The metalworking industry is experiencing strong growth today as demands for fabrication and production increases worldwide. While the market is being driven by a healthier economy and a rise in demand, there are still key challenges that manufacturers at these plants must address.
In this post, we’ll look at how conveyors, together with robots, help to make these risk-intensive environments safer.
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It’s no secret that automation is booming in the manufacturing industry. According to the international federation of Robotics, robot sales in the United States have increased significantly since 2010. Why? “[To achieve the] necessary modernization of domestic production facilities.” Indeed, automation is moving the manufacturing industry into a more modern, efficient direction. Just look at the positive impact Kiva’s robotics have had on Amazon’s bottom line: Kiva’s automated picking and packing robots saved Amazon roughly $22 million in operating expenses.
In order for production facilities to compete--and thrive--in this fast growing landscape, managers should automate key processes. In addition to picking and packing, manufacturing plants should adopt smarter conveyor technologies too.
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Safety in the manufacturing industry is essential. Each year thousands of facilities are issued citations and fines that can reach upwards of thousands of dollars for failing to adhere to strict safety guidelines put in place by regulators such as OSHA.
Manufacturing facilities around the U.S. have some of the greatest hazards present in their work environments. Here, violations for non-compliance with safety protections for worker health is high. Falling into the #9 position as one of the most cited violations for 2018 is the lack of machine guarding.
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If you manage a food processing or packaging facility, then you know how important cleanliness is to your brand’s reputation. While you should make every effort to ensure that all types of food are kept contamination-free throughout the entire production and distribution cycle, recent data suggests that meat and poultry should be prioritized. Why? According to a study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), foodborne illnesses caused by meat and poultry contributed to the most deaths.
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It all began in 1992 when William (Bill) Dick was in the process of expanding his portfolio of companies he was representing as an independent manufacturers sales representative in the state of Michigan. Bill came across mk North America, Inc. (mk Automation Engineering, as it was called in 1992) in the Thomas Register. Bill had been hoping to add a conveyor manufacturer to his line, and met with the sales manager at the time. The rest as they say is history.
When Bill and I spoke he remembered fondly how small mk was back in the early 90s with “just three or so conveyor models” – a belt conveyor, a chain conveyor and a timing belt conveyor.
Bill continued to represent mk North America through 2019, via his company AB Components.
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