Field manual 02 · Material handling
A conveyor system is thousands of identical-looking wear parts moving someone else's revenue. When a roller dies mid-wave, nobody has time to find a catalog. CrateScan puts your re-order button on the frame rail — scan the bearing, RFQ submitted, line back up.
A mid-size DC runs tens of thousands of rollers. Every one is a future re-order — make it land in your queue.
| Part | Why it comes back | Typical interval |
|---|---|---|
| Rollers & idlers | Bearing failure, lagging wear, dead rollers on live lines | 12–24 mo |
| Pillow-block bearings | Contamination, lubrication failure, shock loads | 12–24 mo |
| Belts & belting | Tracking damage, splice failure, abrasion | 12–36 mo |
| Gearmotors & reducers | Seal leaks, gear wear, overload trips | 36–60 mo |
| Sprockets & chain | Stretch, tooth wear, lubrication gaps | 12–24 mo |
| Photo eyes & sensors | Impact damage, misalignment — failed, not worn | As failed |
Scenario · One screaming bearing
The same event without CrateScan: a radio call, a parts-room search for "that roller bearing," a maybe-match from a generic catalog, and a sorter line down through the morning wave.
Wave start at the DC. A drive-roller bearing on the main sorter line starts screaming. The lead pulls the guard and finds your label on the bearing unit.
They scan it. Your portal answers: Bearing Unit PB-204, their price, in stock, the spec sheet attached — plus the matching roller, one tap away.
Quantity 2 (one to fit, one for the shelf), ship-to DC-East, submit. A structured RFQ lands in your queue before the morning meeting.
Your inside sales rep prices it and sends the quote.
PO issued. The right bearings ship same-day. The line never made it onto the downtime report.
01
Label rollers, bearings, and drive components at assembly. Every system you commission becomes a storefront for its entire service life.
02
You designed the line — own its spare parts. Tag the BOM during install and the re-orders route to you, not to whoever answers a search.
03
Put your label on the racks and frames you serve. The maintenance tech scans your tag instead of calling three suppliers for a match.
Give them barcodes and a portal. We'll import your wear-parts catalog with you.