Manual Handling Product focus
Tug of efficiency
The upsurge in manufacturing has led to an increase in orders for electric tug manufacturer MasterMover. We find out why manual handling integration can improve the factory and warehouse process.
M DEAD TIME
The upsurge MasterMover has experienced has been in the high-value manufacturing sector – something the company attributes to the growing realisation that tugs can support operational efficiency. According to Andy, non-value-added-time is one of the biggest causes of inefficiency in any assembly plant or intralogistics operation. “Whether operators are making superfluous multiple journeys when one would be sufficient, or people are held up waiting for a forklift when something must be moved quickly, the average day in a factory or warehouse is full of what is essentially dead time,” he explains. “A lot of time, resources and hard work is invested in terms of re-organising assembly layouts and intralogistics to suit products being manufactured and material flow. Yet for high-value goods such as aeroplanes, construction equipment or wind turbines, there
60 March 2014
anufacturing has received positive press of late. The sector has seen an increase in international
enquiry levels, strengthening domestic markets and a boost in confidence which has led to significant financial investment. It’s good news. It’s also putting pressure on production, intralogistics and the supply chain. According to Andy Owen, managing director of MasterMover: “Any growth in manufacturing requires investment in materials handling to accommodate increased output.” Their order book certainly reflects this.
is the logistical challenge of moving large and heavy components,” Andy points out. It is here that the electric tug is making a significant impact. By operating on the principle of tractive force, the tug is designed to transfer the weight of the load to reduce friction and optimise traction. This enables a single pedestrian operator to move loads up to 100 tonnes, in a controlled and safe manner. According to the company, if you don’t want to invest millions in automated conveying production lines or warehouse reconfiguration, you can move processes along using tugs. This can also lead to companies rethinking their layout and bringing in a lean and efficient culture.
LONG COMPONENTS
Any number of industry sectors can benefit from the application of an electric tug. The ability to connect the tug at 90° to a load means that it can be used to move goods that a forklift would struggle with – for example long components – while its compact size means it can be manoeuvred into areas of the factory or warehouse where space is at a premium. Even the movement of smaller components can be optimised with the use of an electric tug. Electric tugs also offer a fast and flexible approach to training requirements; whilst a forklift driver must attend a three-day training course, an electric tug operator can be trained within half an hour because they are simpler devices. “This means that a manufacturer can train many operators in a single session,
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ensuring that there is always somebody on the factory floor who is capable of using the tug – hence no more bottlenecks waiting for a forklift,” says Andy. “By using electric tugs instead of forklifts, the company can immediately reduce the amount of space reserved for road networks,” he advises. “Major manufacturers are now turning to pedestrian operated tugs in a bid to remove forklifts from their production halls.” A real benefit of integrating manual handling devices such as tugs within the assembly line are most apparent when a business decides to scale up its production activity – or for the warehouse – picking activity. “Say a company wants to double output. That might mean going from 50 products a day to 100, yet for a particularly large component such as an aircraft wing it could involve going from one to two,” explains Andy. “The instinctive decision is that twice as much space will be needed. Then the company rushes to commission architectural plans and redeploy budgets into building an extension. “Yet what if the existing space can be used better? By using electric tugs instead of forklifts, the company can immediately reduce the amount of factory space reserved for road networks.” As pressures increase in the manufacturing sector, and warehouses and factories change shape, choosing a flexible product like the electric tug to be part of the process, may be the answer companies are looking for. n
www.mastermover.com
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