Innovations in Material Handling Equipment

Imagine being able to move a rack or cart with a ton of weight on it just by pushing it easily with your hand. Well, that’s the idea with the Ergomove electric drive caster. The podcast explains how this innovation in material handling works and why it is important to manufacturers and warehouses alike.

Moving materials and products in a manufacturing operation is a big challenge, including potential issues of material damage, ergonomics, workforce safety and productivity. Employee health and retention is an important concern for many in the manufacturing industry. Pushing heavily weighted carts and racks not only is the cause of many work related injuries but the cause of many health related issues for workers. This also results in many employees leaving their job.

Forklifts and motorized pullers can work for some situations, but space and floor surfaces can make using these machines difficult. The answer many were looking for was to be able to retrofit their carts and racks with motorized casters to make movement easier and computerization to help control the carts for sudden stops and difficult floor surfaces.

In 2020, Blickle Casters and wheels released their powered caster system, the Ergomove, in the US market.  Two years and several models later battery powered casters can change the material handling equation and help with employee job satisfaction while also cutting down on workplace injuries and safety concerns.

Rob Jordan, Vice President of Engineering at Bickel USA Wheels and casters and Scott Smith from Barron Equipment Company join the podcast to introduce the Ergomove, a battery powered caster system that is really changing the material handling environment.

The ErgoMove

The ErgoMove is an electric drive system that can upgrade the casters on most material handling equipment like carts and racks. The electric drive makes moving heavy weighted items much easier than the manual labor of pushing or pulling alone.

Material handling equipment can be quickly and easily upgraded with a “plug & play” electric drive, steering and braking assistance. The ErgoMove includes 2 rigid casters with an electric drive, and integrated controls and battery unit plus many safety features.

There are currently 3 models available, the 500 designed for power assistance up to 500kg, the 1000 with assistance up to 1000 kg, and the 200 with up to 200 kg power assistance.

Performance benefits:

Each of the ErgoMove models provides workers with tangible benefits that help reduce strenuous activity like pushing and pulling loads by powering the wheel of the equipment making the load easier to move. This improves the transport of heavy loads by ergonomic means, reducing strain and stress on workers, improves productivity on the work floor, and greatly increases the safety of workers and products being transported.

Getting it out to the market!

Barron equipment also talks about how they work with companies and manufacturers by bringing in a model to demonstrate its capabilities and to let businesses physically test how the system would work in their environment. There is a great untapped market for improving ergonomics and not just for productivity or making the work place safer but helping improve employee retention by reducing the stress of moving heavy equipment.

Many Thanks to Scott Smith of Barron Equipment

Barron Equipment Website: https://www.barroneq.com/