Let's start by assessing your current operation. Some facilities are more primed for a contour dimensioning system than others. If any of the following are true for your facility, you'll gain incredible value from contour data.
- Your facility is loading pallets with specific recipes (a standardized makeup and composition of a pallet)
- Your facility is using measurement data for put away (especially in tight spaces)
- Your facility is using AGVs for pallet handling and put away.
- Your facility is experiencing quality assurance issues such as damaged or missing products and improperly loaded pallets.
Contour systems collect clean data that can be trusted to drive decisions for robots and people. However, the benefits don't end with data. Contour technology is worth the investment because it protects products, employees, and your bottom line.
34% of product returns are due to damage. As the shipper, you know that the financial impact of a return goes beyond the cost of replacing the damaged item. The total financial impact includes other logistical costs such as possible chargebacks, packaging costs, and transportation costs. Those losses add up quickly when processing thousands of pallets a day. With load recipes, better understand your palletized freight's physical condition and load accuracy. A load "recipe" is the ideal profile (length, width, height, and load arrangement) that you want all pallet loads to replicate. Recipes protect product by moving loads that fall outside the parameters of a recipe to a rework area, so an AGV doesn't attempt to handle a poorly loaded pallet and cause damage to itself and the products.
People
Accidents happen in industrial settings. It's an unfortunate reality. In 2020, the total cost of workplace injuries in the U.S. was $163.9 billion, and the average cost for a medically consulted injury was $40,000. We may never be able to prevent all workplace accidents, but we can avoid many of them with data from contour systems and putting pass/fail parameters in place. A contour dimensioning system inspects a pallet's condition, as well as the contents on the pallet. Pallets that fall outside of the parameters you set for loads won't be picked up by an AGV. Instead, it will move on to a different conveyor and will be sent to a rework area. If a pallet with a lot of damage is picked up, it could break, causing the load to fall and possibly injure employees in the area. You can prevent accidents with contour data and specific pass/fail instructions.
By protecting your people, equipment, and product, you're protecting your bottom line. Along with the benefits from preventing accidents and damage, contour systems also help your bottom line by boosting efficiency and streamlining your warehousing practices.
