Automotive OEM widens lean manufacturing concept

Consultants worked with Ford to carry out a full materials handling audit of their non-production stores and were able to put forward a comprehensive proposal for an automated solution.

The Ford vision is to become "the world's leading consumer company for automotive products and services." The Dagenham plant has demonstrated how the introduction of lean manufacturing processes and integrated supply concepts have made a major contribution to the realisation of their vision.

The Ford plant at Dagenham, Essex, is responsible for body stamping and the production of 14in steel wheels.

The wheels are used by most of Europe's car manufacturers and the panels are exported all around the world to various Ford and associated sister plants.

Reinforcing its commitment to drive down costs, improve efficiency, and boost productivity, Ford asked Kardex Systems to explore whether efficiencies could also be made in non-production areas.

"The non-production stores we had were located in the wrong place," says Derek Saxby, Supervisor of Manufacturing Engineering Vehicle Operations at Ford Dagenham.

"This, combined with other inefficiencies and meeting the requirements of the Ford Production Process (FPS) lean manufacturing programme, dictated that it was time for change" Ford was up against a number of challenges hindering their goal.

Part of the FPS programme looks at the non-production stores process and asks how readily production staff can obtain parts and how easy it is for them to retrieve them from the stores.

"It would take the best part of 5-10 minutes, walking to the stores and back - and often people would end up taking more than they needed to save them a second trip.

This meant parts would just end up sitting in individuals toolboxes!" reports Saxby.

It was inevitable that the inventory would have to be moved to a more central area, closer to the heart of the remaining stamping and wheel production lines.

Saxby said: "The previous stores were very basic and consisted of four walls fitted with static racking operated by storemen on a 24-hour basis.

We experienced problems with stock accuracy, as parts were going missing, and the only time we could tell that parts were not available was when stores were told 'the computer system says that there are "x" number of parts in stock, but there are none available.' If a breakdown occurred, the engineer would request a spare part/tool to repair the fault only to be told that the vital part is missing! This could put an expensive halt to various major production operations." After representatives from Ford spoke to Kardex, it became apparent that the new Kardex Sentinel was the ideal solution.

The Sentinel system uses proven technology based on the Industriever, a vertical carousel, and is designed for the storage and retrieval of all types of products including tooling, stationery, industrial and commercial consumables.

Sentinel offers increased security and control through a series of 10 automatically operated doors and Cribmaster Tool Management software.

Kardex consultants worked with Ford to carry out a full materials handling audit of their non-production stores.

By analysing parts to be stored, quantities, floor space issues, and working alongside Ford personnel, Kardex was able to put forward a comprehensive proposal for an automated solution - Sentinel.

Two Sentinels, integrated with Kardex Cribmaster inventory management software were recommended, one to be based in the Ford Wheel Plant and the other in the Press Plant.

The introduction of the Sentinels paid immediate dividends.

"They have dramatically reduced the floor space needed to store parts, by some 67%," Saxby confirms.

"The average picking speed has been reduced from 5-10 minutes to 40 seconds, as Sentinel is placed closer to the point of use, on the production floor.

"Each user is issued with a unique password or card swipe giving absolute control and traceability over every transaction.

Operators can also have pre-set limits to control access to parts over a given time period or indeed budget.

The features of Cribmaster software, when linked to Sentinel's unique graduated door opening feature, ensure that operators can only access the exact parts they require.

The on-board security available with Sentinel has eliminated the previous problem associated with an old fashioned manual system of missing parts and pilferage leading to discrepancies in stock levels." "The Kardex Cribmaster management software offers 190 different reports and is amazingly powerful.

It talks to our Oscar Corporate System, which orders and re-orders our non-production stores items.

Its reporting package provides us with continuous updates on user profiles and financial/management information which you can access on a 24/7 basis" said Saxby.

"The shopfloor people really like it," he added.

"People don't really like change but they are very enthusiastic about the Kardex Sentinel.

There has been a tremendous amount of interest.

"Kardex stood out from everybody else as their system supports photographs and images.

Previously the maintenance people had problems identifying parts," Saxby said.

This was understandable as Ford's non-production stores consisted of 8,000 different parts.

But with Kardex Cribmaster capabilities, the selection process is so much easier as parts can be visually identified and selected, further eliminating costly mistakes.

"I would be very surprised if Ford doesn't see a payback within 6 months," Saxby concluded.

Ford Dagenham is so impressed with the benefits that they have ordered a further Sentinel machine for their Croydon site.

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