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www.us-tech.com


October, 2022


Returning to Full Production in the Wake of the Pandemic


By Robert J. Black Jr., Essegi Automation S.r.l.


companies are trying to return to full produc- tion. During the year and a half COVID-19 has raged around the world, many factors make the return to full output a challenge. These include labor shortages, as well as the availability of experienced and trained work- ers, and rising wages. Recent reports from the U.S.


A


Department of Labor show that there are more job openings available than there are unemployed people to fill them. Additionally, the number of trained or experienced work- ers available for the electronics industry are far less than the current demand. During 2021, wages rose by more than


10%. In some fields, including electronics manufacturing, the increase has been higher. A recent Wall Street Journal article stated wage increases in the last 12 months have averaged 14%. Fully loaded hourly wages in many areas of the United States already exceed $25 per hour. The increasing cost of skilled labor shows no signs of slowing in the near future. There is an acute shortage of trained


and experienced workers, with the result that companies must expend time and money to train new employees before realizing any productivity contributions from the new hires.


Automation is a Solution Many companies are turning to automa-


tion to help minimize the number of people needed for particular tasks. Among those companies are many users of Essegi auto- mated component storage towers. The Essegi towers provide users with a


huge advantage over other automated stor- age units. The Essegi towers deliver stacks of components, and can pull and deliver the complete kit without the need for an operator to be present. When the BOM is sent electronically to


the towers, each tower will pull the compo- nents needed for that kit that it contains, and when all the towers have pulled their stacks,


s the world continues to grapple with one of the most serious pandemics in its history, electronics manufacturing


only then is the operator called to collect the stack from each tower and deliver the kit to the SMT setup area. Other storage towers deliver only one reel


or tray at a time to the exit door, and that reel or tray must be removed by the operator


after a production run. If two operators are used, they must move quickly back and forth between two towers to unload or to load the components. If four Essegi towers are used, the kit will be pulled and stacked by each tower, and after the kit is complete, the tow- ers will summon one operator who will collect the stack from each of the towers and trans- port the kit to the setup area.


Essegi Towers vs. Manual Labor Take for example the pulling of a kit of


ISM 3600 automated component storage tower.


before the next component can be delivered. Because of this, it is necessary that an opera- tor be continuously present to remove each component from the exit. When the production run is completed, and the remaining compo- nent reels and trays need to be returned to stock, Essegi again has the advantage as the operator places a stack of reels or trays in the door and pushes one button. The Essegi tower then puts all the parts


in that stack away without the need for the operator to be present. With other manufac- turers towers, one component at a time is placed by the operator in the door, and then the operator must wait for the component to be loaded before another reel or tray may be placed in the door. If multiple towers are used, the advan-


tages of the Essegi systems increase. For example, a manufacturer using four towers from other brands, will need to use two to four operators to unload the kit from the tow- ers, or to restock the components remaining


120 components from stock. In a manual process, the average time for an operator to retrieve a component from the stock room is about 90 seconds. In very efficient compa- nies, this time can be as short as 60 seconds. In less efficient companies, it can take more than two minutes. For this example, we will use an average time of 75 seconds. For a kit of 120 components at 75 seconds each to retrieve this will take 150 minutes. Assuming a loaded wage of $25 per hour, the cost of this kit pull is $62.50. In contrast, three Essegi towers working


together will pull the 120 parts in 20 min- utes. An operator is only needed to pull the stack from each tower, about 30 seconds, and deliver them to the setup area, about 60 sec- onds.


Therefore the cost of this kill pull, at the


same hourly wage, is $1.04. Similar savings are achieved when returning the unused por- tion of the kits to inventory following the completion of production. Now, consider an EMS company with


five lines, two shifts and 102 employees using manual labor. The company has an average of 25 BOMs per day with 120 component val- ues each. The average time to pull a kit is 150 minutes and average time to return the unused components to stock is 100 minutes. At $25 per hour, the cost per day comes to $2,604.16. In a year, calculated for 260 days, the cost is $677,083.33. The same company using Essegi storage


towers will see significant savings. With the towers, the average operator time to pull a kit from stock is 2.5 minutes and the average


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