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Rolflor™
Case Histories
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Case
History: The Missing Link
Until
1992 this leading toy manufacturer had been
able to distribute its product from the same
building in which it was manufactured. But
as their market share increased so did their
need for greater production space and it became
apparent that a dedicated distribution facility
was required. This state-of-the-art facility,
to be located 1/2 mile from the manufacturing
facility, would solve many product handling
problems but presented a major logistics question.
Q:
How do we link our production facility with
the high level of automation in a new distribution
center?
A:
The RolflorŠ Cargo Handling System proved
to be the missing link in this material handling
system.
Today
two RolflorŠ equipped trailers are loaded
from accumulator conveyors at the production
facility, transported to the Distribution
Center, and unloaded directly onto a conveyor
system feeding narrow aisle storage racks.
A computer which is electronically linked
to the dock controls the conveyor system throughout
the building and directs the trailer to discharge
its load when required. Design throughput
for the system was 600 pallets per 14 hour
work day or 43 pallets per hour at a maximum
weight of 3,000 pounds per pallet. Actual
usage of the system has yielded an average
daily throughput of 336 pallets. Therefore,
since its date of commission, the two trailers
in this system have transported over 300,000
pallets or 380,000 tons of product without
ever having been entered by a forklift.
The
system, while chosen for its ability handle
loads of any bottom configuration and low
maintenance requirements, has given its users
many benefits.
The
RolflorŠ system in this particular shuttle
operation has generated the following savings:
-
Combined
with the cost of conveyors the user experienced
a payback period of 1.3 years.
-
Reduced
product handling results in virtual elimination
of produce damage from their production
line to their outbound customer orders.
-
The
ability to load or unload at either building
provides the possibility for expanded applications
in the future.
-
The
system is used for other interplant shipments
such as returning pallets or products which
fails to meet specifications to the plant.
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Case
History: Finished Goods Shuttle
The
customer was using 10 leased trailers in a
shuttle operation to transport loads of baked
goods from their production facility to an
offsite distribution center. The forklift
drivers entered the trailer to load it. Once
the trailer was loaded, it was hauled to the
distribution center and parked in the lot.
Eventually the trailer would be spotted at
a dock and a forklift operator would duplicate
the process to unload the trailer, essentially
doubling the man-hours and forklift use.
Two
trailers equipped with the RolflorŠ Cargo
Handling System are now all that is required
to service this 7 mile shuttle. The trailers
are loaded using an indexing system which
makes it unnecessary for the forklift to enter
the trailer. Two pallets, one atop the other,
are placed in the left side of the trailer,
then two are placed in the right side of the
trailer and the forklift operator starts the
load cycle. The load automatically indexes
1 pallet length into the trailer and stops;
ready for the next row of pallets. This is
repeated until the trailer is full at which
time it is taken to the distribution center
to be unloaded. At the distribution center
the trailer is backed to the dock door, plugged
into the dock and unloaded. At the distribution
center the trailer is backed to the dock door,
plugged into the dock and unloaded by the
driver in 3 minutes. The load is pushed out
onto the steel dock plates far enough into
the building to allow the dock door to be
closed behind it.
Due
to increased productivity this two trailer
shuttle opeation will handle more than 100,000
pallets, about $60 million of product per
year.
This
customer has realized many benefits from using
the RolflorŠ Cargo Handling System:
- One
forklift operater per shift was eliminated
at each end of the shuttle (2 shifts x 2
locations = 4 operators) which equates to
approximately $160,000 annual savings in
labor.
- 10
leased trailers were no longer required
resulting in an annual equipment savings
of $30,000.
- Total
annual savings of $190,000 provided a payback
period of less than 1 year. With a life
expentance of better than 7 years the RolflorŠ
system will return at least $1.1 million
to their bottom line.
- The
product is taken directly from the production
line to the trailers eliminating pre-staging
and therefore resulting in greater productivity.
- Less
product handling means reduced product damage.
- Because
the forklift does not enter the trailer
and stays on the dock there is no protential
for trailer damage and less risk to the
operators.
- The
elimination of "floating" inventory by delivering
the product directly to the distribution
center dock eliminates the need for paper
trails and the possibility of damage or
theft incurred while parked in the lot.
Case
History: Just In Time Solutions
With
the increasing adoption of Just in Time (JIT)
inventory strategies, particularly in the automotive
industry, rapid delivery and turnaround is vital.
RolflorŠ combines the flexibility, durability
and versatility to make JIT work.
When
this subassembly supplier in the automotive
industry opened a new facility about 20 miles
from their customer, they knew that standard
tranportation methods would not meet their goals.
After studying several automated trailer systems
they chose the RolflorŠ Cargo Handling System.
The key features of the system which convinced
them were: less system weight, more available
cargo space, and unlimited load footprint due
to the full width belt. These features would
add up to more than 15% greater cargo capacity
and, therefore, 15% greater system throughput
capacity than the competition.
The
three RolflorŠ equipped trailers operate as
the link between conveyors at both the supplier
and the costomer. Subassemblies which are loaded
directly onto the belt, are delivered from the
production line to the actual point of assembly
without the need of forklifts. This system handles
3,600 assemblies per day at an average value
of $500.00 per assembly, $1.8 million of product
per day!
In
the three years this system has operated the
customer has witnessed:
- Better
than 95% uptime from the RolflorŠ systems.
- Elimination
of traditional packaging or load protection
required when using conventional transportation
methods.
- Annual
equipment savings of $50,000.00. Annual maintenance
costs for the RolflorŠ loading systems are
less than $2,000.00 per year or less than
.0013% of the value of the product handled
by these systems. Not one minute of system
shutdown or customer shutdown, punishable
by $300.00 per minute fine.
- Product
damage is virtually eliminated because of
the product is completely supported by the
belt.
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