Case Studies - General Manufacturing
Case Study #3:
Finding Productivity in Crowded Spaces
Gaining Productions Sometimes Means Change
As an Italian Polysulphide manufacturer, the ability to serve the glass and window resin industry in North America means manufacturing in North America. Setting up a factory in Brampton Ontario this company is able to high quality products manufactured in a 3-shift operation. The ability to keep up with increasing US and Canadian demand requires the ability to produce more without necessarily expanding in square footage. Sometimes that requires ‘Outside the Box’ thinking and a change in the way things are typically done.
Unique Manufacturing Requires Unique Solutions
Bulk Polysulphide sealant compounds are pliable, heavy and require storage containers specifically built for the uniqueness of the product. Not until the product is put in commercial containers is it capable of being stacked on outgoing skids. During the manufacturing stage of the product it is poured into those specialized totes and inventoried by weight. With the volume steadily growing and the size of these totes movement within the plant was a growing concern with an average weight of approximately 3000kg. Up till recently the only way to inventory the product was to bring it from the manufacturing to shipping using a class III electric pallet truck. As volumes increase in both manufacturing and subsequently along with the weight and size of the tote this travel was neither productive and or safe anymore. The addition of another floor scale was not an option as there was simply no room to install.
Turning the Electric Pallet Truck into a Mobile Weighing Platform
Looking for alternatives and working with their servicing dealer we were jointly able to arrive at the SkidWeigh ED2-EP, electric pallet truck scale. The solution allowed them to get away from the floor scale reducing dangerous travel from one area of the plant to another. The addition of the ED2-EP did not take any additional space away from manufacturing and actually reduced steps as they now combined movement and weighing all in one process. Moreover, the ED2-EP with its patented ‘Lift Interrupt’ software could detect the exact time when to take the weigh of the unique totes with there. Designed for a multitude of different applications even the most unique containers are taken into account with the ED2-EP, such as these with a 5.5” fork gap. Unlike a floor scale the ED2-EP has a simple Tare input menu that allowed to determine net product weight for inventory without making manual calculations. And although the product for manufacturing purposes is weighed in kilograms the ED2-EP has a pounds to kilograms toggle menu so that it can be applied to whatever material handling weighing requirements they may have.