Material Handling Information - Intermittent Product Flow

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Daifuku America

Material Handling Information - Intermittent Product Flow

Disjointed Operations

Intermittent Product Flow

Intermittent product flow clutters manufacturing areas with Work In Process (WIP), increasing cycle time as well.

At Vod Duprin, parts for making industrial doors are delivered on demand from a mini load automated buffer to use-point manager workstations.

Problem

Product flow is stopping for a time or alternately stopping and starting.
Cycle times between processes are not balanced, creating multiple staging areas and disjointed operations.
Material travels long distances between operations.
Excess inventory.
Material is transported to and from an off-site warehouse between operations.
Actual cycle time is greater than three times theoretical processing time (the minimum possible time to process an order).

Solution

Speed is key; think Just-In-Time.
Carefully lay out the facility to dramatically shorten the time and distance materials travel.
Stage materials near the ultimate point of use.
Take control of inventory with a real-time inventory control system.
Have an outside logistics expert study your flow (See 10 Steps to Get There).
Use controlled, strategically placed buffers such as unit load, mini load, and high-speed box buffers on the factory flow to connect processes.
Eliminate off-site warehouses by using high-density storage to make use of vertical space your in central facility.

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