Episode 98 – Drader at MODEX 2020
On this episode, I was joined by John Pritchard of Drader Manufacturing at MODEX 2020. John handles Business Development for Drader and we discuss their business, the warehouse bins they have, and also customer success stories. Key Takeaways Drader Manufacturing is a plastics manufacturer based in Canada that does all kinds of manufacturing but they also focus on the warehousing sector. They have created the Shopping Pick Bin specifically for the warehouse which has many added benefits to allow your operation to run more efficiently and look a lot neater. Your pick bin can be an incredibly important factor in your operation because of how you are able to store your SKUs. Not only is it important to store them in an efficient matter but it is also important to have flexibility within those bins for different SKUs or different layouts. The Drader Shopping Pick Bin allows you to put in multiple dividers giving you the flexibility to put multiple SKUs in one bin and adjust the size of each compartment depending on the quantities needed. One of the most interesting things about the Shopping Pick Bin, to me, is that Drader has had the idea to have a perforated bottom which allows for water flow. As you will hear us discuss in the podcast, this is a big deal as it means that you do not have to have sprinkler systems going as deep into the racks because water will flow through the bins in the event of a fire. This can be a huge cost saving operationally and also an easier way to deal with local codes or ordinances. The bin is also designed to help your employee work better by giving visibility to the item and also having built-in handles for easy handling. This is very important for efficiency gains and employee comfort levels. I have worked with pick bins in the past that have not hand handles and it was very difficult to slide them in and out of locations when cycle counting or replenishing. These little features will help you improve significantly. Listen to the episode below and let us know if you plan on upgrading your pick bins in the comments. EP 98: Drader at MODEX In this episode, host Kevin Lawton talks to John Pritchard of Drader Manufacturing about their business, their warehouse pick bins, and the benefits of using them. For more information on Drader Manufacturing head to their website here. To connect with John find him on LinkedIn here.
Episode 97 – Universal Robots
On this episode, I had the chance to talk to Joe Campbell of Universal Robots. He is the Senior Manager, Strategic Marketing & Applications Development and we discussed the multiple partnerships that Universal Robots is involved in, their background, and the UR Academy. You may remember my previous conversation with Joe at ProMat last year. Key Takeaways Universal Robots was founded in Denmark and their focus has been to create a revolutionary class of robots called collaborative robots. The idea behind this is to create a series of robots that can work side by side with humans. Currently, they have approximately 50% of the market share for collaborative robots and their idea to set out to create this series has pushed them to be number one in the industry. One of the big strengths of Universal Robots has been their ability to create meaningful partnerships with different companies. Through their program UR+, they have been able to get a lot of additional partnerships that have been able to expand the abilities and uses of their robots. Joe likens this program to the app store where companies can build out these different accessories and programs to expand the capabilities of their robots. This led to their most recent announcement of creating partnerships that provide accessory kits to go with the robots for certain capabilities. A specific partnership that we discuss is the Cross Palletron which utilizes the Universal Robot platform to palletize and depalletize boxes. As you will hear me discuss, this is a great solution for operations that are constantly adjusting lines and do not want to take up a headcount with just one person palletizing boxes. For me, this is a great example of a flexible solution to help streamline a kitting operation where you are constantly changing what you are working on. From the time I have started this podcast, I have talked to many people within the industry and many that deal with robotics in our industry. One big discussion point has been the idea that robots will take over jobs but for many, the belief is that it will elevate jobs. Universal Robots is taking on this point through their UR Academy which is a free education tool to help individuals understand how to work with their robots and build their robotics knowledge. As of this recording they have had over 90,000 people take the training which is an astounding number. Joe discusses a great case study where there was a labor shortage that caused a company to need to automate. The owner of the company had all of his current employees take the UR Academy training and the one that was able to demonstrate they had learned the most became theirs on-site robotics expert. Best of all it’s free! Listen to the episode below and let us know what you think about robots in the comments. EP 97: Universal Robots
Episode 96 – Twinlode Automation at MODEX 2020
On this episode, I was joined by Richard Kooistra of Twinlode Automation at MODEX 2020. Richard is the VP of Automation at Twinlode and talked to me about Twinlode’s offerings as an integrator, their partnership with Koerber, and what’s happening in automation. Key Takeaways Twinlode Automation is an integrator in the material handling industry that helps put together the most complete and total storage solutions for your warehouse management. They work with the best in class to help find what best suits your needs so that you can have the most efficient operation as possible. At MODEX they had just recently announced their partnership with Koerber to start distributing their products and expanding their offerings even more. The partnership with Koerber allows them to offer a vertically integrated system that encompasses everything from cranes to the warehouse control system. Twinlode Automation is the North American distributor so it allows Koerber to expand its footprint in North America and also helps to expand on Twinlode’s offerings. As Richard discusses, Koerber recently acquired multiple companies to expand on their supply chain offerings including High Jump. Since Richard is the VP of Automation and he is from Twinlode Automation, of course, I asked him about what is going on with automation. Richard talks about the partnerships and collaborations that have become so prevalent in the space. These announcements were in high volume at MODEX this year as many companies were partnering with each other. We discuss how there are many companies coming to the industry with lots of technology but not necessarily the industry background or bandwidth to take their solution to the point of making an impact. That is where the partnerships become key to getting these technologies to the masses and making sure they can work with other solutions without issue. Listen to and watch the episode below. Let us know your thoughts in the comments. EP 96: Twinlode Automation at MODEX For more information on Twinlode Automation go to their website here. To connect with Richard find him on LinkedIn here.
