This website requires certain cookies to work and uses other cookies to help you have the best experience. By visiting this website, certain cookies have already been set, which you may delete and block. By closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to the use of cookies. Visit our updated privacy and cookie policy to learn more.
This Website Uses Cookies
By closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Learn More
This website requires certain cookies to work and uses other cookies to help you have the best experience. By visiting this website, certain cookies have already been set, which you may delete and block. By closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to the use of cookies. Visit our updated privacy and cookie policy to learn more.
Assembly Magazine logo
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Assembly Magazine logo
  • Home
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Digital Edition
    • Archives
    • Specs Book
    • How-To-Guide
    • Buyers Guide
  • Exclusives
    • Plant of the Year
      • About Plant of the Year
      • Nomination Form
    • Capital Spending
    • State of the Profession
  • Industries
    • Aerospace
    • Appliance
    • Automotive
    • Medical Devices
    • DFMA Assembly
    • Green Manufacturing
    • Lean Manufacturing
    • Electronics Assembly
    • Machinery Assembly
  • Technologies
    • Adhesives
    • Assembly Presses
    • Automated Assembly
    • Dispensing
    • Motion Control
    • Screwdriving and Riveting
    • Plastics Assembly
    • Robotics
    • Test and Inspection
    • Welding
    • Wire Processing
    • Workstations
  • Columns
    • Assembly in Action
    • Automation Profiles
    • Medical Device Assembly
    • On Campus
    • Shipulski on Design
    • The Editorial
    • XYZ
    • Moser on Manufacturing
    • 21st Century Assembly
    • Mind Your Ps and Qs
  • New Products
  • More
    • Web Exclusives
    • Classifieds
    • eNewsletter
    • Blog
    • Market Research
    • Store
    • Product Spotlight
    • White Papers
    • Integrated Showcase
    • Custom Content & Marketing Solutions
    • Monthly Quiz
    • Sponsored Insight
  • Multimedia
    • Assembly Radio
    • Assembly TV
    • Image Galleries
    • Webinars
    • Interactive Spotlights
    • eBooks
  • Events
    • Calendar
    • The Assembly Show
  • Contact
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
  • InfoCenters
    • Collaborative Robot Revolution
    • Factory of the Future
Home » Flow racks ensure fast, accurate picking at distribution center
IndustriesMedical Devices AssemblyMedical Device AssemblyColumns

Flow racks ensure fast, accurate picking at distribution center

medical device
August 3, 2017
John Sprovieri
KEYWORDS assembly line design / flow racks
Reprints

Cardinal Health Inc. is a Fortune 500 health care services company based in Dublin, OH. The company specializes in distribution of pharmaceuticals and medical products, serving more than 100,000 locations. The company also manufactures medical and surgical products, including gloves, surgical apparel and fluid management products. All totaled, Cardinal Health provides medical products to more than 75 percent of the hospitals in the United States.

One of the company’s largest distribution centers is located in Waukegan, IL, just south of the Wisconsin border. Spanning 725,000 square feet, the center provides medical supplies to thousands of hospitals, surgery centers and doctors’ offices every day.

Speed and accuracy are watchwords at the facility. The center’s integrated order picking systems are some of the most efficient in the industry. Flow racks and other material handling equipment from UNEX Manufacturing Inc. are key components of those systems. Picking orders from flow racks can increase throughput by as much as 150 percent compared with order picking directly from pallets.

The Waukegan facility houses 37,000 stock keeping units (SKUs), some of which must be kept refrigerated or frozen. The SKUs are stored in the most efficient spots based on how often the product is used. Products used more frequently are close to the picker. SKUs that are used less often are stored higher up the storage racks. The goal is to move the products only once—from incoming shipping to storage, and then from storage to where it is picked for an order.

For the most commonly ordered items, the facility uses a “pick-to-belt” method. Products
are picked from the shelves and placed on a conveyor belt that travels to another location for consolidation into shipping cartons. Products that are ordered in less than case-full quantities are located in another area, where the picker is directed to retrieve items by a pick-to-voice system. Items are picked and placed on carts. Other workers pick for just-in-time customers that order the same products every day. Products are placed in reusable totes that are returned and reused after delivery.

