Our fathers always taught us to use the right tool for the right job, which still works today, especially in industry. The right industrial supplies make all the difference between running an operation and being a truly efficient business.
The term industrial supplies covers a wide range of products and services all designed to support industrial operations. They range from the manual controls that are used to operate machinery and the power generation and transmission for a job site to the structural supports and leveling devices that house process equipment. The careful application of industrial equipment is what separates the garage mechanic from a Ford assembly line.
Designing a process to use the best industrial supplies can be a difficult task. Let us examine a few methods that are used to ensure sound technical designs.
Design Specifications and Drawings
Every piece of equipment in an industrial setting should be fully specified and blueprinted. Of course, this means that a large operation might require a dedicated design engineering team to maintain those documents. However, utilizing a supplier that provides CAD drawings of their products goes a long way to making these best practices practical for any size business. CAD drawings will specify every design variable in a piece of equipment, from simple tooling components to complex power generations and transmission systems. The best part of today’s CAD drawings is the 3D manipulation of an object on the computer. Any product can be “picked up” and examined virtually before any purchases are made.
Meticulous records and blueprints are vital to meeting strict tolerances and incorporating individual pieces with an entire existing manufacturing process. Item dimensions, weights, stress loading, and materials of construction are key characteristics of any piece of process equipment. Tooling components are often responsible for acting as guides for machinery with tolerances in the range of thousandths of an inch or on the scale of the thickness of a human hair.
Having an industrial supplier who provides these necessary parameters is global food processing industry analysis the first step in using industrial supplies to their fullest extent.
Design Example – Manual Controls
Good design principles at work create safe environments for effective production operations. A great example of a comprehensive design approach is manual controls for the operation of machinery. Ergonomics is the study of how the human body interactions with its work environment, and is not just limited to typing on a computer. By comparing a machine’s operational controls to the human body, the most comfortable and efficient control scheme can be utilized to reduce worker stress and injury while increasing productivity.
All of the most commonly used controls for machinery should be placed in the most convenient location for operation. Having to run a machine via controls that are placed in awkward places or on the back of the device will only lead to worker fatigue and the possibility of injury, Controls and loading platforms should not be placed above a worker’s head or below his waist. Either of those positions puts unneeded stress on the body and can put a worker off balance. Keeping the body in a natural position will allow an employee to operate a machine for longer periods of time at a higher efficiency. Industrial handles and levers should be installed or retrofitted onto a machine to meet these guidelines.
Beyond the physical aspect of ergonomics, there is also a cognitive component. Manual controls should be intuitive and easy to learn for any operator. Having a clear control scheme will reduce operational errors and save training time. Controls should be grouped into sets, such as all the loading devices in one area, controls to adjust settings located together, and all the startup supply and demand in spanish and shutdown controls in another area. Emergency switches should be clearly differentiated to prevent accidental shutdowns and to clearly mark how a machine should be shut down in an emergency. In some situations, workers that are unfamiliar with the equipment or emergency personnel will need to run or stop a machine, so intuitive designs are also an integral part of safety.
Industrial supplies should be used to make operations easier, safer, and more productive. Any piece of equipment should be fully specified in either hard copy or CAD drawings prior to purchase. Applying products then requires a careful design approach in order to effect positive change on to a manufacturing process. These guidelines are essential in the design and operation of industrial processes.