Episode 95 – Getting through the Pandemic with Vecna Robotics
In this episode, I was joined by CEO and Founder of Vecna Robotics, Daniel Theobald, as we reconnected post MODEX 2020 show (Episode 94) to discuss what has happened in the industry since the pandemic has hit and how Vecna Robotics is helping companies get through. Key Takeaways Vecna Robotics has embraced its philosophy of helping the community by reaching out even more to the community as it needs help during the pandemic. They have an amazing policy that employees should be dedicating 10% of their workweek to community and volunteer work. This can create a great culture and also an amazing corporate reputation. For Daniel’s time, he works as the President of MassRobotics which is an innovation and startup hub for new robotics companies in the Massachusetts area. With social distancing being a requirement in most facilities, the idea of deployment becomes a point of concern for some. Vecna Robotics has been working on addressing making deployments less labor-intensive which has been able to help them during this time because there is no more on-site person needed. Once the robot is delivered, it is turned on and then you can work remotely with a Vecna Robotics representative to do all of the mappings that are needed. The beauty of getting your first robot taught its surroundings is that it can share that information with each robot that you add to your fleet so the setup needs to be done just once. In the previous episode, we talked about Vecna Robotic’s orchestration engine Pivotal which is doing great work in helping facilities to maintain social distancing as well. By putting in more constraints about how close a robot can get to another robot or to the human workers, which are tracked in the system as well, the robots can help to control the distance of everyone working within the facility. One of the differences in our industry as opposed to most others during this time is that we have been experiencing increases in volume, with some companies even experiencing peak related type volume. That brings some different challenges including being able to hire enough workers but also to be able to keep that workforce distanced. Vecna Robotics’ robots are able to help with this challenge by having the robots do optimization to not only keep the distance as mentioned above but also to take the best path to get the most work done. Daniel discusses the difference between how a human mind would optimize versus how the robot would optimize. Listen to the episode below and let us know how are you dealing with the COVID times in the comments. EP 95: Getting Through the Pandemic with Vecna Robotics
Episode 94 – Vecna Robotics at MODEX 2020
In this episode, I was joined by the Founder and CEO of Vecna Robotics, Daniel Theobald at MODEX 2020. I have talked to Vecna previously and visited their HQ on Episode 33 but this is the first time I got to speak with Daniel and it was a great discussion. We discussed Daniel’s very interesting background, Vecna’s beginnings, the need for flexibility, their Pivot.al orchestration engine and also his role at MassRobotics. Key Takeaways Daniel has an incredible background in technology, growing up in Silicon Valley and being a part of many different technology programs throughout his schooling. The idea for Vecna was never rushed and their approach was to make sure they had a full stack to offer to their customers. With Vecna they wanted to focus on empowering the employee to do more to help employee retention and give them a better work environment. Vecna offers a range of automated forklifts that helps you to do repetitive movements of loads from one point in the distribution center to another reducing the need for employees to do these redundant tasks and helping to elevate what they do on a daily basis. Flexibility and adaptability have become so important in our world due to the increase in consumer demand and the need to meet increasingly higher expectations on service levels. Daniel discusses how Vecna helps you to bring that flexibility and adaptability to your operation. Their automated forklifts help to free up employees so they can do other more detail-oriented tasks. It also helps to take care of repetitive tasks when you need to be flexible on headcount either by choice or by market conditions. As we know and as Daniel mentions, in our industry, there is a lot of turnover for employees so at many times there can be a shortage of labor which Vecna can help address by having a consistent always their robot employee. Pivot.al is Vecna’s platform that controls and communicates to all of its robots. What is great about this platform is that it can be attached to any machine so that there is not a limitation in hardware. Daniel discusses how one of Vecna’s differences is that they did not build a hardware solution around their software but they built the software to be flexible for you. In addition to this flexibility, this orchestration engine works with other automation solutions outside of Vecna as well to help facilitate communication between different robots and systems. The overall goal of Pivot.al is to optimize your operation through AI so that everything can be manipulated to make the most optimized movements instead of just moving to move. With the strength of Pivot.al as an orchestration platform, Daniel says “Automation was so last decade” meaning that the different pieces of automation have been created and rolled out to the industry but now the focus needs to be on orchestration and how these automation solutions can operate together. We had a great discussion about how bottlenecks can be created from not looking at the whole picture and how by improving or automating one part of the process it can actually make another part a bottleneck. With the orchestration engine, you are able to see the whole picture and realize potential bottlenecks before they are actually in place. Keeping an open mind to the big picture is the key to true improvement and moving forward. Daniel also discusses his role as President of MassRobotics which is a group of robotics companies in the Massachusetts area that helps to support each other and helps to push the robotics industry forward. This is a really great group that is helping to improve the collaboration of robotics companies and also giving the ability for them to learn from each other to help the industry grow as a whole. Listen to and watch the episode below. Let us know your thoughts in the comments. EP 94: Vecna Robotics at MODEX
