Liquor production and distribution are physically demanding fields, facing challenges that include overexertion-related injuries, fatigue, and employee turnover.
Verve Motion’s SafeLift™ exosuits provide a transformative solution, helping workers perform heavy lifting tasks with significantly reduced strain. By improving safety and efficiency, these exosuits are redefining the future of work in liquor production and distribution.
In this article, we outline the key application areas where exosuits are a great fit, and key considerations when selecting a pilot site.
Liquor Production
Raw Material Handling
- Workers handle heavy bags of grains, fruits, yeast, or other ingredients used in the distillation or brewing process, often lifting them onto conveyors or mixers.
- Although often assisted by equipment, these tasks can involve manual labor, especially in smaller distilleries with less automation.
Barrel and Keg Handling and Movement
- In the production of spirits like whiskey and rum, heavy barrels (weighing 200-600 pounds when full) are moved, rotated, and positioned for aging, sampling, and storage.
- Kegs can weigh 50-160+ lbs.
- While equipment like forklifts and pallet jacks can assist, manual handling is often required for specific tasks, such as arranging barrels for aging or transport.
Bottling, Packaging, and Palletizing
- Throughout the production process, workers may need to lift and move cases of both empty and filled bottles.
- This can involve tasks like loading or unloading bottles onto conveyors, stacking cases, and building pallets for shipping or storage.
- While some aspects can be automated, manual lifting and maneuvering are often required, especially when preparing products for distribution.
Warehouse Operations
Loading and Unloading Trucks
- Distributors often load and unload cases of liquor from delivery trucks.
- These cases can be heavy and require lifting multiple times throughout the day.
Receiving and Storing Inventory; Order Picking
- Workers lift cases and pallets of liquor to place them on shelves or racks.
- Employees pick up cases from different storage areas to prepare orders for shipping. This involves repetitive lifting, especially during peak periods.
Palletizing
- Cases are often stacked on pallets, requiring careful and repetitive lifting to ensure stability.
Delivery Operations
Retail Store Deliveries and On-Site Stocking
- Drivers and delivery personnel often carry cases into retail stores, sometimes needing to navigate stairs or tight spaces.
- Delivery teams may help restock shelves at retail locations, involving lifting and placing cases on shelves.
Bars and Restaurants
- Deliveries to bars and restaurants often involve carrying cases of liquor, kegs, and sometimes large barrels through tight spaces, stairs, and into storage areas.
Bulk Order Deliveries
- Hospitality Industry: Distributors supply large quantities of alcohol to hotels, casinos, and resorts. Deliveries often require handling larger orders and can involve navigating through kitchens, storage rooms, and event spaces.
- Event Venues and Catering Companies: Bulk orders for events, festivals, or large gatherings require frequent lifting, especially when setting up bars or drink stations at off-site locations.
- Airlines and Cruise Ships: Supplying liquor to airlines or cruise ships requires managing bulk quantities of bottled drinks, sometimes involving transfers through multiple checkpoints or tight quarters.
- Duty-Free Stores at Airports and Seaports: These stores handle large volumes of products, often moving and stocking cases for international travelers. It involves constant restocking and inventory management, which can be labor-intensive.
The Business Impact of Exosuits
The SafeLift™ exosuit addresses the challenges faced in liquor distribution by delivering measurable improvements:
Selecting the Right Site for a Pilot
When considering an exosuit deployment, ideal sites share the following characteristics:
- Repetitive heavy lifting: Sites with 50-200+ lifts/hour and 10,000-50,000 lbs/day are well-suited.
- Commitment to safety: Locations with recent safety initiatives and a leadership focus on ergonomics will see greater success.
- Ownership: Designating champions within your organization to collaborate with Verve Motion ensures a smooth deployment and successful adoption.
Conclusion
Exosuits are changing the game for liquor production and distribution. Verve Motion’s SafeLift™ technology not only alleviates the physical demands on workers, but also enhances operational efficiency, reduces costs, and improves workforce morale.
Ready to explore the benefits of exosuits? Schedule a live demo with the Verve Motion team today to see how SafeLift™ can elevate your operations!
