If working smarter, not harder is your goal for the New Year, then it might be a good idea to consider material handling & shipping fixtures for your assembly line. Why? Material handling & shipping fixtures offer proven benefits that can help your business accomplish this goal and more. Opting for material handling & shipping fixtures can:
- Optimize your production line
- Increase shop floor space
- Improve handling and staging
- Improve part protection
- Improve inner plant logistics
- Improve department safety
These are just a few benefits that can help improve safety, increase production, and in turn, improve your bottom line! Continuing on Valley Box takes a look at the a couple of effective, dependable, and safe material handling fixtures.
Steel Aircraft Engine Build & Transport Stand
Introduced early in the production line sequence, this custom steel aircraft engine stand serves multiple functions:
- It works as a build stand during assembly
- then it travels through production serving as a material handling fixture
- At final inspection it actually becomes the shipping fixture by attaching a pre-designed wood top box to the base.
- *An added bonus is the vibration dampener housed within the steel frame.
Reusable Material Handling Container
This custom reusable parts container was designed to reduce the amount of man power required for handling. This multi purpose design include benefits such as;
- A split lid which offers safe and easy opening
- A design that makes it easy for one-person loading
- The fixture also offers protection for staged parts
- It's stackable, which greatly reduces floor space demands along the production line.
Material Handing Case Study
At a high end Hydraulic Ram Manufacturing Plant unfinished parts were stored on pallets spread across a large section of the production and warehouse floor. Hand trucks were required to move these pallets when traveling down the line. This method caused a log jam, which bogged down production.
The Manufacturer contacted Valley Box in order to introduce a handling fixture that would streamline the production line.
Valley Box’s solution was to design and construct vertical multi-part fixtures with casters allowing for movement throughout the assembly. This eliminated the need for pallets, improved floor space and productivity, and improved the mobility of the previously palleted parts.
This solution also decreased the amount of space needed for unfinished parts to 47% of what was previously required and it significantly decreased the handling time that was associated with the pallet method. Want to learn more? Download the material handling & fixture case studies now!