Episode 93 – Getting Thermal with Toshiba
In this episode I was joined by Theresa Lee who is a product manager at Toshiba. Theresa is involved in the thermal barcode printing side of the business and has contributed to The New Warehouse before through her blog post “Barcode Labels Keep Track of E-Commerce.” On the podcast below we go more in-depth about Toshiba’s thermal barcode printing options and discuss some of the latest innovations in the space. Key Takeaways One of the unique features that Toshiba offers in its thermal barcode printers is double-sided printing. Where this can be an improvement for your shipping operation is in the ability to print your shipping label and packing list at once. Instead of printing a separate paper packing list, the packing list can be printed on the back of the shipping label allowing for only one application by the shipper. This is a big-time savings because your shippers do not have to spend time folding up the packing list and stuffing it in that little envelope or doing other additional tasks involving the packing list. Thermal barcode printers are now also becoming connected through additional sensors which can help you to understand issues with the printer remotely. It also helps you to do preventative maintenance on the printer. Theresa discusses the example of how the sensors can track the use of the print head and when the print head is close to going bad it can send an alert to the IT department to address it before it actually dies and causes a stop in work. Also having the ability to know that you are close to needing maintenance allows you to schedule that maintenance at a non-busy time so that the operation can continue to flow. Theresa also discusses how customers are utilizing the ability to connect with printers remotely to allow more flexibility in IT. Many companies now have only one location for IT so troubleshooting becomes mostly remote or asking someone to relay what they are seeing back to IT. This can be time-consuming and frustrating. I know from my experience IT has had the ability to remote on to my computer but not a printer. Now Theresa explains that they can remote on to these printers and troubleshoot in the same way as a computer. This is a big improvement as it does not tie up an operations person trying to gather the proper information for IT and allows the proper fixes to be put in place. Listen to the episode below and let us know your thoughts in the comments. EP 93: Getting Thermal with Toshiba
Episode 92 – Sales and Leadership Warriors
This episode is our third installment in our partnership with Material Handling Wholesaler Magazine. For this installment, I spoke with August’s cover story author Phillip Brand who is a sales and leadership trainer. His cover story is titled “Sales Professionals Take Responsibility” and focuses on how an individual can become a true leader by taking responsibility and ownership. We dive into this topic and discuss how it can apply across the board and not just in sales. Key Takeaways One of the big takeaways from our discussion is to take responsibility for a situation. While Phillip focuses a lot on sales the action of taking responsibility can go a long way in any position and can help you to become a true leader. We discuss how taking responsibility can increase your credibility, your reputation, and your overall bottom line. From a leadership perspective, especially in the warehouse, taking responsibility can help to strengthen your relationship with your employees and other departments within your company that depend on you to deliver for them. Coming from a distribution background, I know very well that often times distribution and sales can butt heads due to sales promising something that distribution cannot really deliver on or for certain information not being communicated to distribution. However, this could be avoided by having the proper synergy within our organization. Many times these misunderstandings are because there is not an initial understanding of what can be delivered upon and what cannot so it is often a guessing game on either side. With good communication and a willingness to work together, many internal conflicts and potential customer disappointment can be avoided. Under promise and over deliver is another part of our conversation that is something that has stuck with me since the first time I heard it years ago. This is the best approach in multiple situations because it does not leave you open for disappointment from another party in the end. Phillip discusses the difference between an amateur and a professional being that a professional knows when to stop. Understanding your business and its limitations is critical to being a professional. Over promising and under delivering can leave you in an incredibly bad spot that is hard to recover from in the eyes of those you have let down. When growing a business or growing your career it is inevitable that you will make a mistake at some point and most likely you’ll make more than one but the key, as we discuss, is to not make the same mistake twice. In other words, if you do not learn from your mistake then you will have a very hard time progressing and moving forward. As long as you can own your mistake and assess the situation to correct what happened as well as take something away from it so it does not happen again then you can maintain your credibility and also keep progressing forward. The New Warehouse Podcast EP 92: Sales and Leadership Warriors To check out the August 2020 issue of Material Handling Wholesaler head to their site here. For more information on Phillip find his website here.
