Accreditation offers many benefits for organisations delivering materials handling equipment training in-house. With a continued focus on safety in post-pandemic operations, correct compliance with safety regulations should be top of the list for many employers, says Laura Nelson.
As the industry looks set for yet another record-breaking year, Jaap Vos reviews the association’s achievements in 2021 and how they are raising standards in the warehouse.
The past two years have tested the UK material handling sector like never before. The demands of Brexit saw the warehousing and logistics sectors stretched to near capacity. But this was relegated to a sideshow by the needs thrust upon the sectors by the requirements of the pandemic.
Around 2.5 million people are employed in logistics in the UK and about one in five of those work in a warehouse. The surge of online shopping over the months of lockdown has driven demand for warehousing to an all-time high, while delivery drivers and warehouse workers have achieved hitherto undreamed-of recognition as essential workers, keeping the nation clothed and fed, says Clare Bottle.
DOOSAN HAS unveiled a major upgrade to its BT/BX 7 Plus Series electric counterbalance forklift trucks, bringing advanced performance-enhancing design and improved capabilities to the three and four wheeled, 1.5-to-3.5-tonne, mid-market product range.
THE PACKAGE builds on the firms’ acquisition of Fetch Robotics and is designed to enable end users to streamline order, batch, case, pallet and each picking workflows and automate material transport.
Worker quality and numbers is fast becoming one of the trickiest aspects of finding and properly utilising people in the DC, says Smitha Raphael, Chief Product & Delivery Officer for WMS technology innovator SnapFulfil.
THE UK hosted COP26, the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties in Glasgow between 31 October-12 November 2021. Indigo Software solutions architect Eric Carter shines light on how a WMS can help the warehouse play its part.
The current driver shortage, resulting in empty supermarket shelves and dire warnings of worse to come for Christmas, is a storm that has been in the making for some time but has been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic and BREXIT.
When it comes to maintaining high levels of productivity, comfortable employees can make all the difference to a company’s operation, says Gianbattista Scaramuzza.
When using lift trucks safety technology, you need to guard against sole or overuse, cautions Nicola Jaynes.
DEVELOPED THROUGH its W² Labs programme Wincanton is using wearable technology and artificial intelligence to improve health and safety in the warehouse, reducing spine hazards per hour by 30%.
Careful consideration has to be paid to staff safety, for both manual pickers and forklift drivers, says Steve Coley.
Lifting and moving by hand is the main cause of reportable accidents in the freight by road industry and the logistics sector has a rate of musculoskeletal disorders 50% higher than the national average, says Laura Nelson.
Shortages and delays are extending forklift OEM lead times, says Darren Boiling, who offers advice on ensuring you have an ATEX forklift when you need it.
THE GROCER has added 13,604 pallets of extra storage capacity.
SINCE THE outbreak of Covid-19, distribution centres have been faced with a raft of unexpected challenges, from high demand, uncertainty, and safety of their workforce, to maintaining quality within new constraints on their manufacturing environment.
The Mitsubishi EDiA XL electric forklift delivers all of the power of a diesel but with none of the noise or emissions, says Stewart Gosling.
Dutch grocer Jumbo is building a 430,000 sq ft automated fresh food logistics centre with high process flexibility, in partnership with integrator Witron.
Smarter businesses are taking matters into their own hands and have contingency plans in place to ride out this extraordinary period of uncertainty we are all currently facing, says Tony Dobson.
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