Sort Out Simple Tasks with E Tech: A Material Handling Automation Partner
What is Material Handling?
The term “material handling” refers to moving materials or products within a facility or warehouse. Material handling processes are simple but they’re repetitive, making them prone to human error. These encompass a number of processes in the manufacturing and distribution industries, including:
- Counting and sorting
- Labeling and packaging
- Loading and unloading
- Palletizing
- Recycling and disposal
- Retrieval
- Storage
Sort Out Simple Tasks with E Tech: A Material Handling Automation Partner
With the e-commerce boom and the rapid rise of direct-to-consumer platforms, it is more important than ever for manufacturers to stay competitive. In this market, manufacturers, packers, and distributors require automation solutions that optimize their human resources as well as their ability to adapt and scale.
E Tech Group, a material handling automation company, understands this ever-present need for leading-edge process control solutions, especially as they apply to parcel hubs, distribution centers and storage facilities. But what exactly do those control solutions entail? And what tangible value do they offer?
Automation Equipment for Simple Tasks
The processes involved in handling materials within a facility often do not require complex thinking, problem solving, or skilled handling. This presents an opportunity to transition material handling and distribution tasks to machine labor. Some examples of the robotics equipment we employ to automate repetitive processes include:
- Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) – self-driven vehicles/equipment that can move around a facility without human intervention
- Automated Storage & Retrieval Systems (AS/AR) – robots that can store and retrieve materials from high-rise racks and efficiently reach locations in large facilities
- Autonomous Robots – robots that can perform routine tasks without human intervention, such as counting, sorting, lifting, etc.
- Conveyors – belts that move products along a certain path
- Palletizers – machines that automatically pack things into pallets
- Sorters – devices that automatically separate things into different groups
Control System Software for Material Handling Solutions
The right control system design is the key to making the most of your robotics and automation hardware. Since material handling tasks are tedious and error-prone. Automating and accurately configuring these mechanized systems can slash task completion times, error rates, and procedural defects.
Material handling automation solutions include:
- Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning
- Designed conveyor system (DCS)
- Industrial internet of things (IIoT)
- Manufacturing execution system (MES)
- Motion control system (MCS)
- Programmable logic controller (PLC)
- Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA)
- Warehouse management system (WMS)
As an automation system integrator with extensive domain expertise in material handling and industrial distribution, E Tech Group is adept at working closely with our clients to create custom control systems that optimize your automated processes. To accomplish this, we leverage software from the most innovative and trusted names in industrial automation, including:
- Rockwell (PlantPAx) and Allen Bradley
- AVEVA (OSIsoft)
- Emerson (DeltaV)
- GE
- Inductive Automation (Ignition)
- Siemens
- AVEVA Wonderware
- Schneider
Benefits of Automating Repetitive Tasks
There are myriad ways that upgrading your automation system to integrate new processes adds value to your operations, both ones your bottom line will see immediately and ones that will strengthen your capabilities long-term:
- Increased efficiency
- Automated material handling systems move materials more quickly and accurately than manual systems. This can lead to cost reductions, faster production times, and better throughput.
- Reduced labor costs
- Automated systems can free up human workers to perform complex tasks like quality control or customer service, which may reduce labor costs and curb the effects of the labor shortage on your company.
- Improved safety
- Automation machinery can help to reduce the risk of accidents, such as those caused by lifting heavy objects or working in hazardous environments.
- Increased flexibility
- Custom automated solutions can be easily adapted to changes in the production process. This can help to improve production flexibility and allow for scalability without a full retrofit at each new stage of growth.
- Improved traceability
- Automated solutions can help to track the movement of materials throughout the supply chain, improving supply chain visibility and making it easier to locate bottlenecks or isolate process errors.
- Increased security
- Automated material handling systems contain robust security features that ensure the integrity of your network. This can lead to fewer network breaches and associated risks.
E Tech Group: Future-Proofing Your Workforce with Automated Material Handling Solutions
E Tech Group works across industries to help companies automate tasks that robots and AI can handle safely and efficiently. One of the largest control system integrators in the U.S., E Tech Group serves clients across North America with material handling automation solutions, including palletizing, sorting, retrieving, counting, packaging, and more.
From distribution centers to pharmaceutical research facilities to OEM automotive factories, the value of automating simple processes can simply not be understated. Take advantage of current technology and stay poised for future advances with E Tech Group’s robust, flexible, and scalable MHS automation systems.
Custom Automation Solutions Tailored to Your Needs
Whether your company specializes in manufacturing, warehouse storage, shipping, or any other link in the supply chain, E Tech Group can help streamline your operations with its custom-made material handling systems. A robust network of safe, efficient, and scalable automation solutions is critical to success for any company in the manufacturing or distribution industry.