In today’s fast-paced manufacturing world time is money. The right mix of trained workers and required parts to keep the manufacturing floor running is vital to success. Using lean manufacturing initiatives to reduce waste in the manufacturing process can help organizations find the right mix that leads to profit. Saia Burgess, a worldwide motion solutions manufacturer, is continually looking at ways to cut out waste through lean practices.
Saia Burgess is a manufacturer of a wide range of motion control solutions at their Vandalia, Ohio, manufacturing facility. Motion control solutions, such as solenoids and switches, are used in a wide range of products globally, including ATMs, security monitoring systems, medical devices and military systems.
Leaning toward efficiency With a company wide push to lean processes and cut waste, Saia Burgess turned its attention to the warehouse.
“Lean initiatives were going on throughout the company,
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in every department,” said Tim O’Brien, Materials manager, “part of lean is taking out the waste and looking for better ways of doing things, and the warehouse was right for that.”
To keep 9 manufacturing departments operating efficiently, Saia Burgess keeps just more than 10,000 SKUs on hand, previously stored on shelving.
“It became apparent we were doing a lot of very redundant activity through the day, sometimes going to the same spot 10 or 12 times a day to pick the same part, just for a different work order.” O’Brien said.
In a lean effort to do more with less, Saia Burgess replaced the stockroom shelving with 4 KardexRemstar horizontal carousels integrated with pick-to-light technology and FastPic inventory management software. Seventy percent of all parts (6,800 SKUs) are stored in the new carousel system, with bulk SKUs remaining in the shelving.
“We shrank the number of people required, cycle count accuracy is higher and we are able to pick orders faster and more efficient, it was a very successful lean effort,” O’Brien said.
The paper picking past Prior to introducing automation into the stockroom, workers had a one-to-one relationship with an order, each worker focused on picking one order at a time. Pick tickets were generated daily and workers would walk throughout the shelving searching for all the parts they needed to complete the order. When the order was complete, they would deliver it to the correct department and return to the stockroom to pick the next order in the pile of pick tickets. Workers often visited fast moving part locations several times a day, creating redundant activity.
The solution Implementing 4 KardexRemstar horizontal carousels, integrated with pick-to-light technology and FastPic inventory management software, changed the way orders were processed. One worker can batch-pick up to 6 orders simultaneously without walking or searching for parts. Eight assembly department group leaders print material packets indicating the parts they require. When the material packets are printed, the order is downloaded from the Material Requirements Planning (MRP) Movex software to the FastPic inventory management software. Part orders can be entered days before the material is required. The department manager delivers the materials packet and a cart to the stockroom, indicating the order is ready to be picked.
The carousel operator initiates 6 orders at a time using the FastPic inventory management software. Each order is assigned a separate position on the batch station. The carousels then rotate for the first pick, using pick lights to direct the operator to the exact location of the first pick. The operator picks the quantity indicated by the pick light and turns to the batch station to distribute the parts among the 6 orders as directed by the put lights. As the operator is distributing the parts from the first pick, the other carousels are rotating to present the next pick, virtually eliminating operator dwell time. This process repeats until the 6 orders in the batch are filled. Each order is then place on the cart provided by the department manager.