Episode 91 – Signode stretches it out
In this episode, I was joined by Joe Albert who is the VP of Sales and Marketing at Signode. You may remember Signode from our ProMat series last year where we discussed their Octopus automated stretch wrapper. We discussed Joe’s guitar skills, Signode’s different businesses, their automated solutions, and how the market has been during the pandemic. Key Takeaways Signode provides packaging and solutions to help your end of line packaging. As they say, “Our brands protect your brands.” They have multiple different arms to their company and recently, as Joe discusses, they have consolidated everything under the one Signode name allowing them to be in a more unified state in the market. They look downstream and upstream to determine where their customers need improvement in their packaging processes. The Octopus Series of wrappers is an automated wrapping solution that Signode offers. What is unique about the Octopus wrapper is that it is a ring style wrapper as opposed to the typical turntable style. The Octopus is able to be built directly into your line so as a pallet travels the conveyor the Octopus automatically wraps it. One of the great things about the Octopus and its ring style is that it reduces the number of revolutions needed to fully wrap the pallet because it does not need to gain momentum like a turntable. It can be a big efficiency improvement as well as cost savings due to using less wrap. Joe and I also discuss some differences in the wrapping industry between Europe and North America. The ring style wrapper is not necessarily something new to the European market but it is to the North American market. In North America, we are used to a turntable style or a rotary arm which is what has been pushed in the market. Joe comments on how that is slowly starting to change in North America as some competitors are offering ring wrappers as well. I believe that it will continue to grow as operations start to see the efficiency improvement and long term cost savings on wrap. Listen to the episode below and let us know what your current stretch situation looks like in the comments. The New Warehouse Podcast EP 91: Signode Stretches it Out For more information on Signode head to their website here. To connect with Joe Albert you can find him on LinkedIn here.
Episode 90 – Yard Management Solutions
In this episode, I was joined by Colin Mansfield who is the Director of Sales and Marketing at Yard Management Solutions. Yard Management Solution just recently won the Innovation Award at MODEX 2020 for its Yard Management Software. We discuss how their YMS helps to increase visibility in your operation and save you time and money. Key Takeaways Yard Management Solutions is a software company that provides a software platform for, you guessed it, yard management. The founders wanted to start a logistics company and when they were looking for a yard management software to use they could not find one so they built one which the company is now based around. Having a yard management platform is vital when it comes to an operation with high truck volume. It can help you to prioritize the proper loads and also make sure there is nothing lost in the shuffle. Their software is cloud-based and updated in real-time giving you full visibility to your yard in a Google Maps like view. Additionally, their platform has multiple different options that cater to each worker involved in the yard management process. They offer modules for those working at the docks and modules for those working in the yard as well. You can also do a multi-view for operations that have multiple yards, giving management a view of everything happening at their facilities. Colin discusses how innovation works at Yard Management Solutions. They have won the innovation award at MODEX in 2018, been a finalist for the innovation award at ProMat in 2019 and won this year at MODEX as well. As Colin mentions, innovation happens by listening to its customers and solving their problems. The example he gives is where a customer was spending up to 3 hours a shift looking into trailers to determine what product is on the trailers, truly a pain, and a huge cost. YMS was able to develop the option to input the trailer contents through integration with their WMS at the time of yard entry. This allowed them to pull those employees out of the yard and allocate the resource to something more productive. The real selling point for Yard Management Solutions is visibility and time savings. What their software is able to do for your operation is to give you visibility into what is happening with your trailers and give you the proper data to make the right moves. Without a YMS the majority of operations are trying to track what is happening in their yard through whiteboards, spreadsheets, and paper logs. With YMS you can easily pull the information you need because it is recorded in the system at the time of entry so the system will tell you when you are running behind or when you are about to start incurring detention charges. The reduction in time needed to manage your yard is huge because the system is doing all of the trackings and alerting you to when action is needed. Implementing the system allows you to utilize your resources in a much more efficient way. Check out some screenshots of what the platform looks like below and listen to the episode. Let us know how this could help improve your operation in the comments. YMS Benefits Tablet View Eagle View YMS Screenshot Multi-View The New Warehouse Podcast EP 90: Yard Management Solutions
Episode 89 – Enersys at MODEX 2020
In this episode, I was joined by Harold Vanasse who is the Senior Director of Motive Power Marketing at Enersys. You may remember that Enersys had my favorite innovation at ProMat last year, wireless forklift charging, and we talked further about it with Joern Tinnemeyer, their CTO, on Episode 18 last year so at MODEX I had to catch up with Harold and see what is the latest. Key Takeaways Enersys is one of the largest global suppliers of battery products for many different applications and industries. They provide multiple different battery applications for the forklift industry that allow you to operate with full power for extended periods of time. As you know from the previous discussion with them and this episode they are continuously innovating with wireless charging being a huge innovation for the industry. Their newest technology is the Nexsys line of batteries which has thin plate pure lead technology. This allows for a longer maintenance-free life of the battery. Being maintenance-free is key in the demanding distribution and warehouse environments that can require forklifts to be in use close to 24 hours a day. In this case, maintenance-free means no watering of batteries and minimal charging with fast charge setups allowing for a charge in less than 2 hours. For heavy-duty options, Enersys can provide lithium-ion battery options as well which provide the same maintenance-free, long-life advantages that the thin plate pure lead technology offers. Harold discusses how all of these different battery types are a part of the hybrid ecosystem Enersys can bring to your company. They utilize a program called Insights that helps them analyze which batteries are needed for your operation. This helps to ensure that you are getting the most cost-effective solution and the proper mix to power you through all shifts as needed. Harold also gave us an update on their wireless charging system and they even had a demo at MODEX which you can see below. Currently, they are working on field testing wireless charging with their initial target to be able to put in wireless chargers where forklift drivers park. Once this is perfected, they will move on to working on the “hot aisles” where charging will happen as the forklift operator travels in that area. The amazing thing about the wireless charging to me is the communication that the battery and the charger are doing to know when it should charge and when it should not. Really incredible stuff. Listen to and watch our discussion below. Are you looking forward to wireless charging? Leave a comment below and let us know. The New Warehouse Podcast EP 89: Enersys at MODEX n this episode, host Kevin Lawton catches up with Harold Vanasse of Enersys at MODEX 2020. They discuss Enersys’s different offerings including Nexsys and their wireless forklift battery charging solution.
