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Component Manufacturing dverti$er
Adverti$er
Don’t Forget! You Saw it in the
June 2017 #10215 Page #6
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utomation is advancing around the world, but will it yield the quantum leap promised? And how big a margin will it provide over conventional processes? Let’s first assess how various systems affect non-direct-labor inputs to the production process. Later we’ll balance these against the direct labor savings. Designer time – Robotic processes may be unable to configure certain joints, requiring extra design time to overcome these constraints. While truss software may ultimately automate this reconfiguring, resulting designs will be less efficient and costs will rise. By contrast, the proven puck-and-acme-screw jigging system seems hard to beat, since it is able to accommodate nearly any truss configuration. Lumber use – Processes that source from fewer SKU’s or those that produce more waste may be suspect. For example, a retrieval system that picks from a small number of bunks of lumber may greatly raise material cost if multiple grades and sizes are commonly required. Likewise, cutting truss-by-truss can produce excessive numbers of remainder pieces. Though these pieces may eventually be put to use, additional storage or handling is required, and most often these cutoffs are substituted for lower cost material in floor trusses or wall panels. Lumber quality – Robotic handling or jigging has, in the past, required straighter, nearly wane-free lumber. That this material is in increasingly short supply from either the U.S. or Canada will considerably increase costs. Since lumber constitutes 30–50% of the truss sales price, upgrading may consume much of the labor savings. Material handling – Retrieval systems with only a handful of SKU’s that occupy much valuable floor space may create excessive distance between other needed SKU’s and thereby increase handling cost. Vertically stacked bunks of material enable closer storage and easier retrieval for saws. Carefully conceived layouts will enable lumber to be unloaded directly from truck beds to these stacks without intermediate storage in lumber sheds. Personnel cost – Automation requires both higher level maintenance support staff and better operators. The requisite skill levels for these positions are in increasingly short supply, as all American businesses seek to automate. Capital recovery – Amortizing the cost of equipment requires considerable periods of stable production levels. This has been the tallest barrier to overcome in our cyclical industry. In summary, without considering all of the above indirect costs, the returns on large capital investments cannot be assessed. While these costs are highly dependent on local circumstances, next time we’ll balance their costs against the potential labor savings that automation may deliver.
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Joe Kannapell - Senior VP MiTek Industries, Inc. www.mii.com FAX: 800-524-4982