Improving workplace material handling through consolidation of cribs and a dispatching system

The lost time arising from travelling and waiting of the production operators and manufacturing inspectors at the tool and gauge crib counters can be considerable in a large manufacturing plant. This travelling and waiting time can be eliminated or minimized by consolidating the tool and gauge cribs near the master crib, extending the totebox system and providing a dispatching system. In the proposed system the tools and gauges will be delivered at the workstation by the dispatchers. The new system would improve the utilization of the tool and gauge crib attendant’s time and reduce the tool and gauge inventory. The case problem revealed that a net annual labor cost saving of about $320,600 and a saving of $242,100 from the reduction of tool and gauge inventory could be achieved. The additional floor space requirement would be about 1,700sq. ft and the implementation cost would be about $144,500.