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HOUSEHOLD
APPLIANCE MANUFACTURER
CLIENT:
A household appliance manufacturer experiencing
rapid growth needed a plan for a Facility Expansion and
material handling and information system upgrade.
DESCRIPTION
OF OPERATION:
The company manufactures household appliances
which are shipped primarily to the stores of large national
and regional general merchandise chains and to general merchandise
chain warehouses.
OBJECTIVES:
Gross & Associates was retained to
develop material handling and information systems strategies
for the finished goods operation starting at the palletizing
station. The goals were to: support the increased level
of sales and manufacturing output, improve control over
the operation, evaluate storage alternatives and improve
productivity.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Gross
& Associates recommended the following:
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Install an automatic palletizer with an in-line automatic
stretch wrapper. Unit loads are to be stacked on slipsheets.
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Convert from a two way entry pallet to a four way.
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Develop a bar coded computer directed putaway label system.
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Transport pallets from the palletizer to the putaway location
using a tugger and a train of carts.
-
Floor stack pallets of bulk quantities and install single
racks for smaller quantities and for items which cannot
be stacked.
-
Install a forward picking line with flow racks and conveyors
for small quantity picks.
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Verify all transactions using bar code scanning.
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Install an Early Suppression Fast Response (ESFR) fire protection
system.
RESULTS:
By using floor stacks, the client
was able to avoid an investment of $1.4 million for drive-in
racks and $140,000 for pallets. The automatic palletizer will
save 6 people and have a payback period of 1.6 years. The
bar code system will enable the company to gain tight control
over their inventory. The ESFR system provides superior fire
protection and will permit future flexibility for rack installation.
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