Business Excellence

Supply chain
Supply chain
Y
GP8 with worker
USA Corporation is based in Washington Court
House, Ohio, and is determined to grow and
satisfy its customer base. The executives at
YUSA were looking for ways to gain efficiencies
when moving raw materials to production and
finished goods to the warehouse.
Following in the footsteps of the Yamashita
Rubber Company, YUSA Corporation has
become an industry leader in the manufacture
of automotive rubber components, specializing
in engine mountings (conventional and hydro),
bushings, tubes and hoses. Its customer base
includes Honda of America Mfg., Honda of Canada
Mfg., Mitsubishi Motors North America, General
Motors Corporation, Ford Motor Company and
numerous others in the North American market.
A clear lean objective of the company was to
improve service levels for customer shipments
and increase customer satisfaction. The company
deployed Seegrid Robotic Industrial Trucks
and developed specific measurable impacts,
including ease-of-use, avoidance of training and
costly maintenance practices, flexibility of route
selection, familiarity with existing equipment
types (forklifts and pallet jacks), along with
workforce acceptance, labor savings and general
comfort working alongside manned equipment.
“The warehouse group took to the robotic
industrial truck right away when they saw how it
helped with their workload,” said John Welling,
plant manager for YUSA Corporation. “On the
manufacturing side, an unexpected secondary
benefit is that we removed clutter and unsightly
pallets from the work areas so the trucks can
maneuver, providing a cleaner, safer work
Supply chain
The warehouse group took to the robotic
industrial truck right away when they saw
how it helped with their workload
GP8 warehouse
environment. Additionally, two full-time material
handling associates have been reassigned to
areas where they can provide a greater impact to
our manufacturing efforts.”
Many companies can neither afford nor require
all the bells and whistles of an enterprisewide AGV (automated guided vehicle.) The
robotic forklift solution is far more affordable
and produces a rapid return-on-investment.
The reduced labor costs means that full-time
employees are reassigned to value-added work
activities and reduced maintenance costs allow
employees to perform routine maintenance and
trouble shooting.
Unlike the costly AGV solutions, the robotic
industrial trucks require no facility change; they
were set up in less than one hour at YUSA. There
is also less manual labor, controlled travel speeds
and a system driven workflow that promotes
consistent safe behavior.
Pittsburgh-based Seegrid, developer and
manufacturer of robotic forklifts for industry and
warehouse stocking, is expanding for a second
time. Seegrid is renovating another 10,000
square-feet next to its 30,000 square-foot
location in RIDC Park West, adding space for a
fast-growing engineering department and lab.
“Earlier this year, Seegrid formed partnerships
with Raymond Corp (a division of Toyota) and
Linde Material Handling (a subsidiary of the KION
Group), two of the largest forklift manufacturers
in the world,” said Scott Friedman, founder and
CEO. “The deal is rapidly moving Seegrid’s visionguided robotic technology into an expanded
world market.”
Saving time and money, and improving efficiency,
these robotic industrial trucks are combined
with distribution center, warehouse, and plant
order selection devices and a WMS (warehouse
management system). This integrated solution
improves the efficiency of workflow processes
and increases accuracy of pick and productivity.
The impact of optimizing supply chain
management business processes includes
reduced non-value-added manned travel,
continuous worker motion, improved order
focus, seamless WMS integration, consistent
safe practices, less idle time and optimized shift
productivity. Adoption of robotic industrial trucks
happens quickly because everyone on the plant
floor is familiar with the truck platform.
The putaway solution is an important element
in vision-guided robotic industrial trucks because
it improves operational efficiencies by reducing
manned travel time and enables companies
to increase customer service levels. This is
Supply chain
accomplished by effectively
managing inbound activities
and maintaining the velocity for
downstream activities.
The ability to minimize dockto-stock cycle time reduces per
shift labor costs, optimizes shift
productivity, and decreases
seasonal
staffing,
making
putaway practices much easier
to achieve. The familiar truck
platform eliminates fear and
resistance from employees.
End-of-line
solutions
from
vision-guided
robotic
a
warehouse,
distribution
center or manufacturing facility
and a towing attachment is
best for moving carts, pallets
and supplies to and from a
desired location at the touch
of a button. A tow tractor
is often used for tugging or
towing flatbed cars, trains or
carts continuously and reliably
throughout an operation.
From
these
equipment
platforms
come
savings,
productivity, safe operating
practices,
and
overall
An unexpected secondary benefit is
that we removed clutter and unsightly
pallets from the work areas so the trucks
can maneuver, providing a cleaner,
safer work environment
industrial trucks supply a consistent transport
of finished goods from production to shipping,
which optimizes delivery schedules, maintains
order velocity and ensures that orders ship on
time. “Decreasing the cost of moving product
throughout the facility increases labor efficiency
and enhances lean flow as our clients continuously
improve operations,” said Friedman.
The human body was never designed to move
pallets. The next best thing was a pallet jack
and then a forklift. Today, the material handling
industry knows unmanned horizontal moves
are the most effective way to save money and
increase productivity: The material handling
industry is adopting the newest and affordable
way to handle horizontal moves.
Pallet Jack makes sense for pallet moves within
improvements to the bottom line. The robotic
industrial trucks will continue to capture
most of the market share (versus high-end
AGVs) because they deliver the benefits, labor
strategies, worker improvement techniques, and
productivity improvements required at a much
lower price point. BE
Thomas R. Cutler is the President & CEO of
Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based, TR Cutler, Inc,
(www.trcutlerinc.com). Cutler is a member of
the Society of Professional Journalists, Online
News Association, American Society of Business
Publication Editors, Committee of Concerned
Journalists, as well as author of more than 500
feature articles annually. Cutler can be contacted
at [email protected] or 888-902-0300.
GP8 Pallet Truck