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Can you name 10 places to look for the "low hanging fruit" of material flow?
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Phone:440-943-4111 |
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Issue 0809,Vol.9 | |
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"The Low Hanging Fruit Theory" Does it Make Sense for Lean Material Flow?
What are the signs that there may be low hanging fruit in your plant or warehouse material handling system?
What to Look For…
1. Traffic Congestion, Pedestrian Safety
Intersections of main aisles, heavily traveled connecting bays or aisles, non-existent or minimized walkways may create problems for forklifts and people.
2. Too Much Inventory at Work Station
More than 2-4 hours of parts or assemblies usually means the forklift driver has “buffered” his route with material that should be in the market.
3. Too Many Material Moves (too many touches)
Walk the route of a typical part to see how many times it is moved or touched before it is actually used. Each touch represents a potential to reduce handling costs.
4. Dependency on Forklift or Picker Timing (workers waiting)
Do workers have to wait for the assigned forklift driver to get to their area after their stock is depleted? What is the typical wait? How are calls for material handled?
5. Material Damage
Are sub-assemblies or large parts transferred by forklift where the potential for drops or damage is large? Are containers or packages occasionally damaged with forks?
Click to continue...
Which plant looks more efficient?
If you have any questions about the use of industrial carts for creating a green material handling solution, call us at 440-943-4111 to learn more about getting started.
Larry Tyler
Founder & Principal, K-Tec
Where materials flow by design
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“Low Hanging Fruit Theory” - Does It Make Sense for Lean Material Flow?
According to manufacturing consultants "low-hanging fruit” is something visible like bad quality, unnecessary overtime, wasted materials, that we can get our hands on right away and doesn't require an accounting degree to understand. The movement of material is somewhat transparent until an issue like injury, product damage, lost production or high maintenance costs causes attention. Every day, thousands of companies don’t see the potential harvest of wasteful material handling practice in their own plants and warehouses.
However, by listening and looking carefully at your present material handling system, the opportunities will begin to surface.
Carts as Lean Material Flow Solutions
These carts can hold up to 1,000 lbs. of dunnage and can be easily moved by a single person.
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