Unex Span-Track Bays Help Tractor Manufacturer Increase Efficiency

Kubota has reduced parts pick times and improved efficiency in material flow at its Georgia facility by placing Span-Track Bays within existing pallet rack structures.

It's a daunting task keeping the assembly lines in two huge buildings stocked with components for Kubota's rough terrain vehicles, lawn tractors, mowers, backhoes and loaders. Numerous lift trucks stack, unstack and move pallets of parts from warehouse storage racks to 'line side' holding areas at the Georgia facility of Kubota Manufacturing of America (KMA) just north of Atlanta.

Juichi Shiraishi, KMA's president, is proud of the company's growth, having received the 2003 Large Manufacturer of the Year award from the State of Georgia. Demand for existing products was increasing along with orders for the company's new RTVs that are only built here but shipped worldwide. Shiraishi was also excited about a new assembly building under construction.

But the strain of the added output before Building 3 comes online this year was becoming apparent. Parts picks were averaging a long seven minutes each, compromising efficiency.

The parts storage and retrieval system needed to be revamped.

But there was no need for KMA's plant supervisors to worry. Making continuous improvements in a methodical manner is rooted in Japanese culture, a concept known as Kaizan. According to Tony Bradley, KMA's Kaizan lead person, it is not simply about making improvements until an 'acceptable' level is achieved, but continually making improvements in an organized fashion over a relatively long time period.

No plastic rollers here. Parts totes glide smoothly on Unex Span-Track full-width roller flow track.

Unex distributor and KMA supplier ASI Handling System, a division of Air Specialists Inc., was asked to evaluate the parts storage and retrieval routines and develop recommendations for improvements.

Mike Machado, sales manager and Robbie Jones, sales consultant, studied how parts were warehoused and selectively brought to the assembly lines. They were convinced that a strategy combining both overhead pallet storage and ground level, easy-to-pick parts storage would result in quicker parts picks and substantial labor savings. Their plan proposed maximizing the storage density of the existing overhead bulk pallet areas and then placing Unex Span-Track Bays on ground level, tucked within the pallet rack structure. "A lot of lost production time is due to gathering the parts to put into the assembly line," said Jones. "Span-Track brings the product to the operator in a visual, positive and ergonomic manner —- the operator is able to see when product needs to be refilled."

"There's also flexibility in this arrangement because if the space was needed again for bulk storage the Span-Track Bays could simply be moved out and brought to another location," added Jones. Also, Machado and Jones pointed out that with KMA employing various types of pallet storage racks throughout the facility the Span-Track Bays could be easily reassembled —- no hardware or tools needed —- to suit different storage patterns.

ASI Handling System's proposal was selected as the best solution for meeting immediate as well as future needs. "I looked at two other companies that had channel liners and plastic rollers," said Greg Allen, Kubota's supervisor of procurement materials. "I didn't think the plastic rollers would last with the weight we would have to put on them." ASI Handling System's Jones agrees with that assessment and also mentions the safety benefits of Unex's Span-Track rollers: "You don't have to climb into the middle of a rack to fix a plastic wheel."

Pipe type structures were also considered, but Allen rejected them outright.

"A similar size rack would take four hours to cut lengths of pipe and put together and if you didn't put on extra bracing it would collapse with our heavy totes containing welded components." KMA placed an initial order for 20 Span-Track Bays for Building 2. The units were assembled at KMA by their employees. Bradley put many of the units together himself. "One eight-foot assembly was about 20 minutes," he said. "One person could easily put Span-Track Bays together.”

Even before the initial installation was completed, KMA project engineers from Building 1 were checking out the new arrivals. Impressed with Span-Track Bays' versatility, they immediately placed orders for 35 additional units for their facility. A total of 55 units are now in operation between both buildings.

A total of 55 Unex Span-Track units located in the two Kubota assembly buildings of their Gainesville, GA manufacturing facility helped increase the number of parts that can be easily accessed to maintain production targets for lawn tractors, RTVs, backhoes and loaders.

Pick Efficiency Exceeds Expectations

It's a vastly improved work flow now that Span-Track Bays have been placed into service. "The 'pick efficiency' has increased substantially —- now 19 seconds versus seven minutes," said Allen.

The redesigned parts storage and flow is enabling Kubota assembly technicians to achieve their production goals while awaiting completion of Building 3.

"The same part, previously stored in five different locations throughout the plant, is now available in one spot, enabling the company to implement an orderly rotation of parts using the standard FIFO (first in/first out) inventory practice."

In addition, the number of lift trucks in KMA's warehouse aisles has been cut by three vehicles. Span-Track Bays are designed for easy assembly and form bay after bay of efficient carton flow where parts and product are always easily reachable. They are constructed of rugged 'mix and match' components to withstand the high volume pace of the manufacturing process and are backed by a seven-year warranty.

UNEX Manufacturing Inc.,

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