Material Handling Information - Limited Capacity in Production & Storage

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Daifuku America

Material Handling Information - Limited Capacity in Production & Storage

Productivity

Limited Capacity in Production and Storage

Gardetto's uses a unit load and STVs to store raw material and deliver it to production, eliminating space-consuming lift truck traffic

Installing a unit load buffer opened up space on the production floor for two new molding machines at North American Lighting.

Problem

Multiple products/models assembled on the same production lines.
Material is staged on pallets as near as possible to the assembly station point of use.
Bulk materials (nuts, bolts, etc.) are stored in totes at the line.
Production area is very congested.
Storage area is full and congested.
Material control on the production line is lacking or nonexistent.

Volume increases are straining production capacity.
Expansion is needed to support growth, but available building space and/or land for expansion is limited.

Solution

Use Conventional, deep-lane, and push-back pallet racks or shelving to take slower-moving material off the factory floor.
Use automated buffers to provide high-density storage, automate material movement, and improve material control:

Use end of aisle workstations on mini load, unit load, or high-speed box buffers, or use Automatic Guided Vehicles (AGV), Sorting Transfer Vehicles (STV), conveyors, or overhead monorails to deliver material directly to workers, eliminating manual material movement.
Use a Warehouse Management System (WMS) to:

Maintain optimum material levels.
Maintain up-to-date information on available material.
Track material from receiving through stores, work-in-process, subassemblies, and finished goods shipping.

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