Noise is a major problem for most businesses. It can cause hearing loss, stress, and reduce productivity.
It’s not practical to expect employees to remain silent, but implementing walls and partitions to create quiet areas can reduce ambient noise without silencing team members. Noise reducing casters are another option that can help keep work areas quieter.
Translucent Wheel Casters
A caster is a wheel mounted on the base of larger objects to make them easier to move. They’re usually found on equipment and furniture to reduce physical strain, prevent damage to floors and surfaces, and increase productivity.
Different types of casters are used for various applications. For instance, some are made of polyurethane, which is great for heavy loads. Other casters have wheels made from glass-filled nylon, suitable for chemical-resistant environments.
Some casters have a high rebound resilience that allows them to navigate over debris and push off the ground like a spring. This helps them avoid flat spotting and can even be used for long periods without a problem. It’s important to choose the right casters for your work environment. A quality caster with the right rebound resilience will also save you money in the long run by increasing the durability of your equipment and furniture.
Shock Absorbing Casters
Whether used on carts, furniture, or other ground support equipment, casters allow warehouse personnel to move cargo without exerting excessive force or energy. This saves workers valuable time and money by not having to stoop down or reach overhead to move items. It also reduces the risk of workplace injuries due to repetitive motion and physical strain.
However, casters can be damaged if they are exposed to sudden shock loads or use beyond their rated capacity, leading to immediate structural damage and decreased lifespan. In addition, vibration from casters can cause damage to the contents of carts and racks or create noise pollution within the plant floor environment.
Excessive noise in manufacturing facilities can lead to hearing loss, distractions, and lower productivity. Luckily, simple changes can dramatically improve the acoustics of a facility. For example, applying sound-reducing panels to walls can substantially reduce noise by absorbing a significant percentage.
Casters with Ball Bearings
Trash gondolas move around a lot of equipment and materials, creating quite a bit of noise. This is even more true when they traverse uneven surfaces that generate vibration and rattling.
Adding the right casters to your carts and equipment can significantly reduce these unwanted noises. One option is to select a swivel caster with a sleeve secured between the swivel section and the axle. This sleeve, made from hardened and ground metal, creates a fixed inner raceway for the roller bearing, improving the strength and longevity of the caster.
Another choice is to select a spring-loaded caster that absorbs the shocks and jolts that can cause noise when your carts and equipment roll over bumps. This caster type has a built-in spring mechanism that can be tailored to specific load capacities and dampens the vibrations that can generate noise.
It can also be combined with polymer dampening technology to reduce the impact and resulting noise.
Noise Reducing Casters
Whether you’re running a hospital trying to get your HCAHPS scores up or a manufacturing plant looking to keep decibel levels down, the right casters can make all the difference. Innovation in wheel technology means that caster options are available that reduce noise transmission from carts and can make your workplace quieter and safer for everyone.
It may seem counterintuitive, but noise hurts productivity when it gets too loud and persistently for too long. However, the noise affecting work output isn’t the ‘background hum’ that we normally think of as noise pollution. Noise harms productivity when it interferes with work requiring mental exertion or focus.