The facility has more than 4 miles of conveyors and 180 lift trucks to move products around the warehouse. Full visibility is a key success factor for the facility. Workers know where products are at all times. This helps to ensure compliance with government regulations and improve customer service.

Span-Track and Shelf-Track flow tracks from UNEX make it easy for workers to store and retrieve products from cartons or totes. These modular tracks integrate easily with any new or existing pallet rack structure, enabling engineers to create flow racks tailored to their specific operations. No shelves or intermediate supports are required.

The tracks can be configured for full-case or split-case order picking. The track’s rollers provide a high amount of surface contact, so carton weight is distributed evenly. This optimizes product flow and eliminates hang-ups on the track.

The racks are available in light, standard and heavy duty capacity versions. They come in six widths, ranging from 6 to 24 inches. Racks of various widths can be combined to match a specific need. For example, a 96-inch-wide bay can be equipped with four 18-inch-wide beds and two 12-inch-wide beds. Product can overhang the lane by up to 3 inches on either side and maintain flow.

Various options and configurations are available. For example, a low-profile knuckled track has a short section at the front (12, 16, 20 or 14 inches long) that is angled at 20 degrees to give pickers easier access to a carton’s contents.

For more information, call UNEX at 800-695-SPAN or visit www.unex.com.

subscribe to assembly

Recent Articles by John Sprovieri

ASSEMBLY Capital Spending Report 2019: Manufacturers Continue to Invest in Technology

What’s New From the ASSEMBLY Show

System feeds parts for ear protection devices

Robots assemble hydraulic valves

Right-to-repair law could affect product design

Sprovieri200
John has been with ASSEMBLY magazine since February 1997. John was formerly with a national medical news magazine, and has written for Pathology Today and the Green Bay Press-Gazette. John holds a B.A. in journalism from Northwestern University, Medill School of Journalism.

Related Articles

X-Y-Z: Ballscrews Provide Fast, Accurate Linear Motion

X-Y-Z: Vibration Control Ensures Accurate Positioning

Error-Proofing Ensures Quality Assembly at Kubota

Flow Racks Optimize Multiple Plant Capabilities

Subscribe For Free!
  • Print & Digital Edition Subscriptions
  • Assembly eNewsletters
  • Online Registration
  • Subscription Customer Service
  • Mobile App

More Videos

Popular Stories

Bobcat manufacturing

Bobcat Announces Manufacturing and Assembly Facility Upgrades

Toyota manufacturing

Mazda-Toyota Assembly Plant Will Begin Hiring Soon

Wearable Device 11-27

Wearable Lets Users Control IoT-Enabled Devices With Brain Waves

Breaking and Industry News

Airstream Manufacturing Expands With $50 Million Factory

Rayovac 11-20

Energizer Moving VT Battery Manufacturing Facility to Former Rayovac Plant

Upcoming Assembly Events and Webinars

Events

January 30, 2020

New Year, New Technology: Starting 2020 with Collaborative Robots

We’re starting another new year but your business challenges--like labor shortages, ergonomic risks and product quality--aren’t going away. You may have been thinking about implementing collaborative robots for some time. Make 2020 the year you turn a new leaf and get on board with cobots!

January 1, 2030

Webinar Sponsorship Information

For webinar sponsorship information, visit www.bnpevents.com/webinars or email webinars@bnpmedia.com.

View All Submit An Event

Poll

Cloud Computing

Are you using cloud computing at your assembly plant?
View Results Poll Archive

Products

Welding: Principles & Practices

Welding: Principles & Practices

This text introduces students to a solid background in the basic principles and practices of welding.

See More Products
assembly buyers guide

Assembly Magazine

assembly dec 2019

2019 December

The 2019 December Assembly features our Capital Spending Report, plus much more. Check it out today!
View More Create Account
  • More
    • Assembly Plant of the Year
    • Manufacturing Group
    • List Rental
    • Organizations
    • Connect
    • Want More?
    • Polls
    • Privacy Policy
    • Subscribe
    • Survey And Sample

Copyright ©2019. All Rights Reserved BNP Media.

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing