Visit Easy Rack for Helpful Information on Commercial Lighting, Pallet Racking and Material Handling Industry Terms.

Knowing the right terminology, the right slang words and understanding the lingo of any industry, will give you a leg up on the competition and give you "The Power of Knowledge".

According to Wikipedi, the term knowledge is used to mean the confident understanding of a subject with the ability to use it for a specific purpose. At Easy Rack, we have that understanding of the material handling business, the pallet racking industry as well as the commercial lighting business and offer the following information as a courtesy to our customers.

The following are some of the valuable educational and interesting information you will find in our industry specific glossaries by visiting the Easy Rack:

Commercial Lighting & Parking Lot Lighting Terms
Commercial lighting includes both artificial light sources such as light fixtures and natural illumination of commercial warehouses from daylight. Artificial commercial lighting is designed in today's market for specific applications such as parking lot lighting, security lighting, warehouse lighting, loading dock lighting and commercial decorative lighting.

Here are a few common commercial lighting examples:

Ballast - A device used with an electric-discharge lamp to obtain the necessary circuit conditions (voltage, current, and waveform) for starting and operating; all commercial HID and fluorescent lighting fixtures require a ballast for proper operation.
Color Rendering Index (CRI) - This is a scientific measurement of the balance between the wavelengths making up any “white” light. This is an index from 0-100 measuring a light source’s ability to render color accurately. The lower the color temperature, the warmer or more yellow is the appearance. The higher the color temperature, the cooler or bluer is the appearance.
High Pressure Sodium - These HID bulbs contain a sodium gas and produce a yellow/orange light. They are very bright, and last up to 24,000 hours. They are not good for color rendering and are best used as security flood lighting fixtures.
Light Loss Factor (LLF) - A factor used in calculating illuminance after a given period of time and under given conditions. It takes into account temperature and voltage variations, dirt accumulation of luminaire, lamp depreciation, maintenance procedures and atmospheric conditions.

Material Handling & Logistical Terms
Bulk material handling systems are typically comprised of movable items of machinery such as ramps and conveyors, pallet stacker's, fork lifts, hand trucks, pallet trucks, gantry and jib cranes, drum handling and various loading dock equipment combined with storage facilities such as small businesses, commercial warehouses or shipyards.

Here are a few common material handling examples:

Carousel - Material Handling Equipment designed to bring product to picker so that the picker can remain stationed in a designated picking location without traveling. Ideally, order information is loaded or automatically transferred into the carousel system, and multiple orders are picked by multiple pickers at one time. Types of carousels include horizontal and vertical.
Dock Leveler - A plate at the dock door entrance that raised and lowered either manually or hydraulically to accommodate trailer floor heights. Dock levelers come in many shapes, weight categories ans sizes.
Hand Truck - Western hand truck is a device used to transport goods manually with wheels within the side rails. The Eastern hand-truck is similar except the wheels are outside the side rails. Easy Rack has a wide selection of steel and aluminum hand trucks and ergonomic carts.
Pallet Jack - Material handling equipment consisting of pallet forks on small wheels that are used in the warehouse to move cases of product. Standard, all terrain and big wheel pallet trucks are available from Easy Rack.

Wooden Pallet & Pallet Racking Terms
A wooden, pallet sometimes called a skid, is a flat transport structure that supports goods in a stable fashion while being lifted by a forklift, pallet jack, or other jacking device. A pallet is the foundation of a unit load design, which can be as simple as placing any type of goods on a pallet and securing them with either metal strapping or stretch-wrapped plastic film.

Here are a few common wooden pallet examples:

National Wooden Pallet and Container Association - A national association with the goal of promoting the design, manufacturer, distribution, recycling and sale of pallets, containers and reels.
Pallet Jack - A hand-propelled, wheeled platform, equipped with a lifting device for moving palletized unit loads.
Shipping Pallet - A wooden or plastic pallet designed to be used for a single one-way trip from shipper to receiver that is disposed of after use.

Easy Rack began with the vision of solving the problems of overhead that result from time delays, insufficient space, and facilities outgrown by business expansion. Many companies try to make do with older, outdated tools, or they feel that they must conserve their procurement budgets until the last minute. This often slows down workers, and can result in certain instances in worker injuries, worker compensation claims, and potential liabilities for companies. Often, at other times, companies feel compelled to move once they determine they have outgrown their facilities. This, of course, costs a tremendous amount of money, and it also results in production downtime.

Give us a call toll free at 888-776-3720 for advice, a quote or just to talk about the material handling business! There is an easier way to save space, time, and money with the help of Easy Rack.