Overhead Conveyor Application in Finishing Systems

Manufacturing Companies Rely on Conveyors to Keep it Moving
Inventory and production management, in today’s highly competitive world, is a strategic asset to have on your management team. Companies in leadership roles within any vertical market have a tight control on their costs. How do companies maintain a high degree of flexibility in their manufacturing operations?

In almost every multi-phase manufacturing process, some type of conveyor is used to transport components, sub-assemblies or even final assembly parts into and out of a final assembly staging or finishing system. Manufacturers of overhead conveyor systems have adapted to the demand for systems in almost every environment.

Whether the finishing system is paint, coating, heat treatment or bathing operation overhead conveyors can provide the solution to meet your productivity goals.

Ford, Bendix and Visteon are examples of a large manufacturing or final assembly company that has relied on overhead conveyor systems to solve their throughput challenges. Additionally, as an example within a vertical market, tier one and two suppliers to automotive manufacturers have also worked with Morrison Company to layout and implement overhead conveyor systems.

Whether your facility is an automotive tier one supplier or a company with a fabrication operation, Morrison Company is ready to provide a facility assessment that may confirm plans you may already have about an expansion or renovation.

For the past 75 years Morrison Company has led the way as the material handling industry has evolved. After hundreds of projects, the Morrison Company sales and engineering team is eager to take on your unique challenges. To set up an evaluation of your facility, select facility assessment.

You Do That? - In-House Installation

Its All About Ensuring Complete Satisfaction
"Turn-key" or "plug and play" are two terms bantered about regarding the ease with which end users can enjoy the product they purchased. When it comes to installing an integrated storage and retrieval system the adage of “some assembly required” is an understatement.

Implicit in the engineering that goes into the design is an assumption that the installation will be conducted by an experienced crew. Although your facility may be different, a considerable number of other facilities have surprises. The dimensions vary, a building column was not accounted for, or a sprinkler system was added since the layout of the facility was provided by the client. These challenges need to be overcome without compromising the engineering that went into the design.

The project management and installation functions at Morrison Company are taken very seriously. Communication is critical. As soon as your project is underway, meetings between the in-house design engineer, the installation crew manager, and the project director begin so that every conceivable circumstance has been reviewed and a plan of action agreed upon. When the installation crew is onsite, an assessment of the “foot-print” is made prior to any work has started.

This assessment has saved considerable time and reduced delays because the client is made part of the solution before an investment in time and labor has been undertaken.

Breaking the communication elements down into categories helps to gain an understanding of what activities are accomplished by the installation team. At each stage: planning, executing, controlling and closing, your project director will be actively focused on these services:

• Integration Management


• Scope Management


• Time Management


• Cost Management


• Risk Management

Contact Morrison Company for an assessment of your material handling needs.

Test Your Knowledge

Supply Chain Execution Companies
If you are in manufacturing, your ability to manage your supply chain will result in whether you are around to compete next year. The result of twenty years of focus on inventory and production management by associations like APICS have raised the skill level of professionals charged with this responsibility. Competition has provided low-cost offshore options that, if not planned for, will put most businesses out of operation.

In the past ten years warehouse management systems have been the popular means of controlling supply chains. In recent years best of breed warehouse management system suppliers have been joined by enterprise resource planning companies in the battle to dominate the supply chain execution software market.

Industry pundits are indicating that the core software component, Warehouse Management Systems (WMS), is in a mature market. The top two companies Manhattan Associates and RedPrairie both saw sales decreases last in 2004. What has been growing is the demand for software solutions that integrate a WMS with other services like transportation management, labor management, and yard management.

The interest in RFID has also provided companies with mandates to comply with Wal-Mart, other retailers and the Department of Defense. Responding to this demand there are also a number of companies with strong inventory management solutions for very specific applications, like wholesale grocery distribution or parts sequencing in the automotive industry.

Enterprise Requirements Planning (ERP) suppliers have been steadily taking market share in the WMS market and this trend is likely to continue. SAP, for instance, continues to gain ground as the 5th largest provider of WMS systems with revenues of $50 million.

Are you in the market to add to or upgrade your supply chain software? Morrison Company can provide you with an indexed list of suppliers that can integrate with other critical software systems mentioned in this article. To receive a copy of this helpful tool, contact Morrison Company and a guide will be forwarded to you.

Picking at the Speed of Light

Speed and Accuracy Can’t be Argued
Traditionally companies have used printed pick tickets to simply list the items needed to complete an order for shipping. However, when an order picker uses paper, that person must read the ticket repeatedly to prioritize their operations, to locate the necessary items within the warehouse and to check and re-check that they picked the correct amounts of each item.

Even when the order is complete deviations must be noted, the units picked must be subtracted for replenishment purposes and all of this must be re-entered to a computer or data collection source by that individual or yet another employee dedicated to those full time tasks alone.

As you can imagine this multi-step operation creates an environment where errors are frequent – and that can cost you customers, perhaps permanently given today’s level of competition.

