Lockheed Martin gets even leaner

Last year, Lockheed Martin installed a new AS/RS to consolidate inventory. Now it plans to use the automated storage system to kit parts for the manufacturing floor.

By Bob Trebilcock, Editor at Large -- Modern Materials Handling, 7/9/2007

In lean manufacturing, no one can sit on their laurels and continuous improvement is the name of the game. 

Last July, Lockheed Martin got lean when it installed a new automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS) at its Missiles and Fire Control manufacturing plant in Orlando, Fla. 

“The AS/RS allowed us to reduce our inventory control area from 75,000 square feet to 30,000 square feet and still meet the needs of the factory floor,” says Sam Cox, inventory control manager for production planning. “That led to a significant reduction of costs associated with materials handling.” 

That was a great first step. 

“The next step is to get even leaner,” says Cox. “We plan to use the AS/RS to improve how we distribute kits to the factory floor. Better kitting will reduce the effort and cost of handling materials and make the kit more usable to operators on the floor.” 

Typically, every part or component for a kit is put in a bag and tagged for identification before being packed, palletized and delivered to the factory floor. To use the kit, someone has to find the pallet, break it down and lay out the parts. “Often, the assembler is involved in that process, which means they’re not doing more productive things,” says Cox. 

To streamline the process:

• Lockheed Martin plans on using the AS/RS to deliver the parts for a project in the sequence needed to a kitting station.
• In kitting, the parts can be laid out in the order required by the assembler doing the job.

“We’ve developed the software solution to sequence the parts,” says Cox. “Now, we’re developing the tray we’ll use to deliver parts to the assembler plus a new kit cart that will allow us to put more than one kit on a cart.” 

The benefit: “This will significantly reduce the touch time for the assembler building our products,” says Cox. “And we’ll improve our ability to build on a more timely basis.”