When asked about their number one problem, many pallet companies around the country would quickly say finding good, reliable labor. Everyone knows the labor struggles that the pallet and sawmill industries face. Company leaders and managers want to find a way to automate processes and reduce labor requirements. However, automation done wrong may do little to solve your problems. Instead, this way of thinking may just create new problems.
I remember one key machinery supplier to the forest products industry once told me, “Anything is possible if you are willing to spend enough money to automate and make it happen.” The challenge is the machinery budget and the lumber/pallet core quality and consistency required to make advanced automation practical. This article covers some common pitfalls that automation efforts face. In addition, the sidebar provides an updated list of questions that you should consider when evaluating automation options.
It is an exciting time to be in the industry. And my hats off to those who are pushing for greater automation and improved processes. Only the brave will make the future we desire. You just want to make sure your chutzpah comes with some wisdom too.
Thinking Automation is a Silver Bullet
Very few companies have the luxury of starting over and planning a facility from the ground up. Usually, you are growing and adding machinery along the way. But there may be some areas of your operation that do not lend themselves to automation, especially any form of advanced automation. Efforts to automate can make things unnecessarily complex and eliminate your ability to quickly respond to changing customer needs. Just like software, you want to look for automation areas that are backwards, forwards and sideways compatible. Otherwise, you can waste resources on machinery or equipment that won’t scale and provide platforms for the future. Ask this question: Will automation of this area really solve a critical problem for our operation?
Expecting a Short Payback or Early Success
Any technology revolution will have its serious bumps along the way. If you want the advantages of innovation, you will have to take some risks and know that the payoff may take years to come to fruition. Whatever is your usual ramp up period for a proven piece of equipment, you should double or triple it for newer technologies. You must be patient and willing to dedicate some staff to make it work. Usually, this is best outside of your prime production area. The payback may come in more experience than anyone else on this fledgling technology or maybe even a lower rate moving forward for future purchases.
Production Speed Timing Will Just Work Out in the End
If you are replacing just one part of your system, the new technology will need to integrate into your existing facility. It may be much slower or faster or have different choke points than your previous operation. Evaluate the technology using your typical as well as your worst-case scenario wood or pallet supply. You will also want to evaluate the back end automation needed, such as conveyors, stackers, etc. How can you make all of these work and flow together? Do you need to build some depot points along the production line where one part of the operation can keep running if other areas must stop?
Your Old Operator Will Work Great As a New Operator
When moving from a simpler to a more automated approach, the operator may need to have more technical knowledge about troubleshooting and programming. Maybe you will need to change your compensation formula or this employee will get frustrated when his/her pay drops thanks to the machine. Tie bonuses into making the machine work and learning how to get the most out of the new equipment, not just hitting a production target. You may need to bring in a new operator with experience in advanced automation. All the while, you can leave you superstar producer on the existing technology to maintain production.
I Need a Big Win; A Minor Victory Just Won’t Do Much
Maybe the best automation decision you can make is to improve one small area first, not focus on the largest part of your operation? Don’t get me wrong. A newer, faster core piece of equipment will make a difference. And that may be exactly what you need to do. But if your core bottleneck is in a smaller, less noticeable part of your operation, maybe that area needs some attention first? Consider taking a video of your entire operation across a week (shoot one area at a time over a number of days). What small bottlenecks stand out? What stops just because material is not put in the right place or order information is not relayed in a timely manner? What areas of manual labor struggle to keep up with existing automation? How could better planning earlier in the process lead to less troubles or stress on the total system? If you haven’t taken a good analysis of your production flow, that may be the best place to start. You may realize that what you need the most is more conveyance, sortation, stackers, etc. Little changes can lead to big wins. And they can make the bigger investments even more worthwhile.
Questions to Consider for Advanced Automation in Pallet Operations?
1.) Your Core Challenge: What is your core manufacturing challenge? Why do you want advanced automation?
2.) Fix What Is Broken: Where is your bottleneck? How can merely lean business principles reduce wasted motion? Then look to add automation to push the performance even further.
3.) Production Versatility: What do you hope to produce on the line? Minimize order sizes? How quickly will you need to change the machine from one size to another?
4.) Lumber & Core Quality: What are you really getting now in terms of lumber or cores? What are your tolerances for lumber thickness? What about the shape and diameter of the material?
5.) Maximizing Space: What are your space and layout requirements? You may need to expand a facility or rearrange it to accommodate advanced automation.
6.) Dreaming About the Future: What is the one thing you wish your line could do but you think it is impossible to achieve? Spend some time dreaming about solving that problem.
7.) Lumber Sortation & Inspection: Where do you currently inspect the lumber or incoming cores and sort it? Would automation or scanning/inspection help? Or do you need to just work on purchasing criteria and monitoring of incoming loads first?
8.) Wasted Motion: Is a person adding value each time he/she touches material or finished goods? Look to identify wasted motion and steps and optimize the layout of everything. Move raw materials closer to the operator. Every waste step hurts productivity.
9.) Nimble to Respond to a Growing Business: How adaptable is the machinery line/automation?
10.) Kick the Tires: Can you see this technology run somewhere else? Ship some of your lumber or a core trailer to the site to see how the equipment handles your material.
11.) Simplify: What can you do to enable workers to focus more on one or two key functions versus several actions?
12.) Data Capture Improvement: What data do you need to run a better operation? How can your system be improved to facilitate better data capture?
