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To learn more
about the unique
ShaftDrive TM system,
call us at 877-805-4292
or visit us on the Web.
a maintenance audit include downtime, a frequent need for
emergency repairs, possible equipment safety violations,
increasing power consumption, increasing spare parts
usage, and decreasing overall system performance. Maybe
there are issues with accuracy or too much recirculation.”
Klueber warns that problems with the conveyor can lead
to other problems. “Carton handling can be affected as
equipment wears. You can get more and more jams, and
that relates to product damage.”
Operational audits, by contrast, focus more on the overall
performance of a system. Indicators that an operation might
benefit from this type of audit tend to be more subtle than
the problems that typically prompt a maintenance audit.
“The DC or warehouse could be performing without any
problems, but you still may not be getting the performance
you want,” says Ruehrdanz. “The trigger may be that you are just not getting the packages out the door. You
are humming along, but you’re not
meeting the desired rates. Or at the
end of the shift, you still have work
and you have too much overtime. Or
maybe you start seeing some
ergonomic issues or you are not getting the order accuracy you used to. If any of your key metrics are going in the wrong direction, that’s a reason for an
operational audit.
“An operational audit is all about evaluating the effec-
tiveness of the process,” he adds. “Areas of particular focus
include labor utilization, ergonomics, space utilization,
processing time, inventory accuracy, order accuracy, and
performance during peak time periods.”
An operational audit might reveal opportunities for tech-
nology upgrades—even in relatively new systems, says
Klueber. For example, auditors may be able to offer ideas
for enhancing throughput or energy efficiency.
WATCH AND LEARN
The key element of either type of audit is having an engineer observe the system in operation. While an in-house
maintenance staff may be able to get at some underlying
issues, this is a job for an outside specialist, the experts
agree. Ruehrdanz says the explanation lies in the reliability
of today’s systems. Because these units are so trouble-free,
he says, even DC maintenance professionals may find their
knowledge gets rusty because they deal with problems so
infrequently. For that reason, he and other conveyor professionals we spoke with encourage bringing in engineers
who work with automated systems every day.
“It’s like calling in the doctor, if you will,” Ruehrdanz
says, “someone who can walk through and check core indicators. Let’s say you have a sliding shoe sorter. If you bring
in a technology expert who lives and breathes sliding shoe
sorters, who knows the mechanical and electrical controls
and the software, he will be able to make a diagnosis faster