Pick-To-Light technology enables an order picker to quickly and easily find the correct location for their next pick by means of lights and LED displays retrofitted to static shelving, flow rack and other media that you use in your distribution center. Besides guiding the picker to the exact location, the lights also display the precise amount ordered and requires confirmation as each item is picked. Increment and decrement buttons also enables the picker to have total system interactivity and carry out inventory checks and indicate replenishment needs right at the light location.

Pick-to-Light systems deliver speed and accuracy to your order processing and fulfillment operation, and assist in streamlining your order fulfillment process.

• By minimizing the time spent searching for the correct SKUs, pick to light technology can significantly boost picking rates.


• An ideal pick to light scenario is when 20% of the customer’s SKUs account for 80% of their throughput.


• Pick-to-Light is ideal for broken case picking and where there are several smaller ‘each picks’.


• Last 20 years have seen considerable changes in the way most companies meet distribution needs. The trend is toward smaller more frequent orders with an emphasis on streamlined warehousing.


• Fast and accurate order picking is now a vital part of customer service.

Food Preparation and Distribution Leader Increases Capacity

Case Study - Morrison Devises Plan to Work Around the Clock
Food safety is good for business. Using this as one of their strategic value propositions, this leading food manufacturer has enjoyed booming success. Like most profitable businesses, controlling product and labor costs have been the driving force behind their increase in market share.

One of their facilities in North Central Ohio needed to expand to accommodate for new product launches. Management determined the best way to expand was to relocate storage systems while simultaneously adding to the capacity of the distribution center. This project involved: the removal of push back racking, carton flow racks, and pallet rack; and the installation of new Interlake selective Pallet rack and a Wildeck mezzanine with bar grating and push back racking on the deck level.

To complete the work so the facility was ready for the storage of new products installation, work was to be completed on the 2nd or 3rd shifts.

Safety rules included the use of personal protective equipment; conforming to the six foot tie-off rule, and hot work permits as well as other standard safety rules were required by OSHA.

Installation crews were scheduled around peak production times to allow for a safe job site, and efficient assembly of the racking components. This process repeated itself over multi-week cycle culminating in an on time project completion. When completed, an additional 99 bays of pallet racking was installed, most of which on top of a 100 ft. by 20 ft mezzanine.

About the client: Sandridge Food Corporation - providing fresh prepared refrigerated foods including Refrigerated Salads, Fresh Soups, Potato Salad, and Pasta Salads, prepared fresh daily. They are an innovative fresh refrigerated food manufacturer - specializing in growing sales and profits for our customers by blending the sophistication of our state-of-the-art manufacturing plant with the talents of our people. This blend of technology and talent enables Sandridge Food Corporation to provide a wide array of refrigerated foods to the ever changing, always demanding consumers of today.

For more information on this project or examples of other case studies, refer to the Morrison company website case study page.

Logistics Management 101

The following article is submitted by Sedlak—providing independent, client-focused supply chain consulting services. Find out more at www.jasedlak.com.
Welcome to class. Lesson #1: Only a complete understanding of distribution costs, performance metrics and product characteristics details allows true management of logistics. To accomplish that, successful logistics management professionals [hereafter referred to as they] wrap their arms around the following:

Customer Satisfaction Philosophy
First and foremost, they understand their company’s customer service to satisfaction philosophy. What do they expect? For example, must an order be out the door within eight business hours after receipt? Does that include special product handling or customization?

Sales Projections for Five Years Out
To avoid surprises and secure business planning consensus, they plan sales projections five years out. Volume affects space utilization, labor resources, technology, robustness of software—even conveyor speed.

Every Detail of Every SKU Through the Entire Logistics Process
They know exactly how product will arrive, and already have appropriate amount and configuration of storage space. They work with their vendors/suppliers to standardize packaging for maximum utilization of their facilities.

They know the volume of inventory turns, the measure of how quickly they replenish their entire stock of materials or merchandise annually. They understand how product velocity, or speed at which a product moves from inventory to a customer, affects slotting and they make sure the facing of storage space is the right size.

Efficient logistics operations minimize the number of times a product is touched from receiving to shipping. To that end, successful logistics managers attempt to cross dock as much product as possible, identifying their backorder position at Receiving.

They determine inventory quantity and storage method because they understand characteristics of each product. Is it received by pallets, cartons or hanging on rails? Is it to be put away by truck or by hand? Is it perishable? Is it picked by truck or by hand? To conveyor or tote?

Labor
They know exact throughput volumes per time period and how many people are needed for the job. They know productivity standards for peaks and valleys.

Shipping and Transportation
They know if product is batch picked onto a mixed pallet, they’ll need order deconsolidation at the shipping dock. If product is picked to order onto conveyor, they often extend the conveyor right into trucks.

They remember their logistics operations end when product is in the hands of their customer, not the carrier. As they negotiate best rates with carriers, including zone-skipping capabilities, they keep customer expectations in mind.

© 2003 Morrison Company. All Rights Reserved.