The TriFactor Learning Center is frequently updated with new white papers and helpful material handling information. You're invited to read Craig Bertorello's "Guidelines for Choosing a Conveyor System."
Choosing the right conveyor system can be an overwhelming task for the warehouse or distribution center professional. Managers and planners often face a series of dilemmas when attempting to identify, develop and purchase the "ideal" material handling system.
Depending on the operation, the product to be handled and the application requirements, systems can vary from the very simplistic to the extremely complex. While various types of equipment are available to satisfy an application's needs, the best mindset when considering a conveyor system is to be sure the system is designed with specific characteristics in mind: 1) ease of adaptability to changing needs. 2) operationally safe; 3) reliable and requiring minimal maintenance; 4) energy efficient and designed around "green" principles; 5) most important of all, cost effective to operate.
Both conventional wisdom and the traditional mindset have erroneously devalued conveyors over time, regarding them as little more than non-value added equipment that does no more than move product through a warehouse or distribution center. This is why conveyors (and the material handling systems of which they are components) are typically the last elements considered in the process planning cycle.
Further, conveyors are also among the last equipment purchased, which is why purchase decisions are often made on the basis of initial acquisition cost, and not on the basis of total acquisition cost or overall value.
This common view of "commoditizing" conveyors is full of risk and exposure to the operation. The wrong conveyor type, or even a suitable type applied incorrectly, or for the wrong reasons, can quickly undermine the warehouse or distribution center's operating efficiency and long-term strategy, often dissolving profitability and/or stripping a company of its competitive advantages.
So, what is a more appropriate way to approach a conveyor system and what should you look for in the "ideal" system?
The common requirements for conveyors systems in all warehouse and distribution environments are to transport product between successive steps in the order fulfillment process, and to provide accumulation buffers throughout the process to allow for workflow balancing when considering the different processing rates associated with each step in the process. Accumulation buffers can also enable ongoing production during localized backups or downtime elsewhere downstream in the process.
There are a number of specific features or characteristics to look for when designing, evaluating, selecting and choosing conveyors for your system. To finish reading about these vital features, please visit the TriFactor Learning Center.
