DC Velocity - September 2009

Fittin’ on the dock of a bay: 4Front Engineered Solutions has introduced a new line-up of mechanical, air bag, and hydraulic edge-of-dock (EOD) levelers. The new levelers, which are sold under the Kelley and Serco brands, mount to the face of the dock and offer an economical alternative to portable plates for moderately busy loading docks. They incorporate a variety of value-added features, including an open lug-style front lip hinge for strength and tire laminated dock bumpers for protection and durability.

The new dock levelers have an effective working range of 5 inches above to 5 inches below the dock. They are available with mechanical, air-powered, or hydraulic-powered activation systems. (4Front, www.4FrontES.com)

Prophesy fulfilled: Activant Solutions Inc. announces the availability of Activant Prophet 21 software version 12.0. This latest version of Prophet 21, an enterprise software solution for whole-saler/distributors, is designed to help distributors increase sales, improve customer service, and reduce operating expenses.

The new version, which features an enhanced user interface, includes a Wireless Warehouse Management Solution Workbench, a tool that lets the warehouse manager/supervisor manage the flow of transactions within the operation. The workbench is a dynamic list of orders ready to pick that can be sorted, grouped, and moved about on an ad hoc basis. (Activant Solutions Inc., www.distribution.activant.com)

Laser tagged: New fork-tip lasers from The Raymond Corp. are designed to help operators of reach forklift trucks place the forks accurately when storing and retrieving pallets in racks. Lasers are available for both new and existing Raymond Reach-Fork trucks.

The fork-tip laser is available in green (for heights of up to 442 inches) and red (for heights of up to 300 inches). The green laser is suitable for use with blue-painted pallets, brighter environments, or other applications where a red laser may not be clearly visible.

Both fork-tip lasers are powered by the lift truck’s battery, eliminating downtime needed for operators to change a separate laser battery. (The Raymond Corp., www.raymondcorp.com)

Labor pains no more: Infor has unveiled Infor SCM Labor Management, a new integrated warehouse and labor management solution that provides real-time work-force performance feedback to improve warehouse operations and reduce labor costs. Labor Management extends the capabilities of Infor SCM Warehouse Management to manage all aspects of warehouse labor, from planning to tracking and reporting.

Labor Management, integrated with a company’s warehouse management system, can reduce labor costs up to 30 percent by identifying both high- and low-performing areas of the operation. With the fully integrated Labor Management software, facility operators can now pinpoint the cause of unproductive time, such as idle time between tasks, meetings, and repair work. Direct activities are also tracked, allowing all users to be measured against expected standards as well as one another. (Infor, www.infor.com)

Cubing was new to us, too. Once.

While others are playing around with cubing technology, Quantronix has mastered the art and science of conveyorized and static dimensioning systems. We design them better. We build them better. And we offer a broad range of solutions for multiple applications. Truth is, we invented automated cubing more than a decade ago. So solving your cubing problems, well, for us it's not child’s play.