For businesses that provide unique products to multiple industries, a one size fits all approach to material handling may not be an option. In these cases, only a custom option will do. Custom material handling equipment will fit the tasks at hand to perfection, it offers a host of benefits that mass produced material handling solutions cannot. Customized solutions can:
- Augment part protection
- Improve inner plant logistics
- Increase shop floor space
- Optimize your production line
- Refine handling and staging
All of these benefits help enhance worker safety, reduce labor, boost production, and streamline processes. The following is just one of example of how a custom fixture helped an aeronautics company reap these benefits and more.
The aeronautics company needed a custom fixture that would remove a tire from the rim, mount the new tire, and seal the bead. The solution? Valley Box integrated the three steps into just one. Valley Box engineers took into account the overall height of the fixture, so the fixture was built to "waist-level" for safety ergonomics. Easily adjustable plates were added to allow for tire diameter flexibility on the fly. Finally, Valley Box designers suggested adding strong, sturdy safety rails to prevent operators from standing too close to the fixture during operation.
The final custom design underwent intensive testing before being approved by the aeronautics company. Once in service, the custom fixture helped the company streamline its process. This led to:
- A 30 percent reduction in labor—which saved money
- Decreased safety accidents—which increased worker confidence and productivity
- Broadened capabilities, so accepting multiple sized wheels was no longer an issue
Custom Fixtures and Cost Savings
Custom fixtures and other material handling equipment perform with respect to your own individual size, speed, capacity, duty cycle, safety features, and more. This creates a safer and less costly work environment by reducing accidents that could cause damage to products and materials, and by minimizing (or even eliminating) much costlier accidents involving personnel. This means, you save in the short- and long-term by:
- Avoiding the loss of precious capital on replacement and repair costs for damaged products, materials, and more
- Avoiding the loss of man hours due to unnecessary accidents, which slows production
- Avoiding possible workers’ compensation claims
And remember those benefits we mentioned earlier like optimizing your production line, refining handling and staging, and improving inner plant logistics? When operations are working at their peak at all times, production is fast and efficient, and in turn—profitable!
