Modern Materials Handling - April 2011

modern system reportAlthough Otis has less than 100 employees in itsmanufacturing operations, the company has adoptedautomation to enable lean manufacturing processes andcontrol its manufacturing costs.Otis Technology is unique inanother respect: While many manufacturersoutsource some or all of theirproduction processes, Otis Technologyremains a vertically integrated company,with some 31 work centers on thefloor. “We produce 90% of what we kit,”says York. “As a result, we have multiplework centers going into work-in-process,followed by work-in-process goingto other work centers.”Getting leanThe seeds leading to lean manufacturingwere planted in 2008, when thecompany added 22,000 square feet forthe unit and mini-load AS/RS. Prior tothat, raw materials, work-in-process andfinished goods were stored on the floorin the manufacturing area, in traditionalwarehouse racking or in an off-site warehouse.It was notonly inefficient,it was costly. “Wehad no room toexpand,” says York. “And every time wemoved materials, we were paying a feeto a 3PL.”Conveyor was in place to transportproduct throughout the facility. That,however, created challenges when itcame to changing processes. “If wewanted to change something, you hadto go around a conveyor because youcouldn’t go through it,” says York. “Westarted asking if there wasn’t a way tomove material more efficiently.”In 2009, a group of Otis Technology’smanufacturing operations employeesattended a White Belt class in leanmanufacturing. During those sessions,the team examined the non-valueaddedsteps and wastes in their processes,including the amount of timeassociates spent walking to get materials.That led to discussions aboutchanging the layout of the plant to setup processes closer to one another toimprove the flow through the facility.“We realized that wasn’t possible giventhe configuration of our facility,” saysYork. And, adding more conveyor wasn’teconomically feasible.While these discussions were happening,an Otis Technology executivediscovered a system on the Webfor mobile robots that could transporttotes, containers and other items. Whatcaught his attention was the laser-basedguidance system used to direct themobile robots. “Most robotic systems orautomatic guided vehicles run on a railor require you to put something on thefloor,” says York. “We did not want to dothat. With this system, no markers arerequired on the floor. We decided thatwould suit our facility.”The question was whether the systemcould deliver enough return to justify theinvestment. Doing the math, they calculateda savings of more than an hour18 A p r i l 2 0 1 1 / Modern Materials Handling mmh.com