Ralawise is a large-scale apparel distributor, holding over 16 million items of stock, made up of 114,000 products from 182 brands. From its warehousing center in Flintshire, U.K., the company processes an average of 3,000 cartons per day into its pick system for product replenishment. In a bid to minimize accidents and better the health and safety for its workers, Ralawise began investigating ways it could reduce the use of knives on its warehouse floor without reducing throughput.
The most common injuries were lacerations caused by the cutting tools used in warehouses to open cartons and remove packaging. These cartons are often secured with nylon branding and wrapped with multiple layers of stretch film. To process these cartons effectively, Ralawise employs a team of warehouse operatives to cut, unwrap and unpack these boxes quickly, before moving them onto the next part of the distribution process.