Episode 88 – Productive Robotics catch up
In this episode, I was joined by Zac Bogart who is the CEO of Productive Robotics. You may remember Productive Robotics from our ProMat series when I was given a demonstration on how to teach the robot a task. We discuss the origins of Productive Robotics, the benefits of seven joints, their new software update, and OB Vision. Key Takeaways Productive Robotics is the only North American manufacturer of a seven jointed collaborative robot called the OB7. The seventh motion allows the robot to reach around and inside of things making it much more akin to the range of motion of a human arm. This gives a lot more flexibility on the placement of the robot and allows room for people to be able to get inside of machines that the robot is also working on. One of the major selling points of Productive Robotics is the ease of use and the ability to teach the robot what it needs to do. This stems from the original roots of these robots being utilized for camera work on movie sets where programmers are not present. The overall mission became to make these robots easy to use for non-programmers. From my experience of using the robot at ProMat last year, I can tell you that it is incredibly easy and quick to teach the robot what you need it to do. On top of the ease of use, the OB7 has a lot of flexibility when it comes to its gripper. Zac discusses how industry standard has typically been to have a custom gripper for whatever part or product it is grabbing but the OB7 is outfitted with a flexible gripper that can grab many different types of items. This adds to the flexibility and also how easy it is to get started with these robots. It also allows for flexibility in using the same robot for multiple tasks. Recently, Productive Robotics has released a new software update which has increased the overall visibility of what is happening with your robots. This update allows for the robots to communicate with other robots from different manufacturers making for simpler integrations. It also allows for a full notification and online monitoring system that can send you a text or email notification alerting you that there is an issue. As Zac discusses, this is mostly a robot telling you that it needs more material to continue its task. This allows you to set up the robot for its task and then walk away to do your other work. Listen to the episode below and let us know your thoughts in the comments. The New Warehouse Podcast EP 88: Productive Robotics Catch Up
Episode 87 – Ideal Warehouse Innovations at MODEX 2020
In this episode, I met with Dirk Seis who is the Director of Marketing at Ideal Warehouse Innovations. We met at MODEX 2020 in The New Warehouse booth to discuss their new trailer stand innovations and other safety offerings. Key Takeaways Ideal Warehouse Innovations’ slogan is “Protecting Your People” and they provide over 1,000 SKUs to ensure that your facility is safe all the way from your yard to the inside of your building around your racking. As their name suggests they have personally come up with many innovative and patented products to ensure safety in your facility. Dirk goes into detail in this episode on just what exactly is a trailer stand for those that are not familiar. This is a very important safety device that can help to prevent a serious accident. What can potentially happen when a trailer is docked and the truck has pulled away is the landing gear can fail to cause the trailer to tip. As you can imagine if someone is in the area outside it can be a high risk for injury and an even higher risk for injury if someone is inside the trailer whether on foot or on the forklift. The trailer stand keeps the trailer from tipping in case the landing gear fails. Ideal’s trailer stands have no lifting capacity and are easily placed under the nose of the trailer to ensure safety if something fails. Their new auto stand wide covers a wider area on the trailer than the industry standard. This helps to cover side to side movement of forklifts inside the trailer as weight is being shifted from left to right. The second innovation that Dirk discusses is the shuntable trailer stand. This is a touch-less solution for a trailer stand. It is designed so that a shunt truck can pick up the stand and place it underneath the trailer. With this design, there is no need for a human to be in the yard which reduces the risk of safety incidents greatly. Listen to our interview or watch it below. You can also see a demonstration of how easy the trail stand is to use. The New Warehouse Podcast EP 87: Ideal Warehouse Innovations at MODEX
Episode 86 – Sarcos does the heavy lifting
In this episode, I was joined by Kristi Martindale who is the Chief Customer Officer and EVP of Product Strategy at Sarcos. Sarcos has been helping the defense department lift heavy objects for some time but has recently started to move into the commercial world. They provide a fully body exoskeleton for humans to use for heavy lifting. Key Takeaways Exoskeletons were surprisingly prevalent at MODEX this year and when I first got into the exhibit space, where The New Warehouse booth would be, right in the middle was Sarcos’s booth with the Guardian XO front and center being guarded by security. Of course, this caught my attention and in my head, I was saying “what is that thing?!” I found out once the show started that it was a serious full-body exoskeleton solution that is battery powered. This has a lot of great applications and potential applications that I can see it being used for in the future. The Guardian XO addresses the issue of workers being strained from heavy and repetitive lifting. It also helps to reduce back injury and other injuries caused by these long term strains. When wearing the Guardian XO, the exoskeleton does all of the lifting for you. As Kristi discusses it makes lifting something that is 50 pounds feel like you are simply lifting up a drink. Not only does the Guardian XO help the user lift with little effort it also allows for them to lift hands-free. The exoskeleton has different attachments that can be used to lift whatever object may need lifting while allowing your hands to be free to perform other tasks. For example, these can be used to lift heavy tires and hold them in place while you bolt them on to a vehicle with your free hands. Sarcos has been doing a trial with Delta Airlines for this application as well as for lifting heavy bags when loading and unloading planes. Another great benefit that Kristi and I discuss is that the Guardian XO is providing a solution that can help to equalize the workforce. As you will hear Kristi mention, she is only 5′ 1″ and is able to put the exoskeleton on and lift heavy objects. With this being implemented it means that individuals who could not lift such heavy objects previously now can. This gives an opportunity for employers to be more flexible with their workforce and gives them a chance to open up the hiring pool allowing for more opportunities for the workforce as well. With the Guardian XO, the job requirement of lifting 40-50 pounds is no longer needed. Listen to the episode below and check out the video of the Guardian XO in action. The New Warehouse Podcast EP 86: Sarcos Does the Heavy Lifting
Episode 85 – Lean Ops Solutions at MODEX 2020
In this episode, I was joined by Jason Morin of Lean Ops Solutions at The New Warehouse MODEX booth and friend of the show Chris Barnes who is the APICS Coach. Jason was an attendee at MODEX and has an extensive background in helping warehouses and distribution centers improve their processes. We discuss some lean topics, innovations at MODEX that are helping the lean initiative, and also how to get your operation on track with the lean movement. Key Takeaways Jason discusses the idea of bringing one-piece flow into the warehouse which was originally a manufacturing concept from Toyota. He discusses how having a continuous flow through your operation can help improve efficiency and save money. Contrary to the belief of needing a large space for receiving in a large distribution center, Jason talks about how larger receiving docks are more prone to errors and can slow down the process. As an inventory control manager, I like the concept of countback that Jason discusses. This is where you take advantage of an operator being at a location already for another task to get a count of that location. While the initial thought is probably that this will slow the picker down, the goal here is to stop mistakes from happening or as Jason says catch them as they happen instead of further down the line at the customer. I asked Jason his thoughts on what was being exhibited at MODEX that will help the future of warehousing and lean. We are definitely on the same page for augmented reality having a great impact on the industry. As you may remember, we have talked about two different augmented reality solutions on the show in the Zebra HD4000 and the Picavi. What is the most impactful here is how visual it now makes the process and as Jason states visual is a huge component of making a process leaner. Listen to and watch the episode below. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. The New Warehouse Podcast EP 85: Lean Ops Solutions at MODEX
Wholesaler podcast: Business in a Post COVID-19 World
In this episode, I am joined by Dave Baiocchi who is the president and Owner of Resonant Dealer Services. Dave joins me for our second installment of the Material Handling Wholesaler partnership as we discuss the July 2020 cover story, written by him, entitled “Business in a Post COVID-19 World.” We discuss Dave’s extensive background in the forklift dealer industry, how things have changed in the industry and what the future may look like after the pandemic. Dave’s Background Dave is not only the president and Owner of Resonant Dealer Services but he is the Aftermarket Columnist at Material Handling Wholesaler bringing his 37 years of experience to the magazine. He started out selling powered industrial trucks and eventually moved on to owning his own dealerships which gave him the opportunity to find some shortcomings of the business to improve upon. As a dealer, he was able to figure out how to make his employees who were going out on calls to be able to quote, close, and complete when on site. Through doing this he was able to create a consulting business where he now helps other dealers increase and standardize their service offerings resulting in more business. Key Takeaways Every industry is now trying to figure out how to do business in a safe way and that includes the forklift industry. With forklift salespeople and service individuals typically traveling to the customer, they are coming in contact with a lot of people. Due to this contact, they need to take extra precautions to ensure they are sanitizing properly and wearing the correct PPE. Dave discusses how they can go about doing this. Dave helps businesses on the dealer side but there are also a lot of great takeaways from this episode for the customer side. Dealers should be taking the precautions and as a customer, you should be expecting it. Having open communication with your service providers about your facility’s requirements is a great way to ensure there are no service delays due to individuals coming on-site and then not being able to enter because they are not properly prepared. In the article and on the podcast episode Dave also brings up an interesting point about what the future may hold regarding certain types of certifications for individuals. He suggests this could include identifying individuals who are immune to the virus and can not be affected which would allow customers to feel more comfortable with them as their tech or help to reduce certain precautions for those individuals resulting in increased efficiency. This is definitely a thought-provoking idea of how we can navigate more tracking of individuals who may have been in contact or are at a higher risk so the right precautions can be taken with the necessary individuals. One of the big takeaways from our conversation and Dave’s article is the idea of companies needing to be socially responsible when dealing with the virus. We discuss the obligation that companies should have in disclosing when their employees may have tested positive. This includes tracing and tracking back to where that employee may have come in contact with different individuals during their site visits. Having a program for this situation in place can go a long way in helping to strengthen and maintain your reputation. Listen to the episode below and let us know what you think the business may be like in a post-COVID-19 world in the comments. The New Warehouse Podcast EP 83: Business in a Post COVID-19 World
Episode 83 – Manhattan Associates at MODEX
In this episode, I connected with Adam Kline of Manhattan Associates at MODEX 2020. Adam is the Senior Director of Product Management for Manhattan and has been with the company for over 23 years. We discuss how Manhattan is working to ensure that the integration of multiple automation providers is easy for companies to tackle. Key Takeaways Manhattan Associates is incredibly prevalent within our industry as you may be familiar with. They offer a large portfolio of systems to allow your operation to function more efficiently and track what is going on in your operation. Manhattan’s main offering is their warehouse management system (WMS) but they also have solutions that help to enhance your overall business from point of sale to transportation management. Adam discusses what he believes to be some of the driving factors behind what makes Manhattan Associates such a big choice and what the differences are from other companies. One of the big factors that he discusses is the background of their talent as they are individuals who come from the environments that Manhattan is servicing. Additionally, they are big on listening to their customers and this helps to give them chances to improve their customer experience and make modifications to their programs in order to better serve all customers. As you have heard on some of the other MODEX episodes, one of the big themes at MODEX was partnerships and flexibility. Manhattan is working to make sure that their platform can easily integrate with all of the new automation that is out there. They had featured multiple robotics solutions including Locus in their booth in order to highlight how they are working together with these companies. Adam discusses how they are putting things in place so that when companies are looking to upgrade their infrastructure they will not have difficulty integrating with their system. This is incredibly important as operations are adopting new innovations that need to all function together to have the best impact. One of the big things to tackle when starting to automate your operation is how to get everything to work together and communicate. Manhattan has worked on its warehouse execution system (WES) to allow multiple automation solutions from different providers to work together in synergy with no issues. This is huge as it does not limit you from the different solutions you can use and gives you ultimate flexibility which is the key to a successful operation and implementation. Listen to the episode below and let us know your thoughts in the comments. The New Warehouse Podcast EP 83: Manhattan Associates at MODEX
Episode 80 – Outrider Autonomous Yard Operations
In this episode, I was joined by the CEO of Outrider, Andrew Smith. Outrider has developed an autonomous yard operations solution that is not only a great autonomous feat but also an environmentally friendly one as well. We discuss how Outrider works, how it was developed, and the future of Outrider. Key Takeaways Outrider’s full solution consists of a robust yard management system, autonomous electric trucks, and on-site infrastructure that all work together to make your yard operations fully autonomous. They have worked to make the yard area human free and safer by eliminating the need for human presence. While safety is one of the biggest benefits, it also creates a lot more efficiency and also has a better environmental impact. Safety was one of the big drivers for Outrider to pursue when developing its solution. With so many moving vehicles, trailers, and blind spots in a yard it can be an incredibly dangerous place for humans to be. Many times truck drivers are distracted or looking in different directions because they are backing up to a door. This creates an incredibly dangerous situation for humans who need to be walking in the yard. Being able to eliminate the need for humans in the yard completely takes away the risk of anyone getting injured. Yard management software is also a part of Outrider’s solution which is what communicates to the autonomous trucks and gives you visibility to your yard from anywhere. Their cloud-based system helps to optimize moves as well as gives you the ability to indicate which moves are needed. It also can be integrated with existing supply chain software so that it complements all other aspects of your operation. One of Outrider’s original goals was to make sure that their solution would be environmentally friendly. Outrider has accomplished this by making their autonomous trucks electrically powered which eliminates the need for diesel and results in a zero-emission solution. This helps to reduce the carbon footprint of your supply chain overall and is a huge step in showing how electric vehicles can be used outside of just passenger usage. Additionally, from a maintenance standpoint, there are a lot less moving parts on an electric vehicle which reduces the annual costs of maintenance for these vehicles. While Outrider has just recently come out of stealth mode and is starting to roll out to customers, I believe the future of their technology is incredibly bright. Right now, they are focused on growing the yard operations solution but as Andrew discusses their team is incredibly talented, and moving outside of the yard is not out of the question. I am very excited to see what will happen next with Outrider. Listen to the episode below and let us know what you think of this new technology in the comments. The New Warehouse Podcast EP 80: Outrider Autonomous Yard Operations
Episode 79 – Locix at MODEX
In this episode, I got to catch up with Matt Davidson who is the VP of Product and Marketing for Locix. He came by the booth at MODEX so we could discuss what Locix has been up to since the last time I spoke to him at ProMat. Interestingly enough, this conversation was recorded just as the COVID-19 pandemic was starting and in the weeks following Locix was able to pivot their technology to help assist in different ways which you can hear about on Episode 78 featuring Locix’s CEO Vik Pavate. Key Takeaways Locix focuses on spatial intelligence technology which can be utilized for many different purposes. For our industry, their technology can be utilized to give greater visibility at the dock which is what we primarily discussed at ProMat last year but they have expanded into visibility within the entire facility as well. SmartLPS is their solution for expanded visibility within the warehouse. As Matt explains, this takes your visibility a step beyond your WMS to give you a true idea of where your assets, like forklifts, are as well as where your associates are. This helps you to increase your efficiency and make necessary task assignments in real-time. It also tracks the historic data which can now give you tools to help make process improvements. One example is utilizing a heat map to see where there are heavily trafficked areas. By pointing these areas out you can tell if there are products in wrong slotting positions and then move them closer to your shipping area for less travel time on picking. The advantage of capturing this kind of data in real-time is that you can now make changes but immediately see the impact of your changes as well. Matt makes a really interesting point about how changing one thing may improve a certain process but then down the line make a different process worse. Utilizing the SmartLPS technology you are able to see much more quickly the negative and positive impacts of process improvements. This gives you a lot of flexibility and opportunity to improve without being so worried about a negative outcome not being identified until much later. Implementation has always been one of the biggest pain points when it comes to making improvements or upgrades in an operation. With Locix’s technology being able to identify awareness of where things are happening, it helps to identify where automation should be implemented. By doing this, it makes implementation easier because you do not end up automating beyond your needs and you also automate in the most efficient way possible. Listen and watch the episode below. EP 79: Locix at MODEX 2020 In this episode, host Kevin Lawton talks to Matt Davidson of Locix about their spatial intelligence technology. They also discuss how the increased visibility from their solutions helps to make better process improvements in your operation. For more information about Locix find their website here. To connect with Matt find him on LinkedIn here.
