Factory and warehouse work is a never-ending list of repetitive tasks and strength-testing duties. Fortunately, factory and warehouse workers have a little extra non-human help. Certain tasks that once took days to do by hand can be accomplished in minutes or even seconds using the following devices. Wondering how they do it? Here’s a list of five industrial machines that make work easier.
Walkie Stackers
More than likely you’re familiar with handcarts and forklifts. Both are ways to transport materials or packages from one place to another. What you may not have heard of is a walkie stacker. Think of it as a combination handcart and forklift, designed to transport, raise, and place materials at higher levels. Also called walk-behind pallet trucks, walkie stackers can carry more weight than handcarts and can be maneuvered into tighter spaces a forklift can’t access. Walkie stackers can tote anywhere up to 800 pounds, and a single operator can run the machine.
Palletizers
Stacking pallets is a job for a forklift or walkie stacker, but how do you stack the things on the pallets themselves? While sorting by hand can take a very long time and lead to repetitive stress injuries and potential damage, palletizers automatically sort and stack items onto pallets that are then taken and stacked elsewhere. Palletizers can have robotic elements that perform the grueling tasks of grabbing, sorting, stacking, and securing pallets and their contents without injury or loss and without sacrificing time, money, and energy.
Conveyors
Conveyors are handy for transporting materials from one point to another in a factory or warehouse. Materials, packages, and the like can “travel” great distances on conveyor systems without ever leaving the building. Conveyors can be powered or non-powered. Non-powered conveyors consist of skate wheels or rollers that allow workers to push along packages and the like to the next stage. Powered conveyors use either belts or rollers to transport objects, and they may not even need human operators to keep them moving.
Reclaimers
Another type of machine that tells you what it is with its name, reclaimers are massive devices that reclaim—or more specifically gather up or recover—goods and material stacked in one place that need to be delivered to another. Bucket-wheel reclaimers are probably the best-known reclaimers; they use multiple scoops attached to a cable or belt to gather and transport things like ores, coal, and even food items. They perform the task swiftly, cleanly, and without waste.
Mobile Workstations
The last of our five industrial machines that make work easier, mobile workstations are simple carts that make it easier to supervise workers, review and control inventory, facilitate packing and shipping and aid in returns, transport laptops and other computer peripherals, and basically bring the white-collar and blue-collar worlds together for greater efficiency and more. With rechargeable power packs, they’re efficient and a safe way to keep extension cords and hazards off the work floor, too!
