Reusable containers help Ryobi reduce assembly costs

A new approach to storing setups for assembly line operations at the Ryobi Motor Products Corporation facility in Pickens, S.C., is helping the company improve setup efficiency and reduce operating costs.

Ryobi, a designer and manufacturer of power tools for woodworking professionals, do-it-yourselfers and hobbyists, builds many of its products at the Pickens facility, including routers, drills, sanders, saws and other products sold under the Ryobi brand and other brand names.  The manufacturing operation also includes building the armatures and shafts for power tool motors.

To meet product demand, Ryobi operates flexible assembly lines at the Pickens facility.  Each line consists of a conveyor and several workstations that can be reconfigured to accommodate a particular product.  Power tools start at the head of the line as component parts.  Various assembly operations, specific to each tool type, take place at each workstation.  At the end of the line, tools are packaged for shipment.

Each power tool product in the Ryobi line requires a distinct setup that includes fixtures and special tooling, such as presses, for assembly.  Prior to 1999, setups for all products were stored in eight metal racks on the shop floor.

Assembly line setups took the companys two setup specialists approximately an hour and a half each.  According to senior industrial engineer Craig Powell, one out of five setups required an additional half-hour to locate misplaced tooling.

Powell and a team of engineers were asked to find a solution that would reduce setup time and the costs associated with lost and misplaced tooling.  They determined that the problem was not the assembly procedure itself, but in the way the setups were stored and retrieved.

"The wire racks were not conducive to storing and retrieving the setups in an organized and efficient manner," he says.  "We felt we could solve the problem with a new approach to storage."

Justifying a new approach
Ryobi chose to install reusable, stackable containers in place of the wire shelving.  The ROPAK containers are designed by LINPAC Material Handling.  The products are constructed of high-density polyethylene and available in a range of sizes.  Ryobi selected 40 inch by 48 inch by 39 inch and 40 x 48 x 29 sizes.  These containers include four-way lift truck entry.  When not in use, they can collapse to a fraction of their height for space-saving storage.

Powell and the team based their purchasing decision on reducing setup time by 15 minutes.  The savings accrued by this reduction, says Powell, resulted in a payback of the initial capital investment in six months.

"Although we didnt include it in our justification, we determined reducing downtime in the assembly department 10 percent would result in about $33,000 per year in savings, in addition to the savings resulting from the reduction of setup time and elimination of retooling costs," he says.  "We saw the potential for cost savings across the board was very attractive."

Today, in a typical setup, specialists determine what products will be manufactured in the next week by referring to an assembly schedule.  Next, they retrieve the appropriate ROPAK containers for the products.  A lift truck moves the containers from the nearby storage area to the appropriate assembly line.  By checking a station control document, setup specialists are able to install the right tooling, fixtures and hand tools for each station in the line.  Empty containers are returned to the storage area, where they are folded flat until needed.  The company uses approximately 60 containers in the assembly operation.

Taking advantage of added benefits
The reusable containers not only reduced setup time, but had additional advantages, as well.

"Using containers allowed us to implement a kit approach to assembly operations," says Powell.  "We store what we need for each setup in a designated container.  Weve developed a master list that tells us which setup parts are in each container and where the container is stored."

Also, the new storage system, because it facilitates improved tracking of tooling, helps Ryobi set up a database used to monitor preventive maintenance activities for the setup tooling.

A subtle, but no less important, benefit has been appearance.

"The wire storage racks presented an unorganized look to our plant visitors," says Powell.  "The neatly stacked containers make a good impression on customers when they take a factory tour."

Article provided by LINPAC Material Handling of Georgetown, Ky.

MRO Today. Copyright, 2000.

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