Originally, I had planned to write this column about workplace handling. It's an important topic. In every manufacturing, assembly or warehousing operation, we find places where good industrial engineering practices could make the job easier, faster and safer. But then I realized that there was another step that should be discussed first.

Before we improve workplace handling, we should look at opportunities to make an industrial redesign more effective by changing processes – and consequently improving materials handling requirements later on.

Here are ways to make those improvements.

1. Combine tasks wherever possible.

In our enthusiasm for reducing the time required for each step, we often overlook opportunities to combine two or more operations and thus eliminate the work-in-process (WIP) handling that occurs in between them.

In one machine shop I visited, parts were loaded into containers for transportation to a centralized deburring department, where the parts were unloaded, processed and reloaded into the same containers. This minimized the number of required deburring tools. But investing in enough of these inexpensive tools to have them available at each machine would have permitted the operator to do the deburring during the machine cycle for other parts.

This principle might also be applied to sub-assembly operations that could be performed within the cycle time of the main assembly process, or in warehouses, where a value-added process such as attaching price tickets could be done in conjunction with picking rather than as a separate operation.

2. Choose the best "resting place."

There are steps in the process that make parts more fragile, bulkier or committed for use in a specific end product. Holding work-in-process just prior to such operations reduces damage and space requirements, and makes the WIP inventory usable for a broader group of products.

For example, holding components just before a welding operation usually is the most space-efficient way to store them. In addition, loading the paint line directly from the welding area – in the same sequence as required for final assembly – eliminates extra storage and reduces the risk of scratching the finish.

3. Match the container to the process.

You can eliminate the storage and handling of partially filled containers by choosing containers that hold the same number of parts that typically are loaded onto a rack or into a machine. Alternatively, you can make sure that the container quantities divide evenly into the planned production-lot sizes.

Such a simple change can bring important benefits. For one gear-machining process, we created a container that held six ring gears or six pinion gears. After the subsequent process, the same basket accommodates three matched sets. This attention to container design eliminated countless handlings of empty baskets. It also created a handling increment that allowed flexibility when planning production lots.

Another benefit of the right container is on an assembly line. Supplying parts in small increments minimizes the effort required to stock and "unstock" the line for model changes. This creates a smaller workplace with fewer steps to get a part for assembly.

Now that we have simplified the process, I will move on to arranging the workplace itself in my next column.