HOW TO CHOOSE THE BEST CONVEYOR SYSTEM FOR YOUR OPERATIONS
A high-functioning conveyor & sortation system is just one type of system that can dramatically improve the workflow of your facility and operations.
Available in either gravity-powered or electric-powered models, conveyor systems quickly and efficiently move products and materials from one area of your warehouse to another.
At DACO, we can help you design the right conveyor system to meet the your business needs. Whether you’d prefer an option that uses rollers, wheels, or belts, we’ve got you covered.
What’s most important, however, is choosing a reliable system that will work best for your daily operations—but the question is, how do you pick?
Our expert team has several suggestions to help you make the best choice for your commercial or industrial facility.
FACTORS TO CONSIDER BEFORE YOU BUY A CONVEYOR SYSTEM
Buying a conveyor system is not something you want to jump into without doing your research first.
First, how many cartons per day are you processing with how many people? How many shifts do you run?
Secondly, you need to look at processes: how & where employees travel to put together the finished goods orders. What is the desired new output?
Lastly, can sorting to work station or to the dock by FIFO or LIFO make your customer experience more efficient?
PRODUCT & MATERIAL DIMENSIONS
You need to ensure you have the physical dimensions & weights of cartons, totes, bags, or pallets before picking a conveyor system.
For cartons, totes, and bags, you’ll need to survey the length x width x height and weights; maximum & minimum.
For pallets, you should consider the pallet’s overall size and the measurements & orientation of the pallet bottom boards.
This data determines how wide your conveyor system should be, the type of transfers, the inclines & curves, and the horsepower needs.
TYPES OF PRODUCTS & MATERIALS BEING MOVED
- Is there a risk of bottles breaking, harmful chemicals spilling, or high-temperature materials?
- Are raw food handling & food grade daily cleaning required?
- Are the products tightly filling the tote or carton; or are they loosely filled?
- Are there electronics involved with electrostatic issues?
- Are you using bags for e-commerce shipping?
If the answer to any of these questions is yes, you’ll need to find the right type of conveyor system to accommodate these issues.
Conveyors use different belt materials, such as PVC, nylon, leather, or rubber, to move products. If there’s a damage risk from some of the transported materials, you’ll need to know which fabric can stand up to them. Similarly, roller conveyors have different polyurethane sleeves, bearings, and shell casings to handle varied products. Finally, are carton weights, quality checks, and order scanning audits needed to meet your quality standards? This is the time to automate those functions.
FACILITY LAYOUT
Obviously, it’s vital to determine the pathway & decision points where you’ll want your conveyor system installed. This includes determining locations for work cells, turns, and inclines/declines. Our expert design team at DACO can assist you in planning the layout of your system. Today, we can design the work stations with the Personnel Spacing requirements from the CDC.
ABILITY TO MODIFY THE CONVEYOR SYSTEM
There’s a good chance your conveyor system needs will change over time. Look at the five-year plan & the logical progression of your operation to design expansion into the original layout.
CALL US TODAY TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT OUR CONVEYOR SYSTEM PRODUCTS
DACO has all of the options you need to make the most of your warehouse space from carton handling & transport conveyor systems to pallet conveyor systems. Give us a call today at 253-395-8500 or fill out our online form to learn more about our high-tech conveyor system products.
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