SPRING 2024

108
THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK
ROBERT FOOTLIK TWICE THE OUTPUT FROM HALF THE WORKERS from page 42
A second IOTTMCO problem was that the workstations
were located parallel to and 4’ from the conveyor. This
added miles of walking and hundreds of unnecessary
180 degree turns per day. The benches should be
perpendicular to the take away conveyor and immediately
adjacent to it. Far fewer steps will be required, repetitive
motion reduced and the people can observe what is
going on around them. For this reason, the benches are
frequently oriented so that the workers can see the output
on the conveyor and facilitate the workflow.
Equipment
There are three general types of conveyors used for
moving goods from packing to a shipping area. The most
expensive have powered rollers and provide a dynamic
surface that moves the cartons in a controlled fashion. For
a fixed production line, the expense is easily justified by
reliability and continuous motion. A “pop-up” production
line to serve a time limited need might use full width
non-powered roller conveyors to provide greater support
for heavier cartons. This makes sense for a Fastener
Distributor with cartons weighing over 40 pounds, but
for short orders with carton weights averaging less than
20 pounds roller conveyor is overkill. In this context
skate wheel conveyor is far superior because it is less
expensive, lighter to set up for a temporary operation and
will keep the cartons flowing in a straight line unlike roller
conveyors where cartons slide sideways.
The IOTTMCO here is that the take away conveyor was
set up flat, at the height of the benches. As the finished
cartons accumulate, they must be manually pushed to the
far end. One worker was assigned to doing this part time
and resupplied the packers with cartons for the rest of
the day. Using a skate wheel conveyor set 36” high at the
far end and 24” at the staging area would have provided
enough gravity power to eliminate all the walking and
pushing to move the finished orders to shipping. Along
the way, an automatic carton-taping machine mounted
on wheels as part of the take-away conveyor line would
have saved the packers hours every day. Even a pop-up
production line can be automated with relatively simple
equipment.
Packing Materials
Every packing station was equipped with paper tape
glue machines that had to be constantly refilled with
water (more wasted steps) and the pre-printed, expensive
tape was reinforced for higher strength and security.
Paper tape has been around for years, but plastic high
security, imprinted tapes are far superior when it comes
to strength, durability and with the right adhesive, security.
Even an inexpensive hand dispenser is more reliable and
faster than a hand crank “tape shooter.” IOTTMCO a
review of the carton sealing method is overdue.
In any operation a standard “Regular Slotted Carton”
(RSC) with top and bottom flaps can be used for packing
less than carton orders. This shipping carton required the
packers (or another part-time employee) to set up every
carton, fold the flaps and tape the bottoms before packing
the order. IOTTMCO using a “pop-bottom carton” that
sets up simply by pulling opposite corners is faster, more
secure and a better choice, especially if introduced earlier
in the process. Pickers who pick the orders directly into
these cartons will eliminate much of the order finishing
and packing. In essence, the packers can devote more
time to add promotional literature, insert dunnage for
product protection and process far more orders per hour.
Overstuffing the cartons adds little protection, but
more weight and shipping expense. If the vendor pays for
shipping, any saving accrue directly to them. IOTTMCO,
training the packers to add dunnage in a more efficient
manner is sensible and a high ROI benefit. Continually
reviewing the alternatives for carton filling materials
is especially beneficial to Fastener Distributors where
product weight and sometimes fragility are factors.
Picking Layout
The operation I viewed had three aisles, with the goods
stocked in SKU number sequence regardless of quantity
or product movement (hits). This looked sloppy initially,
was difficult to restock and guaranteed a higher error rate
because of product number misreads. IOTTMCO, the three
aisles also guaranteed an inefficient pick path where the
pickers had to dead head back to their starting position. Up
one aisle, down the next and then a wasted walk.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 148