Google StreamTech

System Retrofits

Purpose and Overview

Conveyor systems may need retrofitting for a number of reasons.

• One of the most common is that the product mix for which the conveyor system was designed has changed. Order profiles for many companies have shifted from large orders sent to distributors, to very small orders sent to retailers or direct to end users. Lots of very small boxes can cause huge problems for a conveyor system designed for bigger ones.
• Volumes may change, the overall volume may exceed the original design parameters or volumes could shift where low-volume subsystems become high volume and vice versa.
• The original design could have been poorly or incompletely executed.
• Sometimes the conveyor system is never really commissioned correctly and/or the order volumes were not sufficient at the time that the integrator was present to ensure that this happened.
• Equipment components may become obsolete or non-maintainable.

In situations like these it is pretty common for a conveyor supplier to recommend that the system be replaced with the latest and greatest conveyor technology, electronic zero pressure accumulation, etc. This can be a pretty safe (though expensive) solution, but sometimes does not address all the root causes. At StreamTech we take a slightly different approach.

Evaluation Process

In any event, have a non-functional conveyor system is often worse than having none at all, as excess labor is required to keep things going. After many years, we have standardized on a process that we believe provides the best results:

• We interview managers and key operators to understand the original (if information available) current and future business reasons for the system, order profiles and product load data (case mix).
• Peak periods are identified for observation.
• Our engineers spend several hours watching the system to identify key problems.
• A detailed implementation plan is created and presented to the customer, clearly identifying what will and will not be changed and what performance guarantees are included.
• Parts are staged on your floor (these are usually weekend projects) and retrofitting is completed.
• We stay and watch the system for a shift of production (until you are satisfied) then we return in a few weeks again to check the system performance.

Typical Services Provided

There are certainly many new technologies such as 24VDC MDR roller that makes retrofitting easier. Mostly we find that successful retrofit solutions come down to simple things to eliminate jams and allow things to flow smoothly:

• Adjust and update system controls to allow graceful backups, address curve issues, etc.
• Elimination of "dead spots"
• Guard rail problems and other catch points
• Diverter modification

Summary and Benefits

Often a smaller investment can be undertaken to breathe new life into an existing conveyor system and help it enhance and not detract from your operation. Give us a call to take a look at your next project.