As parts are needed, a carousel spins to
the first pick location. Indicator lights
attached to the carousels direct the picking, telling the worker the exact locations
of products within the carousel’s bins and
how many to select for each order. Lights
at a put counter also illuminate, showing
which of the selected parts go with each
order. While the picker is busy selecting
parts from the first carousel, other
carousel units spin to locations holding
parts for subsequent picks. Once an order
is completed, the parts are loaded onto a
cart for delivery to a specific assembly
area or to shipping.
Faster, better, cheaper
In the year since the carousels were
installed, Saia-Burgess has seen multiple
benefits. To begin with, both its space and
labor issues have been resolved. The
carousels offer much higher-density storage than the shelves did, with the entire
system occupying only 5,000 square feet.
This has freed up around 2,000 square
feet of warehouse space that the company
has since converted to value-added manufacturing and an expanded shipping
area. The denser storage has also eliminated the need for the offsite warehouse, saving the company $4,000 a month in rent.
In addition, the company has cut its
labor needs by 60 percent with no sacrifice in accuracy. Picking accuracy currently stands at around 99 percent—a huge
improvement over the sub-94 percent
recorded with the manual system. The
automated system also makes it easy for
pickers to pull “hot” orders, like replacement parts that are urgently needed in the
assembly operations. All the carousel
operator has to do is push a button to
interrupt the pick sequence so he or she
can retrieve the needed part.
Safety has also improved because there’s
no longer any need for workers to climb
ladders or lift heavy bins. Instead, work
comes to them. And because fast-moving
SKUs are placed in the carousels at knee-to-shoulder height, the need for bending
is minimized.
Security has been enhanced as well. Since
it began storing items in the carousels and
not on open shelves, Saia-Burgess has seen
a decline in loss and shrinkage.
Taken together, these benefits have
added up quickly. Saia-Burgess
reports that it saw a return on its
investment in carousels in only 18
months.
Looking back at the decision today,
the investment in carousels seems like
a can’t-miss proposition. But O’Brien
reports that senior management initially had its doubts about whether
this was the right solution for Saia-Burgess. That’s all changed, he says.
“We are getting by with fewer people
now, which we could not do without
the carousels. They now know that
this project has been a success.”