Episode 78 – Spatial Intelligence with Locix
In this episode, I was joined by the CEO of Locix, Vikram Pavate, to discuss how they are utilizing their technology to now help track and trace individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic. We discussed how Locix is utilizing their spatial intelligence technology to help track individuals movements within facilities, trace previous steps of potentially infected individuals and help to identify where individuals might be too close. Key Takeaways We have talked to Locix before on the show back at ProMat last year on Episode 11 and their technology was intriguing then as it is utilizing sensors to give you an idea of what is going on at your dock to help increase dock efficiency. Since that time they have expanded into utilizing spatial technology beyond the dock and inside of your facility to understand where assets are and movement patterns. Now that there has been an increase in the need for awareness of distancing due to social distancing they are pivoting their technology to be used differently. The spatial intelligence technology that they are using is now being utilized to help track movements of individuals. Vik jokes in the episode that it may seem a bit big brother but the reality is that this can help to determine what areas in your facility might be at risk if you have someone who tests positive. The ability to trace a person’s movements can give you an idea of where they spent time in the facility and who they may have potentially come in contact with. This can help to limit the spread and help you take further precautions and isolate certain individuals if needed. In addition to tracing individuals, the technology from Locix can also track assets. This is extremely helpful for any large facility that has a lot of assets to track. During the current times where hospitals are getting overloaded and resources overextended, this technology is incredibly helpful to keep track of different machines needed so that resources are being allocated and used as much as possible. As we move forward and try to figure out life post-COVID, when the time comes, one difficult hurdle is determining the work environment and how to ensure proper distancing. With spatial intelligence, you can track movements which over time can give you data to determine where there is a high frequency of movement and where there is a re-occurrence of multiple people getting close due to layout or traffic patterns. Using this data you can then determine layout changes or traffic pattern adjustments that can help to alleviate insufficient distancing. Listen to the episode below and view the video to see an example of their tracing technology. The New Warehouse Podcast EP 78: Spatial Intelligence with Locix
Episode 77 – Warehouse Engineers
In this episode, I was joined by Brandon Ashby who is the founder of Warehouse Engineers. I met Brandon at MODEX and he came by the booth to hang out for a bit and we also ended up having a discussion for the podcast. We talk about his background, how Warehouse Engineers was founded, and also about the importance of standard work. Key Takeaways Warehouse Engineers is an industrial engineer for hire that focuses on building a repeatable process that leverages your people and technology to its full extent. Brandon brings his corporate experience from working to bring standardization to multiple warehouses and also his education based in industrial engineering and lean-to help improve your operation overall. He is incredibly enthusiastic about continuous improvement, lean, and 5S. Brandon utilizes a lot of the principles of lean to implement the standardization of processes and to ensure that processes do actually exist within your operation. He discusses his background and how he began to learn about lean and then how he was able to start implementing it at a company he previously worked for which led to him eventually founding Warehouse Engineers to help other companies begin their lean journey and improve their processes. One of the biggest parts of lean and the 5S concepts is the standardization of processes and procedures. Brandon and I discuss just what this means and the importance of it. We both share the same ideal that standardization is such a key building block to optimizing your operation. There are many instances where processes are unknown by everyone within an operation and even worse there are instances where only one person knows a process or as Brandon says in the episode one person knows everything. This can be troublesome because when the individuals who know the process are absent then the process might not get done or even worse get done incorrectly. Having standard work ensures that the process is followed the same way every time and there is no chance for mistakes to happen. Listen and watch the interview with Brandon below. Let us know in the comments about how you create your standard work. The New Warehouse Podcast EP 77: Warehouse Engineers In this episode, host Kevin Lawton is joined by the founder of Warehouse Engineers, Brand Ashby to talk about his background, company, and also about the importance of standard work. For more information on Warehouse Engineers head to their website here. To connect with Brandon find him on LinkedIn here.