Logistics articles

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  • Simulation: be in the driver's seat

    Simulation: be in the driver's seat

    November 22, 2018

    Gartner, the world's leading IT research and advisory company, predicts that digital twins will be one of 2018s industry-shaping trends and that, by 2021, 50% of large-scale companies will use them. A ‘digital twin’ is a simulation, a digital replica of a process, product or service through information gathered by built-in sensors on equipment inside manufacturing centers. How does simulation work and why use it? How can simulation be applied to a supply chain or in my warehouse?

  • High throughput and automated goods handling with pallet conveyors

    High throughput and automated goods handling with pallet conveyors

    November 27, 2017

    Even though conveyors are generally associated with highly automated installations, in reality, they are more and more common in standard warehouses. The reason is they boost warehouse productivity by optimizing the flow of goods, reduce loading, unloading and transport times, as well as ensure a constant stream of products.

  • Seismic calculations for racks in Europe

    Seismic calculations for racks in Europe

    November 2, 2017

    The highest seismic hazard values and the likelihood of earthquakes occurring converge typically in regions close to the edges of Earth's tectonic plates. In Europe, the countries with the greatest seismic risk are Italy, Greece, Turkey, Cyprus and Iceland. At the same time, in each country, there are areas at higher risk than others. Prevention, as well as the compliance with European standards regarding the design and construction of storage systems, is fundamental for the earthquake-proofing of racks.

  • Thermal insulation in cold storage installations

    Thermal insulation in cold storage installations

    October 31, 2017

    This article explains how the thermal insulation of low-temperature warehouses is achieved and emphasises the importance of a rigorous design to guarantee the optimal operations of cold storage.

  • Cloud computing: a supply chain ally

    Cloud computing: a supply chain ally

    October 9, 2017

    Cloud technology is a huge help for companies to strategically manage their supply chain and to integrate all processes to maximize earnings. In recent years, this computational model has started to replace traditional, on-premise ones at a phenomenal rate.

  • How to achieve energy savings in the logistics processes of an automated warehouse

    How to achieve energy savings in the logistics processes of an automated warehouse

    August 17, 2017

    Electricity is essential to the operation of manual or automated warehouses, and as a result companies can supply the goods and services they produce for general consumption. Nowadays, businesses implement practices, as well as technical and organisational measures aimed at reducing energy consumption and optimising the throughput of installations.

  • Metal racking: What finish offers greater protection against corrosion?

    Metal racking: What finish offers greater protection against corrosion?

    February 3, 2017

    In warehouses, racks are exposed to changes in temperature, humidity, continuous transport of goods and operators. These factors can cause deterioration of the components that make up the structures. This article analyses the advantages and disadvantages of the different methods and finishes available on the market to protect the metal profiles from the effects of corrosion and oxidation.

  • Choosing the ideal system for storing pallets

    Choosing the ideal system for storing pallets

    November 7, 2016

    In the same installation, goods of different turnovers can co-exist, classified on the basis of consumption criteria (type A, B, C). Taking this fact into account, and factors such as capacity or required installation flows, each product should be deposited in a different storage system based on their characteristics. Automatically, a question arises: what is the ideal system?

  • The importance of testing pallet racking components

    The importance of testing pallet racking components

    October 21, 2016

    Both the components that pallet racks consist of and the materials they are fabricated from are submitted to testing; first to determine their strength and elasticity capacities, whereas the second establishes their tensile strength and their ductility, i.e., the capacity to be bent. These processes fulfil the international standard, which outlines the parameters that must be taken into account with respect to the quality and safety of products.

  • What are the keys to ensuring the safety of your warehouse?

    What are the keys to ensuring the safety of your warehouse?

    October 6, 2016

    Despite its obvious importance, there are still many questions about the essential measures the storage systems user should observe when minimising the risk of accidents in daily operations. Protecting personnel and ensuring proper warehouse operations should be any logistics manager’s top priority. In this article, Mecalux shares its expertise on this topic, analysing the keys to good management in safety policy.

  • Panamaximization

    Panamaximization

    May 30, 2016

    The Panama Canal opened in the summer of 1914, carving a link between two oceans and revolutionizing maritime travel. The new expansion project is 98% finished as of May 2016.

  • House Thieves

    May 24, 2016

    Studies show that instances of internal theft of warehouse goods rise in bad economies and that the solutions are as simple as they are ignored.

  • Advantages of a clad-rack warehouse

    April 5, 2016

    This type of constructions are integrated buildings formed by the racks themselves, whose structure is coupled to both the roof and wall cladding. Clad-rack warehouses have achieved great importance in the last 30 years, mainly because of the need for space optimisation, and resulting in the construction of buildings that are taller than 45m.

  • Logistics software: the cloud is the future

    Logistics software: the cloud is the future

    March 15, 2016

    Due to the continuous evolution of technology, our business landscape is changing at a high speed. One of the most important paradigm changes that has taken place in recent years has been caused by the software industry, with the creation of cloud-based applications. The logistics operations of companies have quickly adapted to this change, demanding that software applications be implemented which are increasingly compatible with the cloud.

  • FEFO/FIFO impact on the warehouse

    November 18, 2015

    FEFO/FIFO is a technique for managing material that aims to consume or supply products by selecting those closest to expiration first, and when the expiration is the same, the oldest first.

  • Playing Mind Games

    July 6, 2015

    American engineering has taken a power dive in the span of a generation. Every year for the last two decades, upwards of 250,000 students retreat to their separate parts of the nation to spend six weeks designing, programming, building and preparing robots to do battle against other student groups, determining which gang of young engineers built the best robot.

  • Lean and Green in Sumter

    June 15, 2015

    Corporations, normally the slowest sector to embrace the ideals of a habitat stewardship, are finally acknowledging the advantages of bringing about environmental practices that will result in reduced costs and streamlined manufacturing. In this sense, the Sumter facility is one of the major accomplishments Interlake Mecalux has achieved in the last decade, because of having accumulated zero pounds of hazardous waste in 2010 and therefore it has been categorized as a Conditionally Exempt Small Quantity Generator by the South Carolina Environmental Excellence Program (SCEEP).