also has safety advantages over wooden decking. In the event of a fire, wire decking allows water from sprinklers to penetrate a much greater area than solid wood.
Every warehouse is unique and has it’s own circumstances. You may need any combination of pallet rack 0r wire deck or both in different parts of your warehouse.
If you need help deciding what you need in your warehouse contact ABCO Systems. We can help with all of your distribution center and warehouse questions.
