Beyond the glitz and glamor, behind the towering casinos and bustling entertainment industry of Las Vegas, lies a network of warehouses and distribution centers crucial to the city’s economy. Among these, the recent project of a third-party logistics specialist to a large U.S. retail brand stands out for its meticulous approach to warehouse organization and mobility. ASG Services, a leading provider of rack labeling and warehouse signage, was drafted to ensure not just the implementation of visual cues for efficient day-to-day operations, but also the seamless integration of these systems into a bustling, new facility.
Best Practices for Rack Label and Sign Installation in Las Vegas, Nevada
In this blog post, we'll explore the intricacies and impact of rack label and sign installation in Las Vegas, Nevada, focusing on key strategies that ensured success for the third-party logistics company, the large U.S. retail brand, and the end consumer.
The Essentials of Rack Label and Signage Solutions
Warehouse signage and rack labels are more than just stickers you put on shelves. They are indispensable tools for identifying storage locations, directing traffic, boosting efficiency, and ensuring safety in any storage facility.
This section will break down the key elements that transform these labels and signs from visual clutter to strategic components of your workflow. Effective marking and attention to detail significantly enhances a warehouse's efficiency, a key asset in driving profit and favorable customer experience.
Choosing the Right Materials
Selecting durable and long-lasting materials is non-negotiable in warehouses where labels and signs are constantly exposed to dust, temperature extremes, and physical damage. Understanding the warehouse's unique environment is crucial in the selection process. Las Vegas, for example, poses challenges with its arid climate and occasional dust storms, meaning products must withstand excessive dryness, temperature fluctuations and be easily cleaned.
ASG Services' commitment to quality materials ensured that the installed labels and signs would last, even under the most demanding conditions.
Laminated polyester labels are an ideal solution. Polyester is a stable material with a wide operating temperature, which means it doesn’t distort in high or low temperatures. Therefore, the barcode verification rate remains as good as the day the label was applied. A protective film shields the print face during wipe downs and an unlimited design and full color production process is available.
These were selected for the racks and shelves in Las Vegas and remain ASG Services most popular location label product for the US logistics and distribution industry.
Expanded polyvinyl chloride board is used for its durable, low-cost properties. This is a staple of the sign industry and used by ASG for their hanging barcode location signs and aisle marker placards.
Full color signs, with logos, location references and barcodes can be applied to this material which can then be formed to specific shapes, allowing for easy reading and scanning.
ASG Services external signs are almost exclusively made from aluminum composite material, a three-layer sandwich of polyethylene between aluminum. As well as being receptive to most production methods, it is also resilient to almost every weather and environmental fluctuation.
120 doors per side now have large 48” x 48“ external dock door numbers proudly on display in true Vegas style. The internal dock doors are smaller of course, but still boast customer branding.
The use of high-contrast and highly visible colors significantly improves the readability from a distance, as well as easy level identification. Customers are recommended to consider this as a critical factor in facilities with high ceilings or extensive rack and shelving structures.
Precision Placement
Precision in sign and label placement can make or break the efficacy of your system. A lacks approach will lead to confusion and mistakes. ASG’s installation teams ensure a methodical approach with consistent placement on the beam or in the air, as well as accurate location positioning, ensures that every location is identified correctly and ready for go-live.
Digitally generated designs of each product were developed and customized to specification, during pre-planning. They are tailored to the layout of the client’s rack system, where wire decks are used, totem labels are needed on rack legs, and with color coding for aisle-ways. The customer zones their bulk storage area and rack levels with colors as well as alpha numeric characters, therefore, designs and location data needed to be aligned carefully.
Compatibility with Technology
Linear and 2D barcodes as well as RFID tags are industry standards for inventory management. Therefore, the integration of these technologies into the signage and labeling strategy is critical.
The project in Las Vegas included the installation of linear barcode labels at key points on the racks and hanging signs for scanning. Linear barcodes remain as the most common type of barcode, and often work better on long-range scanning, when barcode signs are installed high in the ceiling space.
The project budget was also considered at this point. ASG can save customers’ costs in applying standard print barcodes to signs, which hang within normal scanning distance, while the more expensive reflective material is utilized for long-range.
