How Overhead Conveyors Reduce WIP Logistics and Costs

February 26, 2018 Leave your thoughts
Post Categories: NewsTips

The path taken by raw materials, parts and/or components through your facility is crucial to maintaining your profit margins.

Just a small delay or one extra step for your work-in-progress. Can increase costs in a number of ways and many of them in ways that few companies realize.

From efficiently moving products from one step in your manufacturing and/or assembly process to making use of under-utilized space. An overhead conveyor system can streamline your WIP processes and reduce your costs.

1. Parts Storage

If there’s a stage in your process where parts must be stored, either on the shop floor or informal storage. The cost of floor space and the cost of the labour to handle the storage and retrieval of parts plus any mishandling of the parts can all add up.

An overhead conveyor can eliminate the need for storage floorspace by moving storage high above the floor. It can also eliminate the need for labour to store and retrieve parts by delivering them directly to the next process and reduce inventory waste due to mishandling of parts.

2. Production Flow

You’d be pretty lucky to have a production process that lets your WIP move through it all at a nice even pace. Inevitably there is one process that simply can’t be done at the same pace as others or one where there are more delays than others.

Your overhead conveyor configuration can keep products moving at the right pace for every step in your production line.

3. Space

You only have so much floor space to work with. A lack of floor space can add to your costs when you have to store WIP parts away from production lines, when you have to stack storage higher, and when you have to pay the labour costs to do it all.

Not only can an overhead conveyor free up valuable floor space. It can be installed to fit your existing floor plan.

Get in touch with us here at Bridgeveyor, builders of the original C-250tm conveyor, to learn more about how we can help you optimize your WIP throughout your facility.