3 Common Types of Materials Handling Equipment for the Pharmaceutical Industry

In the medical industry, pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors are under constant stress to maintain inventory in advance to cope up with uncertainty in health care. During COVID-19 Global Pandemic Crises, pharma manufacturers and distributors are prone to build inventory to better manage healthcare requirements, meet strict industry regulations, ensure operational efficiency, and drive low costs. For that matter, many pharma related companies are converting their warehouses into automatic & engineered systems and investing in modernized equipment to facilitate better control over inventory and avoid delays in the orders.

Read the article to know about a few common types of materials handling equipment in the pharma sector.

1: Warehouse Conveyors

Warehouse conveyors come in different sizes & shapes to serve the multiple needs of pharmaceutical companies. Conveyors are classified into many types. A pharmaceutical belt conveyor is typically used to carry products along a belt. It is an easy, economical, speedy, and flexible solution. Pharmaceutical belt conveyor lessens the need for human labor and subsequently reduces labor costs.

The extendable conveyor is well-known for its versatile performance. It offers easy installation and quick loading & unloading. A line-shaft conveyor is best for accumulation and transportation needs. The conveyor uses a line shaft along with drive spools, which have urethane bands. These bands use the tension to spin on the rollers. The spools further enable accumulation by ensuring the safety of pharma products.

A heavy-duty roller conveyor is well-suited for order fulfillment operation. It is automated and system-driven that offers low process time, high-quality control, and more efficiency. Spiral conveyor is utilized for moving pharma products between multi-level elevations. It can lower or lift the products in no time. A vertical conveyor is a great piece of equipment to lift items within small footprints. It can handle 50 units/minute. And is designed to speedily transport pallets, trays, cartons, etc.

2: Forklift Attachments

A forklift is industrial handling equipment that can move products over short distances. This type of machinery is suitable for storing and handling bulk material. A forklift is a useful device in a pharmaceutical warehouse that can offer extra help if needed, like forklift accessories, attachments, and extensions.

Self-dumping hoppers, drum handlers, order pickers, safety baskets, and crane baskets are common types of attachments that do the lifting job. A forklift truck has a lifting capacity of roughly 70,000 lbs. It is considered a stable material handling device as it doesn’t have a fixed center of gravity. A forklift’s capacity keeps on shifting between front and back wheels while loading/unloading to maintain the balance.

Visit Sitecraft if you are looking for useful material handling equipment like forklift attachments to ensure smooth operations inside your pharma warehouse.

3: Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs)

AGV is one of the well-utilized industrial trucks when it comes to transportation. It is a large-scale automatic-operated vehicle that can offer secure and faster mobility. AGV has the ability to uplift products via powered means. AGV comes with an in-built optical sensor and is considered the best anti-collision technology as it can immediately sense nearby obstacles.

Normally, AGV is used for stacking, loading, unloading, and moving the materials. This type of material handling equipment comes under the umbrella of an engineered system that allows the handling of complicated products and multiple components. This robotic delivery system makes the warehouse more efficient by handling the materials when there is minimal workforce available.