Hayes Optimizes
Manufacturing Assembly To
Find Almost Any Part
In Less Than 20 Seconds
As Hayes Manufacturing grew from a job
shop to a high volume coupling supplier to the automotive and
heavy equipment
industry, its 26,000 square foot facility began to get crowded
and
less organized. Hayes realized the need for software that would
help them keep track of their parts and inventory better. The
Fife Lake, Michigan Company decided to implement FastPic™
Inventory Management Software to maximize its inventory and
parts storage area by increasing storage density and operating
productivity.
“
Space was at a premium,” says Hayes Manufacturing Vice
President, Jim Hayes. “Half of the 40 by 80 ft room was
filled
with 4 by 8 ft standard shelving. We would have areas with 50
items and others with only one, which means that the center of
the shelf behind that one item was dead. As the business was
growing and our volumes picked up, we needed more assembly
space. The room was ideal for assembly, but we were storing all
this product in it,” says Hayes.
Hayes was spending too much time on locating parts
manually. “Competition for table space increased with size
and
volume of orders. It was getting to be a real problem. When a
hot job came in, for example, we would have to stop work on a
less urgent project, clear the parts, put them away, complete the
new job and then set up again for the original project. This
was time-consuming and costly and was happening more and
more often.”
In addition to implementing FastPic software, Hayes installed
an automated storage and retrieval system. The Shuttle™ Vertical
Lift Module (VLM) by Remstar International (Westbrook, ME) was
integrated with the software to maximize efficiencies. When
retrieving parts, the software knows which tray on the Shuttle
VLM
that the part is located, and presents it to the pick window, at
the
ergonomically positioned “Golden Zone,” at waist
high. Assembly
at Hayes starts with a bill of materials listing the components
required for each product
assembly. The system can either pull a single
type of product or a kit that includes all parts
needed for a particular assembly.
An operator enters the quantity of items to
be retrieved into the system’s computer terminal.
The VLM moves to a tray location, removes
the 6 ft by 32 in. galvanized tray holding the
product and delivers it within seconds to the
pick window.
The window is ergonomically positioned so
that the tray arrives waist-high, making access
easier. The operator simply removes the needed
parts and carries them to an adjacent assembly
area, or places the items onto wheeled carts.
Primary assembly is completed on rows of
tables. Once completed, finished product moves
to a packing area that features a long table with
a conveyor that runs down the middle. Workers
on both sides of the conveyor pack components
into cartons delivered earlier by a separate
conveyor from the corrugated storage area.
Completed cartons are sealed and hand
stacked onto waiting pallets. Full loads are then
taken by lift truck to thereceiving/shipping dock
or to the reserve storage pallet racks until ready
for shipment to customers. The company
produces about 45,000 assemblies/yr.
Much of the smaller receipts that are housed
in the VLM arrive by parcel carrier, and must be
opened and hand-counted or weight-counted
before entering the system. These include
thousands of small parts such as nuts, bolts,
0-rings, bushings, and hubs, as well as larger
items that weigh up to 20 lb each.
Since adding the VLM storage system,
Hayes Manufacturing now has the necessary
room and flexibility in the assembly areas to take
on priority projects. The system also gives Hayes
greater control and more accuracy in pulling
component parts for these operations.
“
Our efficiency is much greater,” says
Hayes. “You don’t even need to know what the
part looks like. You just punch in the number and
it brings it to you, then it tells you where the part
is on the tray. Anybody can pull it.”
“
We now have enough space and inventory
management to handle three to four hot jobs,
without having to break down an existing order.
We’ve also improved access to parts, which now
is able to find just about any part in less than 20
seconds and have eliminated manual inventory
time. We just print out the report of the
inventory and we’re done,” said Hayes. |
