From March 20-23, ProMat Expo attracted more than 45,000 visitors and 1,000 exhibitors to Chicago’s McCormick Place. As the leading trade show for the manufacturing and supply chain industries, attendees saw the latest in material handling and logistics technologies.
Sponsored by MHI, an international trade industry since 1945 with members in material handling and logistics equipment as well as systems manufacturers, integrators, consultants, publishers and third-party logistics providers, ProMat Expo is a key event for manufacturers that want to fortify their supply chain operations to ensure future competitiveness.
Admittedly, Techgen Media staff could have spent the entire four days learning about new products and solutions, but with only one day available, the following photos and companies were highlights, especially in the areas of employee safety and data capture.
Yale Materials Handling Corp: At ProMat, Yale took the concept of driver assist for over-the-road passenger vehicles and adapted it for lift trucks in manufacturing and warehouse environments. The technology leverages Lidar sensing and proximity tags to monitor the surrounding work environment as well as the load the lift truck is carrying. Thanks to smart sensors, the lift truck will automatically slow down if pedestrians or other items or equipment are nearby or in the way. Important data, such as impact events, is displayed in a portal for business owners and other stakeholders to review and analyze.
CompScience Insurance Services: Anyone interested in reducing worker injuries and workers’ compensation events can benefit from the technology developed by CompScience, which recently launched its AI-powered intelligent safety platform. Geared for manufacturing and supply chain companies, the technology audits hundreds of hours of on-site videos to identify recurring safety issues and generate risk assessments. These assessments can be used to improve employee habits and lower the chance of injury. CompScience will work with a company’s insurance broker, self-insured representative or captive manager to complete the assessment.
Siemens: When equipment can be monitored in real time, productivity, process stability and safety increase while scrap rates and production disruptions decrease. Knowing this, Siemens had its Adaptive Control & Monitoring suite on exhibit at ProMat. The technology is adept at monitoring cutting conditions, such as changes in workpiece hardness to fluctuations in the depth of cut. By monitoring these conditions in real time, users can avoid suboptimal machining times and tool breakage. In terms of adaptive control, the technology is also adept at optimizing the machine’s feed rate, speeding up when conditions allow and slowing down when the application requires it.
