5 ways conveyors improve packaging productivity
Quick, efficient and accurate packaging is a crucial part of manufacturing and related sectors, especially for companies dealing with food products or pharmaceuticals. Conveyors have always been important elements of this process, even if they aren’t always taken as seriously as they deserve.
In the past, conveyor belts might have been meant simply for movement of goods from one point to another, but the technology used in these systems has advanced to an amazing degree.
What can conveyors do now?
Today, conveyor belt scales and other components of a conveyor system can automate and streamline practically every aspect of packaging. Along with the movement of parts and products, these systems can sort, weigh and monitor loads to make packaging flow management smoother and ensure quality of packaging.
This leads to higher productivity and better performance, with fewer errors, risk of damage to goods, wastage of resources and other benefits. All in all, increased automation means higher returns, which drives your business ahead of the competition.
How do conveyor systems help business efficiency?
Here are five top ways conveyor systems help improve productivity and efficiency in packaging operations:
1. Automated movement of goods—Conveyor belt systems automate the movement of parts and products, which increases throughput tremendously. It also reduces the time, cost and labor involved in manual operations, and leads to an increase in packaging productivity, even for companies with a smaller workforce. With higher output and more efficient processes, returns are higher as well.
2. Lower energy consumption—By automating the movement of goods, conveyor systems ensure that packaging processes are more energy efficient. Many systems can also be set up so only specific sections are running at a certain time, reducing energy use as well. Along with reducing your carbon footprint, this also has a major impact on the cost of daily operations and return on investment (ROI) for your business.
3. Reduced risk of accidents—Workplace safety is one of the most important elements of a successful business, but manual movement of parts and products poses a high risk of injury. Conveyor systems take away a lot of this risk for your workers, by reducing exposure to machinery, heavy loads and other hazards. Increased automation also lowers workloads, making employees happier and more productive.
4. Higher accuracy and reliability—Along with increasing the speed and safety of product movement, conveyor systems also ensure that a high level of accuracy is maintained throughout the packaging process. For example, conveyor scales can be integrated with existing warehouse management systems for data collection and analysis, and can also help with sorting, weighing and tracking at every stage of operations.
5. Maximizing floor space—For packaging, warehousing and distribution facilities, floor space tends to be at a premium. This isn’t an issue with conveyor systems, which can maximize the use of available roof space and be customized to fit each area of the facility. By using overhead space and routing components around any obstacles, these systems allow for larger work spaces on the floor for other tasks.
With proper planning, the right conveyor system and associated components can ensure that packaging operations happen faster and more accurately. If you invest in a smart system that can be easily adapted to different container sizes, you will also enjoy greater flexibility.