During an economic downturn, efficiency suddenly gets the spotlight in many businesses. That’s because efficiency can dramatically affect customer satisfaction and the time it takes to complete orders. If your systems are inefficient, you’ll take too much time and frustrate your customers. Thankfully, there are four conveyor system improvements that increase efficiency.
1. Attach Scrapers and Wash Boxes
Cleaning is a crucial step for maintaining conveyor belts because it removes carryback, chemicals, and bacteria that can contaminate your product. However, deep cleaning is a time-intensive process with many steps. Finding time to deep clean your belts during a busy day can be challenging, but neglecting to clean your belts can have serious consequences. To make things easier, attach belt scrapers and wash boxes that will cut down on germs and grime until you can deep clean your belts.
2. Use Protective Coatings
A protective belt coating is a chemical or fiber layer that gives your belt a certain kind of resistance. Some protective coatings help conveyor belts withstand immense heat, such as food-grade belts used to bake chips and cookies. Other coatings prevent oil, grease and bacteria from building up quickly, which lowers the risk of contamination.
3. Perform Scheduled Maintenance
Regular maintenance is another one of those things that can take up lots of time but prevents problems that consume even more time. Regularly scheduled maintenance is also a lot less expensive than major repairs. Therefore, it pays to keep up with things like tension checks and belt calibration.
4. Use the Right Belting
Efficiency starts with using the right type of belting for what you’re doing. Different belts have different functions. For example, food-grade belts are more bacteria resistant and don’t collect animal oil as easily. Heavy-duty belts can handle rocks and weighty boxes and are suitable for more intense workloads. If you’re not using the right belt, you’re not getting the full advantage of your conveyor system.
These four conveyor system improvements increase efficiency no matter what you’re producing. And if you decide you need to replace your belting, you can find heavy-duty conveyor belt material at Texas Belting & Supply. Don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions you have.