No delays for parts at Hayes

A vertical lift module keeps small parts organized while reducing storage space by 80% at this engine component manufacturer.

By David Maloney, Associate Editor -- Modern Materials Handling, 10/1/2000

Space is a valued commodity at any facility. For true optimization of space in a manufacturing environment, components need to be stored and staged as close as possible to assembly operations without getting in the way. But what happens when assembly and storage begin to crowd one another?

Hayes Manufacturing of Fife Lake, Mich. began life 28 years ago as a job shop. Today, the family-owned business is a successful manufacturer of power transmission assemblies, such as flywheel couplings, engine housings, and shaft couplings. These assemblies are used in gasoline and diesel engines that power construction equipment, aerial lifts, mowers, and sweepers.

Prior to a recent upgrade, these components were assembled on tables in a room that was shared with inefficient parts shelving.

"Space was at a premium," says Jim Hayes, vice president. "Half of the 40 by 80 ft. room was filled with 4 by 8 ft. standard shelving. We would have areas with 50 items and others with only one, which means that the center of the shelf behind that one item was dead. As the business was growing and our volumes picked up, we needed more assembly space. The room was ideal for assembly, but we were storing all this product in it."

Fortunately, the facility has 20 ft. ceilings, so a solution to utilize that overhead space was sought. After rejecting the idea of building a mezzanine, Hayes chose a vertical lift module (Remstar, www.remstar.com ).

The VLM system doubles the storage capacity of the steel shelving while occupying only 78 sq. ft. of floor space compared to more than 1,000 sq. ft. with the shelving. This has allowed Hayes to triple the amount of space dedicated to assembly. It also gives the company much better control of inventory, greater efficiency in pulling parts, and provides a first-in/first-out turnover of stock.

"We chose the vertical lift module because it has such a small footprint," says Hayes. "It stores our parts, organizes them for us with a computer to track them, and then brings them right to us when we need them."

Birth of a flywheel

Two major types of materials are used in production of engine components at Hayes. Trucks carrying raw steel in bar form simply pull into the building through the door that serves both shipping and receiving duties. The 20 ft. long bars are unloaded using a jib crane and placed into adjacent racks. The steel bars will later head through cutters, lathes, and other machining and finishing operations.

Other product arrives by freight carrier. These consist of forgings used for component production, and large castings that become engine housings. Often more than 5,000 forgings will arrive at one time in wooden crates. The crates rest upon pallets, which are unloaded by a lift truck.

Receiving personnel attach a printed license plate to each pallet containing descriptive information, such as component name, part number, quantity, and vendor. The lift truck then takes the load to a reserve storage area consisting of 302 pallet rack locations.

"We generally have different aisles in the storage area associated with different product," says Hayes.

Some products may also be sent immediately upon receipt to staging areas adjacent to the lathes, assembly tables, or other machining areas, thus bypassing the reserve storage altogether.

Less-than-pallet-load items go into the vertical lift module. The VLM unit measures 17 ft. high, 7.5 ft. wide, and 9.75 ft. deep. It consists of a front and back row of storage locations, 65 in all, with a shuttle that runs vertically and horizontally between them, as well as to and from an input and retrieval window.

"We store nearly everything that will go into an assembly there," adds Hayes.

Much of the smaller receipts that are housed in the VLM arrive by parcel carrier, and must be opened and hand-counted or weight-counted before entering the system. These include thousands of small parts such as nuts, bolts, 0-rings, bushings, and hubs, as well as larger items that weigh up to 20 lb each.

Empty cartons are placed on a conveyor for transport to a corrugated storage area located above the facility's offices.

Each tray location in the VLM can hold 1,100 lbs. Hayes says about 27,000 lbs. of product is typically stored within the unit. The VLM determines the best storage location based on cube utilization.

"It really packs it in full," adds Hayes.

Assembly at Hayes is a combination of build-to-order and stock replenishment. A bill of materials is first generated listing the components required for each product assembly.

Pick tickets guide lift truck operators to pull needed pallet loads from reserve storage. Some items may require less than a full pallet, in which case the driver will either pick just what is needed, or pull the entire pallet and take the remainder back to storage later.

Likewise, a bill of materials is also the basis for items required from the VLM. The system can either pull a single type of product or a kit that includes all parts needed for a particular assembly.

An operator enters the product numbers of items to be retrieved into the system's computer terminal. The VLM shuttle moves to a storage location, removes the 6 ft by 32 in. galvanized tray holding the product and delivers it within about 20 seconds to the input/retrieval window.

The window is ergonomically positioned so that the tray arrives waist-high, making access easier. The operator simply removes the needed parts and carries them to an adjacent assembly area, or places the items onto wheeled carts.

Primary assembly is completed on rows of tables. Once completed, finished product moves to a packing area that features a long table with a conveyor that runs down the middle. Workers on both sides of the conveyor pack components into cartons delivered earlier by a separate conveyor from the corrugated storage area.

Completed cartons are sealed and hand stacked onto waiting pallets. Full loads are then taken by lift truck to the receiving/shipping dock or to the reserve storage pallet racks until ready for shipment to customers. The company produces about 45,000 assemblies/year.

Efficiency and control

Since adding the VLM storage system, Hayes Manufacturing now has the needed room and flexibility in the assembly areas to take on priority projects. The system also gives Hayes greater control and more accuracy in pulling component parts for these operations.

"Our efficiency is much greater," says Hayes. "You don't even need to know what the part looks like. You just punch in the number and it brings it to you, then it tells you where the part is on the tray. Anybody can pull it."

Hayes adds that the machine also gives the manufacturing firm a better handle on inventory. The system software is able to print out a complete list of all parts in every storage location whenever desired.

The company was so impressed with the performance of the vertical lift module that it purchased a second VLM about six months ago.

"We have two now," says Hayes. "We bought the first one and it was working so well that we added another one right next to it. The system has been running flawlessly."

Benefits at a glance

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