Top 3 upgrades to increase your facility’s capacity this summer

The Food Manufacturing industry has been getting busier and busier over the last couple of years, with the food and fibre sector hitting record export revenue numbers in 2022. With the increase in activity, we’ve seen an increasing number of manufacturers upgrading their facilities and stepping up their game in managing the growing capacity needed.

If you’re needing to upgrade your facility to meet an increase in demand, here are the top things to consider getting sorted this summer.

 

1. Ventilation for Employee Comfort 

 

Imagine working in an area with ovens or another heat source that makes you feel like you’re too hot to keep working. Not very nice, is it?

These kinds of conditions can make your employees dehydrated, tired and sleepy, meaning they are less productive and more likely to cause health and safety issues. Rapid doors are essentially designed to protect products by maintaining a sealed environment as much as possible, but that can cause ventilation issues that lead to overheating employees.

Our Ulti Roll Bug Shield is the ideal solution that’s being used more and more frequently. It’s basically an Ulti Roll rapid door, but with mesh panels to allow airflow. There are multiple different ways these panels can be included, from making the whole curtain mesh to just adding small sections of mesh to help airflow.

It’s got all the protection from rodents or pests while keeping your employees comfortable and productive – it’s a win-win!

 

2. Temperature Control & Energy Saving

 

Being able to maintain the temperature in your facility not only saves your products from spoiling – it can also save you big on your energy bills!

We have a wide range of high-speed doors to choose from to combat energy loss, including those with superior insulation properties, specifically designed for use in coolrooms and freezers.

The Ulti Frigo 2, Fastrax FR, and Ulti Flex are all great options for maintaining temperatures, even in busy facilities. However, for even greater environmental control and energy savings at your facility, the Ulti Frigo 2 Air Door is also available with an integrated air curtain. An air curtain keeps a continuous stream of air in the doorway whilst the door is open so that cold air doesn’t escape, and warm air doesn’t get it.

And when it comes to external doorways, Insulated Sectional Doors are a worthwhile choice to improve security and provide a tight seal for effective environmental control at your external openings.

 

3. Employee Safety at Loading Bays/Docks

As a facility’s production levels increase, the business of the loading docks also increases. With trucks rushing in out and products being loaded and unloaded by both pedestrians and forklifts, it can make for a hazardous environment.

Setting up a high-quality dock system will ensure your staff stay safe and your products get where they need to go in a timely fashion. Of course, a fully automated dock loading system is the ideal solution. Combine an integrated dock leveller, shelter, sectional door, light systems, wheel locks, and barrier, and you’ll have the perfect recipe for a safer and more efficient operation.

However, if the full system isn’t possible right away, you can start to take steps towards it and still significantly increase the safety of your employees with a few small improvements.

Top priority is to make sure to secure each truck and trailer that comes onto your loading dock with wheel restraints. The majority of accidents on a loading dock happen via unexpected vehicle movement. The Global Wheel Lock or Manual Wheel Lock restraint work by securing the rear tyre of the truck or trailer with a barrier, preventing the truck from moving until it is released from inside the dock area.

These restraints can be integrated into the controls inside the building meaning the truck cannot move away until all is safe. Approach-Vu for example, uses lights and a horn system to indicate clear visual and audible warning to pedestrians in the drive approach when a backing vehicle is detected.

Guardrails and protective barriers, including Dock Guardians or Impactable Barriers, are also a great step in keeping your people safe and your facility in tip top condition. They are incredibly versatile and offer great protection of walls, conveyors, machinery, and most importantly, your people.

Feeling like there’s room to improve at your site? Give us a call on 0800 807 753 or email us at hello@ultigroup.co.nz for more info on how you can improve your site and keep your people and your products safe as you grow.