After allowing employees to work from home due to COVID-19 global pandemic safety concerns, many employers are now asking employees to return to the office. Some companies are adopting a hybrid approach while others are asking everyone to work back in an office environment full time. For many,  this is a massive adjustment. From integrating back into an office with co-workers to safety concerns, many employees are concerned about a return back to the office.

Felix Nater, the head of Nater Associates in North Carolina, led a discussion for USA Manufacturing Hour Chat on Twitter, discussing some of the ways to improve safety and workplace reconnection. Nater is the head of Nater Associates, an independent security management consulting firm that mentors leaders & trains workforces on how best to mitigate the threat of workplace violence, and the employer against the threat of civil liability through high-level advice; assistance. More information about the firm is available at www.naterassociates.com.

Overcoming Automation Obstacles During COVID-19: A Case Study about the implementation of Swisslog AutoStore at Radwell International in Arlington, TX

THE CUSTOMER

Radwell International supports its customers with a broad range of new and used industrial products including industrial automation, MRO, pneumatic, motion, electronic, hydraulic, HVAC and electrical control equipment for plant floors and facilities. The company also provides component-level repair for all industrial electronic and electrical equipment, and buys new and used surplus for resale.

Radwell has major distribution hubs in New Jersey and the U.K., which support the bulk of product shipments and also include production facilities for repair. The hubs are supported by a network of satellite facilities that focus on repairs and localized sales. In early 2020, Radwell began construction on its newest automated distribution center. Radwell would locate this AutoStore in its 86,000-square-foot Arlington, Texas, branch.

It’s no secret that 2020 has been a tough year. People have experienced challenges they’ve never experienced in their lifetime. There have been triumphs and there have been tragedies and everything in between.

For manufacturers or anyone running a business that was deemed essential during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, things were challenging on a different level. Trying to keep workers safe, keep machinery running to meet increased demand, and manage new safety and security procedures involved a whole new set of rules and adjustments. Amidst all the chaos and confusion were the backbones of organizations: the employees. With the changing rules of a pandemic, improving employee morale and making employees feel valued has become more important than ever before. This article explores five ways to make employees feel valued. These manager tips are easy to implement, budget-friendly, and hopefully valuable to those wanting to show appreciation for the humans who make their businesses run each day.

If you know anything about Radwell, it won’t come as a surprise that we planned our newest regional distribution center in East Arlington, Texas, around automation. After all, we work with our customers to make sure they have the equipment they need to keep their automation systems running, so we understand how valuable automation is to business success.

Plus, we had already successfully automated our New Jersey distribution center. That project met all of our expectations by improving inventory management, making more effective use of our warehouse space and cutting picking times dramatically. Based on that success, we didn’t have to spend time evaluating and selecting an automation system and integration partner. We knew we would design the Texas facility around the AutoStore system and work with Swisslog as our partner. We also had the benefit of our experience and learnings from the earlier project.

Modern automation systems go beyond the confines of the physical machines on the factory floor. According to Deloitte Insights, smart factories can not only operate within the four walls of a factory but can also connect to a global network of similar production systems, and even to the digital supply network.

Though factories may be distributed rather than centralized, modern industrial operations software provides a centralized environment to rapidly build industrial applications. This can support engineers, managers and staff throughout an industrial business to improve plant operations and act upon information independent of factory location.