Labor challenges are a consistent thorn in the side of material handling operations. Good help is hard to find and even harder to keep around. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, labor turnover in key supply chain sectors hit 5-year highs in 2020, reaching 44.3% in manufacturing and warehouse turnover almost breaking 60%. And as turnover rises, productivity suffers. Time searching for and onboarding new employees takes up management attention, and it takes time for new hires to reach the performance levels of the experienced employees they replace.
But there is a way to escape the constant cycle of hiring and training – automation. Automating repetitive tasks can not only bridge the labor gap, it can actually help improve employee engagement and therefore reduce turnover.
Now the question is where to start. Here are three processes you should seriously consider automating.
Point-to-point pallet load transportation
From moving pallet loads between receiving and staging, to picking up palletized loads from stretch wrappers and more, automated guided vehicles (AGVs) are proven solutions to move goods to the right place at the right time. Workers are relieved of dull, repetitive tasks and free to focus on more complex, rewarding tasks while AGVs continue moving pallets with consistent performance from start to finish, with no declining productivity due to fatigue.
And that’s not all. Delegating these tasks to AGVs can support safety initiatives. While manual equipment operators may not always follow the established traffic rules, AGVs are consistent and predictable. They always follow safety procedures and even offer the flexibility to follow site- and location-specific rules.
Stretchwrapping Pallet Loads
At the end of packaging lines, stretchwrapping fully palletized loads helps preserve load integrity and stability through later supply chain processes. But rather than relying on workers to circle palletized loads on foot over and over to stretchwrap them by hand, solutions are available to completely automate the process. Automatic stretchwrappers use a conveyor-based turntable, stretchwrap dispenser and controls to fully automate the process from beginning to end – attaching film at the start and rotating the load for full coverage before cutting and wiping it upon completion.
In addition to providing labor savings, automating the stretchwrapping process provides a higher level of consistency and precision. An automated stretchwraps the load according to exact specifications for the amount of film, tension, and layers – helping avoid overspending on excess film and delivering consistent quality that holds up through downstream processes
Moving and Stacking Large, Irregularly Sized Items
Manually handling large, irregular items like wheels and tires requires workers to lift and awkwardly twist in ways that can lead to repetitive stress injuries. But since these types of items do not fit standard conveyor systems, can businesses turn to automation as an alternative?
Yes! Specialty automation components, including conveyors, stackers and destackers, can be built according to the requirements of virtually any type of item. That includes handling specialty pallets and even raw materials, with solutions in a range of throughput specs – from a couple of units per hour to several per minute – to meet a range of requirements for performance and cost.
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