Moving parts and inventory within your plant and warehouse represent a significant cost to operations. By re-thinking how you make these moves, you can create a more efficient process and thus reduce labor costs while improving safety to people and products.
One way is to configure assembly stations to work from parts loaded on industrial carts. Parts delivery on carts can reduce the amount of “touches” required to get items from the market (stores) to the point of use. It allows quicker replenishment cycles and results in less WIP inventory on the production floor.
This material handling approach is used by a large manufacturer of locomotive engines. It has eliminated 150 forklift moves a day and significantly reduced assembly line inventory. Assembly team efficiency has improved because people are no longer waiting for forklifts to deliver parts.
Tags: customized industrial carts, delivery industrial cart, industrial carts, material handling solution
The answer is an emphatic no!
A material handling cart is an industrial tool which needs to maintain structural integrity when subjected to various forces imposed by the deck load and towing process while being safe for human interaction. It must deliver cost reduction and/or safety improvement plus a low life cycle cost in order to be considered a viable investment.
As we all look for ways to extend our budgets further and to minimize capital expenditures, we often hear companies comment that “we are going to build something ourselves.” While this may sound like a great way to save money, all carts are not created equal.
Following are three basic ways to identify if your present industrial carts or cart design have possible hidden functional flaws:
- Tow Bars/Hitches – Does your towbar stow vertically without straps, locks, rattling or noise and allow up and down movement when in a lowered position (accommodate floor surface variation)? Is your towbar designed to handle total rolling forces of the entire train and side loads imparted by tight turns where the towbar may contact the carts or the tow vehicle? Are towbar eyelets and hitch latches made of an alloy material for strength and wear resistance? Does the latch have a positive lock design that prohibits accidental opening by the towbar regardless of position? Are hitches recessed under the cart frame where possible especially where an operator in the work zone will be frequently walking past the back of the cart?
- Read more.
Most manufacturers believe that green practices reduce operational costs and are good for business if implemented correctly. While green manufacturing isn’t new, in-plant material handling is one area manufacturers are currently scrutinizing for improving energy efficiency, pollution reduction and eco-friendly operations.
When you think of the greatest workhorse in your factory or warehouse, what comes to mind? (Hint: Think metal and motor.) It’s probably not an employee, but a forklift.
Forklifts historically have had a very important role on the manufacturing floor. However, by limiting their usage to appropriate zones and the perimeter of the factory floor, and integrating tugs and carts into your material handling, you can reduce energy consumption and waste and improve the overall efficiency of your business.
Click here for 5 benefits of tuggers and carts as forklift alternatives.
Light Duty Industrial Cart by K-Tec
Towable light frame carts with hardwood inserts provide a robust format for unloading, moving and storing painted panels. Hardwood separators keep panels from touching each other during loading or transit. Soft, vibration dampening wheels keep panel movement to a minimum, protecting finish during transit. Industrial carts are designed with an adjustable lower frame to handle different panel dimensions within the same cart.
This industrial cart by K-Tec keeps perishables cool.
Using a low profile towable double 5th wheel 4-wheel steer base and a DC powered refrigerated upper box, industrial carts for perishable products can be delivered outdoors in all weather conditions. Products can remain in the refrigerated box for 1 ½ hours and still be in the “safe for consumption” zone.
Tags: customized industrial carts, delivery industrial cart, industrial carts
Modified Rider Pallet Truck by K-Tec
Where sub-assembled or partially processed parts require delivery/pick up at multiple roller conveyor-based cells, a powered rider pallet jack can be modified to make a fast and mobile delivery solution. This is an especially effective solution if the in-plant distances are great.
K-Tec Industrial Cart Safely Transports Fluid
Industrial carts that move products with fluid in them have a particular challenge to keep production floors from becoming dangerously wet and slippery. Solutions include:
- building drainage tops with small under-deck drainable reservoirs that can accommodate fixed or rotational designs; and
- using a large fixed deck that can accept many gallons of fluid within the sealed deck structure.
Providing high bay industrial picking carts with a rotational upper assembly and adjustable shelves enables order
K-Tec Pick & Delivery Industrial Cart
pickers to fill small case picks with greater speed and higher density that fixed shelf solutions. In addition, by pulling out the retractable towbar and rotating the entire shelf assembly so it faces the aisles, the carts transform into a towable train of delivery carts to drop off small parts at assembly stations.
K-Tec Pallet Hauler Industrial Cart
Using 4K-5K lb. capacity 4′ x 8′ double 5th wheel 4-wheel industrial steer carts to move pallets in warehouses makes sense where heavy and/or bulky loads must be transported some distance (indoor or outdoor) for put-away or staging. This approach is more efficient and safer than using fork trucks, which are only used locally on the docks or in the storage areas.
Using K-Tec industrial carts to deliver pallets and containers to a conveyer-supplied workstation works well when airbags raise the inbound conveyor section to change the slope for easy gravity-assisted flow to the workstation. Learn more.
Tags: customized industrial carts, delivery industrial cart, industrial carts
