Logistic Upgrades = Productivity Upgrades

Pallets (Photo credit: smysnbrg)

Farmland Dairies: Robot Palletizing System

Wallington, New Jersey is home to Farmland Dairies, a milk and ice cream packaging plant. Their facility requires a system that can handle heavy products at high speeds and keep production running smoothly.

Farmland aimed to increase productivity, reduce overhead, and improve product handling. They wanted a system that met their needs and allowed them to save on manpower. To remedy the situation, three palletizing robots, a pallet de-stacker, a pallet feed system, a pallet removal system, and six product supply lines were installed. Developers ran off the system at their facility prior to the onsite installation so Farmland could make necessary adjustments to the design.This new system allowed productivity to increase by 60 percent. 

When thinking about a favorite product or retailer, thoughts might drift to just how many products they package, ship, and sort on a daily basis. For some operations, an efficient conveyor system is everything and can make or break a business.

CaféPress.com: Distribution Center Upgrades

CafePress.com is a popular online retailer that sells clothing and accessories while allowing users to create their own custom merchandise to buy and sell. They were interested in a two-phase process to update their distribution center and make it more efficient.

Café Press needed a system that addressed product flow paths and underutilized facility space. They also wanted to increase capacity by more effectively using vertical space. The solution came in two phases.In phase one, two sortation systems were installed, and so was a direct line from the packing and quality check area to the shipping area. New software also was introduced. In phase two, a mezzanine with ventilation system, sprinklers, lights, data outlets, and power outlets was added. This upgrade allowed for an additional conveyor to be installed.

When complete, product and production flow paths were improved with the new system. In addition, utilization of the product floor was increased. The facility was much more efficient with the added storage space and production capacity.

Crisis Management

I read an article a while back in Wall Street Journal (You can its full version here) about the crisis in the U.S. and the reaction of the auto makers. 

The automotive industry has been with a lot of challenges in the recent years, especially with over-capacity of its personnel in the downturn; now and with shadow of financial crisis affecting many industry industries, I can imagine that this problem has intensified...

In such situation, Toyota has adopted a new strategy: "Instead of sending the workers home, as the Detroit makers often do, Toyota is keeping them at the plants, though. The employees spend their days in training sessions designed to sharpen their job skills and find better ways to assemble vehicles."

At GM, Ford and Chrysler, workers effectively are paid for not working when their assembly lines are idle, under terms of union contracts. If a plant is shut temporarily, as some were this summer, workers receive most of their pay but don't have to show up. A few attend company-paid classes to learn new assembly skills.

The underlying rationale is simple: We are in a bad situation; we have to cut costs but at the same time can't reduce the workforce so let's do another thing: By organizing workshops and courses to improve operations' performance, we can at least develop our workers' capacity and this is certainly better than paying them without doing anything; also empowered personnel equipped with knowledge can find new ways and alternatives for cost reduction in their activities.

Not bad, right?

Article originally available via Supply Chainer