18 WESTERN PALLET
with the stringer production line, stacking and forklift requirements are reduced, resulting in labor savings.
Eliminate bottlenecks in your production process
Is there a piece of equipment in your process that is causing you to under-utilize your other machinery? For example, is your splitting capacity a constraint? By adding a high-speed thin kerf unit such as the HY400, companies can enjoy a significant boost to their lumber production operation, thus significantly increasing the number of board feet per employee. Keep in mind, however, that increasing capacity on the front end of the cut-up line means that you may find yourself with a new bottleneck on the back end, such as stacking.
An investment in automated stackers can help fully optimize your line. Or if you have an automated stacker already, you might require a shift to higher capacity stackers, for example from 8 rows per minute to 25 per minute. Keep in mind that wood is half or greater of pallet cost, and your processing efficiency can be a source of competitive advantage.
Is manually banding wood and pallets contributing to your labor shortage?
People tend to accept the manual banding of lumber or finished stacks of pallets as a necessary evil. It is often performed by forklift drivers, but while they are banding, they aren’t driving. That means you are under-utilizing your forklift as well as your driver. By installing an inline automated banding machine that tedious task can be eliminated, allowing your forklift operator to be more productive.
What about other opportunities?
Look around your plant for opportunities to eliminate employee touches, steps, and physical exertion. There are many mature machinery options that have not been fully leveraged by pallet shops such as automated stackers, tippers, flippers, and conveyors. Do you lose production waiting for material to arrive, or for the finished product to be removed? Infeed and outfeed conveyors can ensure that production is maintained and that the number of pallets per employee is maximized.
Consider the other employee benefits of machinery investment
Investing in machinery doesn’t just directly boost your production per employee. It can offer other benefits as well. A well-designed plant layout can help improve consistent quality, eliminate defects, rework and waste. It
and rewarding work experience, ultimately helping to improve worker retention.
Automation
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