But where’s the best place to carry out these activities?
Clark Skeen, president of Quantronix, the maker of the
Cubiscan line of cubing and weighing equipment, has some
ideas on the subject. He strongly urges DCs to consider
making it part of the receiving process. “The ideal time and
place to collect cubing and weighing
data is at the point of receipt,” he
says.
If you only gather cube and weight
data at an outbound shipping station, you’ll miss out on at least 50
percent of the benefits that the data
can provide, Skeen says. That’s
because a product’s cube and weight
can and should influence decisions
about slotting, storage location for
putaway and picking, and repacking
and containerization for shipping. “If
you collect that data at the point of
receipt, then it’s available for each
and every one of those decision
points,” he says.
Indeed, some facilities may choose to collect cube and
weight data only at receipt, Stoll says. Those that do typically are simply storing and distributing product and are
not repackaging or altering it in any way, so they know the
dimensional data will not change, he explains.
To gather this information during receiving, many com-
panies use automated dimensioning systems. For instance,
high-volume operations that use conveyors to unload
trucks might use an in-motion dimensioner attached to the
conveyor. This approach has the advantage of allowing
companies to check 100 percent of the products moving off
the truck and obtain up-to-the-minute data on them, says
Dan Hanrahan, president of the Numina Group, which
supplies inline-scan weight dimensioning solutions. “That
way, the warehouse management system and transporta-
tion system are always working from
real-time data, so the information is
being audited [during] the upfront
process, and you can make changes
to your system in real time,” he
explains.
3. After putaway or picking.
Collecting dimensional data at
receiving might not always be practical. For example, on a big receiving
day, you may not have the time or
floor space to perform cubing and
weighing activities. In that case, an
alternative might be to weigh and
measure items after putaway (which
can be accomplished by means of a mobile cart) or as they
move from picking to shipping.
There are a number of potential benefits to this approach,
experts say. For one thing, dimensioning systems can help
with quality control after picking, according to Hanrahan.
If a picker selects the wrong item or quantity, the order’s
weight will likely vary from the expected weight. And a
damaged carton’s dimensions may not conform with those
of an undamaged box. An inline system located on a conveyor belt between picking and shipping will detect these
deviations immediately and divert the order to an inspec-
Who makes cubing and weighing systems?
Looking for a cubing or weighing solution? Here are just
a few of the many companies that provide these systems
and the types of products they offer:
▪ Bizerba USA Inc.: Checkweighers, industrial scales, and
software ( www.bizerba.ca)
▪ Cascade Corp.: Lift truck forks that incorporate a scale
( www.cascadeiforks.com)
▪ Cornerstone Automation Systems (CASI): In-motion
and inline scales, inline checkweighers and conveyor
scales, and in-motion cubing systems for cartons and pallets ( www.cornerstoneautosys.com)
▪ Cubiscan by Quantronix: Static and in-motion dimensioning systems, plus accessories and software
( www.cubiscan.com/)
▪ Loadsense Technologies: Portable weigh scales for pal-
lets and a portable weighing kit that places sensors under
tables, pallets, and boards to create an industrial-capacity
scale ( http://loadsense.com)
