Faster Material Flow with FlowTube
Reducing wastage is a fundamental part
of a Kaizen approach on the production
floor. Floor space and human movements
are two key area’s that can be optimised
using FlowTube’s tube and joint solution
to reduce waiting time throughout the
production process.
When Kaizen focused businesses embark
on a continuous improvement journey,
one of the most difficult spaces to
optimise is the production floor with its
fixed machinery and furniture restricting
what can be re-organised quickly at a
reasonable cost.
This is where using flexible gravity flow
racking, workstations, workbenches,
trolleys and carts can allow a business to
adapt its furniture to new improvements
in processes. As an example, the ability
to adapt the furniture by adjusting the
angle of the shelves or to make the
shelves deeper can improve flow racks
that implement FIFO systems with
loading and unloading at opposite sides
thus optimising space used on the factory
floor and reducing steps taken during the
order picking process.
Aluminium profile systems such as
FlowTube uses a tube and bracket
solution allowing Kaizen teams and
process engineers to develop the ideal
gravity flow rack, workstation or trolley
34
for their production line and rapidly
deploy for faster results. The additional
benefit of being able to make continuous
improvements by quickly adjusting the
brackets or adding roller tracks allows
the furniture life to be extended but
more importantly allow continuous
improvement to be a regular process
with a lower associated cost.
Trolleys, carts, workstations and
workbenches can also be tailored to meet
individual station requirements that can
have bins and signage added to support
Kanban systems, and continuously
evolve with simple modifications as new
improvement opportunities are identified.
FlowTube’s wide range of aluminium
profiles, joints and accessories allows
Kaizen teams to develop the perfect
solution for their process with no real
limitations to how the solution can be
designed, including innovative gravity
flow racks and Karakuri solutions
that use mechanical solutions rather
than external power, personalised
workstations and workbenches, and
trolleys and carts designed specifically
for its picking task. The ease of building
a system from scratch allows all people
involved in the production line to quickly
trial ideas thus creating a more Kaizen
focused environment. Where heavier
goods are being handled, stainless tubes
variants are available to offer greater
strength and the same flexibility.
ABOUT FLOWSTORE
FlowStore Systems has been the only
dedicated UK manufacturer of carton
flow systems since 1984. In 2005,
FlowStore went into partnership with
leading worldwide manufacturer G.S.
Ace Industry Co. Ltd, and created our
brand FlowTube, which has grown
to be a market leader across many
industries using steel and aluminium
tubes, connecting joints, roller tracks and
accessories to deliver Kaizen and Lean
Manufacturing solutions. These include
automotive, aerospace, automation,
electronics, white goods, engineering and
many others.
ABOUT FLOWTUBE
FlowTube is a simple and reusable
modular system made up of steel
or aluminium tubes, quick assembly
inter-connecting joints, roller tracks
and accessories. FlowTube enables the
design and build of a wide variety of
custom designed structures for many
different materials handling.
www.flowstore.co.uk