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Material Flow and Storage

PROBLEM:  

A commercial welding, machining and fabrication company of very large units was about to break ground on a 43,000 square foot expansion to its existing 350,000 sq. ft. campus. A new plant layout for the production buildings was complete. However, with time growing short, the company needed some assistance developing alternative layouts for outdoor material storage areas. The plan was to create the future state of what the multiple acre storage would be upon completion of the expansion and assign alternative short-term locations during the construction phase. All material flows needed to consider semi-tractor trailer truck incoming and outgoing traffic and rail car access.

With the building expansion would come an additional 60 to 75 jobs, bringing total employment to about 500. This would require new layouts for two parking lots to accommodate all employees, particularly at shift changeovers.

APPROACH:

CMS worked with the company’s staff to create a cross-functional team to outline the boundaries of the project. Members of the team consisted of materials analysts, engineering, ERP management, and logistics. The company quickly reaffirmed that the entire multi-acre storage site needed a thorough 5S and embarked on Sorting very quickly.

Several meetings were conducted on site. The company provided an aerial photo of the entire campus to use in creating the new workflow and storage areas. The teams discussed the current space used for sheet steel, tubes, channels, and purchased components. They agreed on the amount of storage truly needed, reducing the inventory without negatively impacting fabrication. New WIP storage areas were also included. Higher velocity parts were identified and located closest to the entrance of the buildings where those parts would be consumed.

The team calculated the scale of the aerial photo and used this information to overlay material storage locations, rail lines and roadways for the team to evaluate. They selected new locations for WIP, raw material sheet, channel and tube steel, large purchased components, and finished goods.

RESULTS:

• Complete new outside material storage yard layout created and approved by all team members and senior management
• Aerial drawing with the overlay of final locations for all raw, WIP, and Finished Goods storage locations and new Security and Receiving outbuildings
• Aerial drawing of temporary storage locations and traffic flows for use during the construction phase
• Sorted existing storage yard and salvaged or dispositioned excess material
• Designed Visual Controls for quick identification by stock yard personnel and over-the-road truck drivers, enabling them to quickly find outgoing material to be loaded onto trailers
• Reconfigured both upper and lower parking lots. Several options were provided using two-way and one-way traffic patterns, and senior management chose the option best for all considerations.

 

Process Improvement Home

Material Flow 

Setup Reduction

Lean Manufacturing

Cost Reduction

Waste Reduction

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