Do you remember when people had to wait in line to use the even longer stairs at the mall? Clever engineering has created a mechanical marvel called a conveyor belt to tackle such situations. Since then, things have eased up in many businesses that move things around.

Consequently, the conveyor belt has dramatically reduced the inconvenience of transporting materials and people from one location to another.

Today, these moving walkways, or “Walkalators” as commonly known, play essential roles in retail malls around the world. They are not only used to transport goods between terminals but have become a necessity in shopping malls due to several factors.

In this piece, we’ll review five fundamental reasons why belt conveyors have become such essential equipment in shopping malls.

What is a Conveyor Belt?

A conveyor belt is a mechanical system that carries equipment, stretching different distances depending on the installer’s requirements. Every belt conveyors system needs different configurations to ensure it operates smoothly and performs the required task with its belts.

Its operations may vary in load, needed speed, and total product throughput on a given conveyor system.

A conveyor belt system comprises two or more pulleys, also known as drums, surrounded by an unending loop of carrying material known as the belt. This belt revolves around the pulleys, producing a pulling force on the objects it is transporting. By powering one or multiple pulleys within the entire system, you get the conveyor to propel the belt and its contents along the system.

Also, belts are composed of multiple layers of material, typically consisting of three layers: the upper cover, the carcass, and the bottom cover. Nevertheless, additional layers may be required depending on the items the system will transport.

Continue reading to find out why you can find this innovative equipment in every modern shopping mall around the world.

1. Minimizes Human Error Whiles Boosting Efficiency

It’s safe to consider the retail industry a labor-intensive sector with humans performing several vital tasks. The inevitable result of relying on human labor for long hours daily is a higher probability of mistakes resulting in significant disruptions of customer service and the production line.

These errors could lead to financial loss, a drop in overall productivity, and a poor brand reputation.

The conveyor belt helps avert these issues by automating monotonous transportation tasks within the shopping facility. Hence, it reduces the dependence on human labor in the shopping experience, limiting the possibility of hand-to-hand contamination and downtime.

Ultimately, this promotes the efficiency of a shopping mall.

2. Made With Food Grade Material

Since the 1800s, conveyor tracks have been used to move things along. Thomas Robins came up with the idea for the conveyor belt. In 1892, he started a set of concepts that resulted in the first conveyor belt for moving raw materials.

Once it became clear how much time and money conveyor belts can help save, the belt was swiftly improved and developed for use in various settings.

Today, the belt conveyor has come a long way with major changes in design and the materials used in its construction. These changes allowed for its use in consumer-facing businesses like malls and airports.

For malls, one of the critical factors that endeared the conveyor belt to this sector was its construction with food-grade materials.

Since most items transported on these belts are conveyed without protective packaging or barrier, this change in the material ensures safety for workers and buyers alike. Also, using food-grade grease and lubricants on this equipment means mall operators can prevent major food safety issues and health concerns.

3. Accident Reduction

Accidents at work account for about 2.3 million fatalities annually in the US. In addition, more than 340 million persons globally sustain injuries due to work-related safety precautions and negligence. A viable way of decreasing these occurrences for the everyday shopper and workers in these facilities is through automation solutions for processes with high risks of accident occurrences.

This process is illustrated by the to and fro movement of products within a shopping facility. The conveyor belt offers a cost-effective and energy-efficient automation solution for such operations.

But it doesn’t only promote efficiency for such tasks; it drastically cuts down hazards in accident process areas of the shopping mall resulting from obstructions and manual handling.

4. Helps Implement Personal Hygiene Regulations

As most material handling operations include human touch, a dedicated personal hygiene policy must be developed and put into place to protect food products from contamination by harmful bacteria like E.coli and S. aureus.

Since keeping tabs on details like these can be challenging, employees must be reminded of these policies at the beginning and conclusion of each shift and during periodic training refreshers.

Considering this, it is reasonable to conclude that implementing conveyor belts in the shopping sector is relevant. Conveyor belts offer the added benefits of reducing human error, increasing efficiency, and lowering the risk of accidents at work, making it abundantly evident that this equipment is necessary for the total productivity of any shopping facility.

Consequently, material handling is crucial to fulfilling many buying and selling facilities like the mall because of the variety of food safety and work safety standards involved. This is true regardless of the type of shopping facility, but it is imperative when dealing with potentially hazardous materials.

So, conveyor belts offer a smart approach to streamlining and implementing hygiene and health standards at scale in shopping malls.

5. They Move The Checkout Experience Forward

Conveyors have several possible applications, although they are most commonly seen in factories and warehouses for storage and distribution. Given the higher throughput these systems can accommodate, they are deployed in locations like shopping malls, where they have achieved tremendous success after adding a computerized management system.

Given the high adaptability and speed, they improve the checkout experience of shoppers and ensure goods are available when and where they’re needed.

To sum up

Conveyor belts serve different purposes nowadays, and their number has increased tenfold. You can have a conveyor belt in almost any shape or size. However, picking the right conveyor system might take a lot of work. To begin, there are many variables you must take into account.

These factors include not only the product itself but also its pace of production, weight, the surrounding environment, the process’s effect, and the facility’s design. Consider these issues thoroughly befdore settling on a specific conveyor model for your shopping mall.

Ulani Uriah

Umar Nisar was born and raised in the busy city of Abbottabad. As a journalist, Umar Nisar has contributed to many online publications including PAK Today and the Huffing Post. In regards to academics, Umar Nisar earned a degree in business from the Abbottabad UST, Havelian. Umar Nisar follows the money and covers all aspects of emerging tech here at The Hear Up.

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