ASG Services’ production methods also allow for customer branding to be added, which the third-party logistics provider valued highly. Both brands were combined on the signage products, strengthening their relationship, system integration and professional appearance.
Logistics & Planning
Work area coordination and flexibility are important factors to consider, in new build and existing distribution centers.
Managing a large-scale label and sign installation project across the US, required meticulous planning, communication, and a thorough information share exercise. From the onset, key customer personnel are involved. Implementation teams, IT and the ongoing operation leads are encouraged to contribute to solutions, since each group has their individual requirements.
- Implementation teams are general focused on efficient project handling and implementation,
- IT are often more interested in the product capability and accuracy,
- Operation focused requirements look at ergonomics, design, and durability.
All are budget conscious, but each needs to be considered.
ASG’s project team focuses heavily on aspects ensuring customer understanding, product solution, while also orchestrating installation timing schedules, and performance elements. A unique aspect of this project was the climate. Work processes were streamlined to avoid risks of working in the Mojave Desert heat.
A well-coordinated plan is indispensable, but so is the ability to adapt to unforeseen circumstances. ASG Services exhibited both qualities, working around other trades and construction elements to minimize downtime and eliminate conflicts.
Hanging 5,200 barcode signs at twenty-five feet high, along hundreds of feet of storage aisles, can be fraught with obstacles. This new build was typical, with electricians, systems integration personnel, rack builders, conveyor teams, dock door installers, as well as materials scattered randomly throughout, so ASG’s team needed to make sure their work areas were clear ahead of time to ensure swift progress.
Flexibility also enabled them to modify installation sequencing when changes to the building schedule occurred, ensuring the installation stayed on track and customer deadlines were met.
Implementation and Post-Installation Operations
The effectiveness of a labeling and signage strategy is not fully realized until after implementation. Post-installation adjustments and operations play a critical role in the signage system's overall value.
A shelf or rack structure is an impressive sight, new shiny and waiting to be loaded. Of course, until the locations within those structures are marked, they are not a storage system. A logical naming convention provides the location reference. Those references are applied to ASG Services’ rack and shelf labels, 67,500 polyester rack labels and 356,000 shelf labels for this Las Vegas project to be precise.
This many labels, takes a considerable amount of scrutinization, and phased application. ASG therefore breakdown the workload into scaled volumes which are manageable and can be approved for customer release, which is important as customers are then able to load products in earnest.
A minimum standard of performance is offered to customers. Developed many years previous, it continues to be accepted by ASG’s customers, as well as being used by its competitors as a benchmark. All label installations are quality checked during application and on completion.
Ongoing Maintenance
Although ASG Services does not offer an evaluation or maintenance package for their projects, the company does retain all documentation, designs, and location references within their archive.
Labels and signs will be damaged, regardless of how durable ASG can make them, however, re-production is streamlined. Proofs are not required, pricing is reflective of project levels, therefore the turnaround time is massively reduced, ensuring customers receive replacements in the quickest time possible. This helps to keep their locations active and operation efficient.
The company also worked with the client to develop a maintenance plan that would ensure the continuous functionality of their signage and labeling system, providing periodic checks and maintenance as part of the project's implementation.
The Results and Their Impact
The completion of the rack label and sign installation was more than just the successful application of a visual system, it was a testament to meticulous planning, precise execution, and commitment to the client's success. The project was completed a week ahead of schedule, thanks to racking teams finishing ahead, which meant the customer was able to test its new facility and initiate operations with breathing room.
The labels and signs will enable the warehouse staff to identify locations quickly and accurately, reducing picking errors and streamlining operations, and are a foundation component in any logistics and distribution facility.
ASG Services' approach in Las Vegas serves as a blueprint for warehousing professionals looking to optimize their facilities.
By implementing the best practices, understanding customer requirements, applying depth of planning and managed execution, a fast-paced operation can be operational ahead of time.
If you are considering a similar project, or enhancing your facility's label and signage, the ASG Services team are more than happy to talk and help with all the aspects you require of them. Their proven track record and customer-centric approach have set industry benchmarks.
Call ASG Services today on (877) 447-9798 or visit ASG’s website at
www.asgservices.com. We are here to help with your success.
