By Lindsey Munson, editor, Plastics Business
Business gurus often talk about the view from 30,000 feet – the big picture that provides a look at overall operations. Perhaps, however, the focus should be on the view from 30 feet – a close-up of specific processes and procedures that make an impact now.
For more than 45 years, Metro Plastics Technologies, LLC has been “molding more than just plastics” while also “molding relationships,” offering its customers value, quality and on-time delivery.
Located in the heart of the Midwest, Metro Plastics operates its injection molding company out of Noblesville, Indiana, where it houses 650 active molds in its newly constructed, custom-built facility. Its website shared this perspective on the number of unique molds available: “You could liken that to having 650 different cookie recipes with 650 different cookie cutters while having 30 different ovens all set at different temperatures… and those ovens may have up to 12 pans baking at the same time!” Metro Plastics’ operation speaks for itself with precise order and direction as a first-class molder, pushing out 35-40 million parts per year.
Metro Plastics’ Engineering Manager Travis Brown oversees the engineering, quality and project management departments where, he said, “… we solve problems. Analyzing and determining how things work and applying these conclusions to molding plastic parts is what these teams do.”
“Custom plastics injection molding means that each and every job is different,” Brown said, “and no two molds are exactly the same. It is amazing to think about all the different considerations in building a mold. Our ‘Tooling Standard’ names over 30 considerations just for how a part will be ejected from the mold – it covers everything from minimum ejector-pin diameter to slide interface surface differentials.”
Brown has been a leader at the forefront of organizing the new facility and development of best practices on the production floor. He shared his insights and perspective on housing the end-of-arm-tooling (EOAT) systems and components but also “why” the company chose to respond to the call to action request.
The Inventory System
For Metro Plastics, Brown said, “We had a difficult time locating and repairing the EOATs and were incurring a lot of downtime. In addition, the number of EOATs was growing due to the further need for automation, thus increasing downtime as a custom molder. A change to the facility operations had to be made, so the departments collaborated to find a solution with the overall goal of minimizing downtime in changeovers – tools like Spaghetti Diagrams and Value Stream Map evaluation highlighted this issue.” The solution was two-fold: EOATs and a component inventory system.
The process of setting up the inventory system included:
- identifying and conducting assessments of EOATS and components,
- figuring out a storage space that is organized and accessible (i.e., designated number, quick change out),
- setting up an inventory management tracking system (i.e., ease of location, reorder points of components),
- developing standard operating procedures and training staff, and
- conducting ongoing evaluations for improvements.
There were three key drivers behind the inventory system, Brown said. “Location, access and inventory. We ‘locate’ the EOATs based on press tonnage, making the EOATs easy to ‘access’ – the 50-300 ton is on one wall and the 400-720 ton is on another wall. For tracking purposes, a spreadsheet is used to identify the movements by having employees sign the EOATs out off the wall, monitoring the ‘inventory’.”
Aside from the EOATs’ inventory setup, he shared that the components inventory, 3D printing and assembly are stored in a dedicated room. The components are placed in trays, and each tray is labeled for ease of identification with an access code on the underside of the tray. This access code allows users to easily order by scanning the QR code for replenishments. Metro Plastics does its own 3D printing, which includes dovetails, clamps and rods – all of which are stored in a cabinet. Lastly, the assembly components are labeled and in trays.
When asked about lessons learned, Brown said, “Location call-out on the work order allows our mold setters and engineers to locate the tools faster, reducing the downtime by 85%. We learned exactly how much ‘waste’ there was being generated in struggling to locate the EOATs.”
Even in Metro Plastics’ success with the EOATs and components inventory system, it knows not to stay complacent, and that ongoing evaluations of the moving parts and overall process must be done by talking with those who are using the system first-hand. Brown said, “We currently are in the process of implementing a ‘checkout card’ that states who and when the tool was taken off the wall, at which point the card is placed in the EOATs location. This is so mold setters and engineers have real-time information vs. wasting time going to a computer, logging in and filtering through the live spreadsheet (which still is a key piece to the system).”
Call to Action
Recently, Metro Plastics answered a call for help sent out by the Manufacturers Association for Plastics Processors for one of its smallest member companies specifically asking for ideas on “how to better inventory EOATs and components.” Metro Plastics shared its expertise in this area, compiling a well-rounded 10-page document that outlines EOAT systems, components and 3D printing and covers set-up and location, organization, processes on change-outs and logging inventory.
In taking action and innovatively creating a space and inventory system for its EOATs and components, Metro Plastics has gained operational efficiencies, minimized its downtime, enhanced inventory costs and, most importantly, was able to answer the call to action by MAPP with a solution for another plastics company.
“We believe in collaboration, best practice sharing, benchmarking, bettering the industry, networking and looking for future opportunities,” said Brown. n
More information: www.metroplastics.com
