New WMS Helps AlliedSignal Eliminate All Data Entry And Increase Efficiency In Material Handling Management
"We encountered data integrity issues each new day," says Kovi. Kovi easily justified the need for a WMS showing AlliedSignal the amount of payback involved - an eight-month ROI. To begin its search, AlliedSignal identified the main requirements that a WMS had to satisfy at its facility.
Identifying Requirements
The primary challenge was to relieve critical time slowdowns in the production process. Over time, AlliedSignal's existing Automated Storage/Retrieval System (AS/RS) had begun to take a toll on its productivity levels due to the length of time required to locate materials and subsequently deliver them. Taking an average of 1.9 minutes to deliver a component to one of the five workstations attached to it, AlliedSignal's AS/RS experienced a productivity bottleneck. AlliedSignal's AS/RS monitored the nearly 10,000 locations that were further subdivided into boxes to accommodate storing more than one type of raw material component in a single location. All remaining components were stored in bins located in bulk or shelf storage areas.
To track all of the shelf storage materials, AlliedSignal relied on a card system. Speeding up the time required locating materials so that production continued to run at maximum capacity was the first requirement. AlliedSignal's second requirement was connectivity to the existing AS/RS. Avoiding future work stoppages due to an incompatible system was a priority. Third, AlliedSignal sought the opportunity to put in an execution system that would help them focus on solving root cause issues and provide more accurate and timely feedback for the manufacturing resource planning (MRP) system.
Vendor Selection
AlliedSignal selected the Warehouse Advantage system developed by Minnesota-based Data Collection Systems, Inc. (DCSI). Warehouse Advantage is a comprehensive warehouse system based on Windows NT that empowers warehouse employees with the operating information they need to efficiently perform such duties as receiving, put-away, picking, shipping and cycle counting.
The system provided solutions to the same requirements that AlliedSignal and other companies look for - reduced empty travel time, improved data timeliness, and accurate inventory. These are all prime factors in any company's search for a WMS.
Another reason for AlliedSignal's selection of DCSI as the vendor of choice was DCSI's ability to be a "one-source solution" to their problems. DCSI offered a full system solution including the software, bar code hardware, site study, implementation assistance, and continued support. An integral part of DCSI's vision is to develop a business partnership with its customers. This paralleled AlliedSignal's desire to work with a company that was prepared to develop a system tailored to its individual needs and would take the time to understand its business strategies.
Connectivity & Features
Warehouse Advantage interfaced easily with AlliedSignal's existing MRP software and Warehouse Advantage is now utilized as the inventory control system. With MRP handling all planning aspects, Warehouse Advantage handles material rotation, bin allocation, suggested put-aways, directed picking, efficiency of picking of the shelf area of the warehouse, work queue control, and cycle counts.
Warehouse Advantage has helped successfully streamline many of AlliedSignal's manufacturing processes. Receiving and picking provide excellent examples of improved efficiency. When material is received into the stock room, it arrives with a bar code receiving ticket generated by the MRP system. The transaction is automatically posted to the mainframe through Warehouse Advantage. Information from released job orders is downloaded every 30 minutes into Warehouse Advantage. Unlike before, unwieldy paper pick lists are non-existent.
Next, Warehouse Advantage groups and consolidates all the picks for similar assemblies together and pickers are directed to a specific location to pick a particular part number for a group of job orders. After picking is complete, a label is printed containing detailed information for the manufacturing process. The associated job order is listed, and all units are kitted together to be sent out to the shop floor. As picking proceeds, kits are assembled and all items are delivered to the shop floor. "It's good pick efficiency for us," says Kovi.
AlliedSignal has also implemented parallel pick-zone picking. All picking areas are segregated into zones such as AS/RS, hot picking, and shelving area zones. The handler completes a pick and takes the items to an assigned delivery location. After depositing the forkload, any subsequent picks of that group from a different zone are delivered to the same location. Warehouse Advantage consolidates the picks for common job orders from different pick zones into the same delivery locations explains Kovi. Streamlined picking is the first in a series of more efficient processes at AlliedSignal.
Using Warehouse Advantage allows AlliedSignal to efficiently maintain satellite storerooms. Kovi explains the process this way. "If you kept 50,000 of a particular floor stock hardware item - say a screw - in your store room, and only kept 5,000 pieces out on the shop floor due to space constraints, the floor quantity gets lower and lower as you charge those parts out to jobs. As the location on the shop floor gets to its minimum level, you need to trigger an item move request from the storerooms. Since our MRP system did not support this function, we added it with Warehouse Advantage." Maintaining production floor stock quantities in limited space spurs more rapid production times and ensures that material is available when needed.
An integrated counting scale has dramatically improved measurement accuracy and productivity at the same time. For each component, AlliedSignal establishes an average piece weight (APW). The picking and put-away operations communicate back and forth utilizing the APW's of components to transfer parts throughout the warehouse. Previously, when a scale count was required, employees spent up to one minute sampling and counting parts per pick. Using Warehouse Advantage, the APW is scanned and downloaded to the scale, the required number of parts are added, and the count is performed.
To further ensure accurate measurements, all APW's are in a 128 bar code format, which is different from any other bar code format used at AlliedSignal. "You can't inadvertently scan a non-APW number in the scale," notes Kovi. Looking at AlliedSignal's current manufacturing process, inventory accuracy rates and productivity based on shortened counting periods have increased dramatically.
Looking Ahead
Future plans include integration of AlliedSignal's order administration system into Warehouse Advantage. Inventory is currently co-mingled at the same location. To tell service parts inventory from non-service parts or production inventory, the Warehouse Advantage system would allow the creation of bar code labels for different classes of parts, according to Kovi. Customers are now shipped parts that are labeled to meet their requirements - either customer-defined or to general EIA standards. AlliedSignal also looks to expand Warehouse Advantage into its established business procedures. Warehouse Advantage offered AlliedSignal the flexibility to adapt the system to its needs and company growth.
The Keys To Success
Central to any successful implementation is the project leader. Kovi's understanding of the technology and action-oriented approach were the prime reasons for an unprecedented installation time.
With the additional changes now incorporated, access to information is distributed more broadly. And, with the radio frequency (RF) capabilities, employees accomplish much more due to their new mobility. A more accurate inventory, an absence of data entry errors, and a 24% increase in productivity levels are just a few of AlliedSignal's immediate tangible results. A strong emphasis on user training for the new WMS is key to maintaining worker satisfaction and to growing worker acceptance for the new system once implementation is complete.