Solutions Spotlight

The need for social distancing inside warehouses and distribution centers to prevent COVID-19 exposure is expected to persist until after widespread vaccination. Robotics can help. Using robotic systems for heavy or repetitive manual labor, especially in small enclosed spaces, means workers are farther apart and fewer workers are needed in these tight spaces, said Volker Schmitz, Ph.D., president and CEO ...

If manufacturers or other enterprises need to install monorails with curves and switches to move materials and products within their facilities in multiple directions, the member companies of the Monorail Manufacturers Association are the ones to turn to. “Many companies use straight monorails, and they work great when you only need to move products in a straight line from point ...

The Protective Guarding Manufacturers Association (ProGMA) member companies have been busy. The leaders from across the industry have been regularly reviewing and discussing the latest technology and its impact on their day-to-day operations. With this in mind, ProGMA recently announced the launch of Protective Guarding Search Tool, which will streamline the protective guarding purchaser’s buying process when it comes to ...

Staffing warehouses and distribution centers has been an especially difficult task in recent years, with historically low unemployment rates and growing wages fueling stiff competition for talented workers. Now, with COVID-19 and social distancing added to the mix, that task has become more challenging and complex than ever before, forcing many companies to embrace emerging technologies sooner than they had ...

BY CHRISTIAN DOW, MHI EXECUTIVE VP OF MEMBERSHIP AND INDUSTRY LEADERSHIP It’s not flashy like the version pioneered by coach Phil Jackson and the Chicago Bulls in the 1990s, but the material handling industry has its own take on the triangle offense, and in a fully optimized warehouse, it can be just as impressive to watch. When software and control ...

CREDIT: BLUE GIANT EQUIPMENT CORP. MHI’s Loading Dock Equipment Manufacturers (LODEM) Industry Group helps protect workers from potential hazards that could cause severe injuries and even deaths. Loading dock safety took “a completely different turn” in 1980 with the advent of the vehicle restraint industry and, now, all of the major manufactures in the LODEM group offer vehicle restraints, said ...

The Rack Manufacturers Institute (RMI), officially the oldest Industry Group in MHI, has seen its share of changes through the years—especially when it comes to rack safety and design. With 2020 being its 62nd anniversary, that equates to decades of knowledge compounded and built upon each year in order to ensure the safety of racks used in the material handling ...

On a timeline representing MHI’s rich 75-year history, the MHI Solutions Community doesn’t appear until almost the very end. But the group has made significant contributions to the industry in its short history, bringing together a variety of stakeholders and fostering an environment of collaboration.

Adaptable and collaborative MHI Industry Groups customize their solutions based on industry needs and future trends.

What a difference a couple of weeks can make. At MODEX in March, members of MHI’s Solutions Community delivered a presentation entitled, “Do You Have Labor Shortages?