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PRODUCTION SYSTEMS A ‘SYSTEMS APPROACH’ TO BUSINESS OBJECTIVES
Turck Banner’s ‘Systems approach’ works in unison with customers, helping them achieve their business
objectives. Here we look at an example...
T
o understand the systems approach, it is first necessary to have a fundamental understanding of our distinction between a product and a system.
A product is typically characterised by precise specifications and limited room for deviation. For instance, consider a temperature sensor which operates within a predetermined temperature range, and may have features like an analogue output, adjustable switch points, or a data output. Its function is to interface with other products (e.g. a PLC) to facilitate control, without engaging with humans.
A ‘System’ incorporates both the selection of hardware components (i.e. products) complemented with a software overlay that works in unison to fulfil a customer’s specific business objective. Such a system is then capable of interacting with both products, machine to machine interactions, and humans, machine to operator and management interactions.
A product can be chosen and purchased from a catalogue, whereas a business objective creates a conversation and results in a partnership. A common phrase within the systems division is: “products talk to products, systems talk to people”.
The following case study illustrates how Turck Banner’s systems division operates. A large, prestigious British car manufacturer had the idea to purchase a switch and a light. When the initial enquiry arrived, they were fortunate enough to be put through to one of the team in the systems division, who instead of asking what specifications were needed for the switch and light, enquired about the objective. The car plant has a “U” shaped assembly line. The line begins with an empty shell and finishes with a full interior. Between the two ends are perhaps 50 stations, each fitting parts of the interior, with the car remaining at each station for a set time (the Takt time). When the Takt time expires the car should move to the next station. If any station has not completed their task, the whole line stops until that task is completed. Although there may be many acceptable reasons why a task hasn’t been completed, not having the required part to fit to the car at the beginning of the Takt time is not one of them. In order to maintain a constant supply of parts to each station a team of people with tow motors constantly move around the path inside the U.
There were many benefits to the new system:
Production delays were eliminated, fewer drivers were required for the deliveries, and the floor space was saved and re-used. Also, quantifiable data is generated for analysis and future comparisons
When an operator requires more parts they step away from their station to flag down one of these people, who then go to collect more parts and drop them at the station. They call this “the Milk Run”.
Station operators don’t want to run out of parts, and as the time taken to replenish the stock is variable, operators often request parts before they really need them. This leads to crates of parts backing up into the roadway used by the Milk Run creating traffic jams, which in turn increases the time taken to replenish the station. The original enquiry for a switch and a light was to replace the operator having to flag down someone on the Milk Run. Switching on a light above their station would be much quicker and they could continue with their task. While this may sound like a good solution, the systems team had other ideas. The Turck Banner Systems team together with the customer, looked at the whole part replenishment procedure, which consists of three parts. The first part is a huge warehouse, the second is “The Supermarket” which holds the stock required for one day of production and is replenished daily from the warehouse, and the third part is the Milk Run.
The business objective was to maintain the supply of parts to every station in the most efficient way, ensuring that every station would have the parts required at the start of each Takt cycle. The current Milk Run had a very high man count, was inefficient in the use of human resources and tow motors, and there was no empirical data on performance, only anecdotal. The systems team looked at both the whole replenishment procedure and the requirements of each individual station, from which they developed a solution. As some of the parts, like door handles, are quite small, it is quite possible to have the stock required for a whole day’s production held at the station, excluding this part from the Milk Run. This reduced the traffic on the Milk Run by 28% and freed up the resources. The Call For Parts solution. The objectives of the new system were:
1: The line operator should call for parts
without leaving the station and with minimal interruption.
2: Tow motors should only be in the Milk Run when they are delivering parts or returning with empty crates. 3: The floor space around each station should be used efficiently. 4: Data generation and capture. The Call for Parts System:
The operator at a station will call for parts when they have one set of parts left. They press their call button which is connected wirelessly to the Bus stop. The Bus stop is a new area adjacent to the Supermarket where the drivers wait with their tow motors. The order appears on an HMI screen, at the Bus Stop, showing the station and the parts required. The next driver in the queue accepts the order, which also informs the station that parts are being delivered. The driver collects the parts and delivers them to the station. At the station, the driver clears the order by pressing a button and takes the empty crate to be re-stocked. They then return to the end of the driver queue at the Bus stop. The times when the operator calls for parts, when the order is acknowledged and when the order is delivered are all recorded for analysis.
The station delivery works on its own Takt time, which is normally the same as the assembly line but can be shorter. By reducing the delivery Takt time without changing the production Takt time, a stress test can be performed on the delivery system without harming production. The results of the reduction in delivery Takt time identifies those stations that would be vulnerable to delivery failures. Remedial action can then be taken before a reduction in the production Takt time is implemented. Turck Banner’s strength is that once it has established which products and system to deploy, it then works with the customer to deliver a full turn-key solution, including ongoing support and expansion.
Turck Banner
www.turckbanner.com
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