Is your business looking for ways to:

• Order fewer cartons or sheet stock?
• Free up storage or operational space?
• Improve cash flow?
• Reduce vendors?
• Reduce inventory holding costs?
• Improve efficiency?

Through our “Stock and Ship” program, cam|industrial supply can help address all of these needs.

How does it work?

Through discussions and site visits we review your corrugate consumption patterns and inventory levels to identify opportunities where onsite inventories can be reduced. All costs are considered when determining appropriate inventory levels including; item cost, acquisition cost, holding costs, and any other relevant costs.

We then develop a program specific to your company that includes:

• Inventory Quantities, (our facility and your facility)
  • Minimums
  • Reorder points
  • Reorder quantities
  • Seasonality concerns
• Ordering
  • Frequency
  • Method, (phone, on-line, fax, email)
  • Cross reference numbers (your item numbers)
  • Purchase order requirements
• Delivery
  • Expectations, i.e. same day, next day
  • Locations
  • Contacts
  • Documentation
• Invoicing
  • Frequency
  • Purchase order format
  • Method (electronic, fax, mail)
  • Proof of Delivery requirements
• Reporting
  • Frequency
  • People
  • Types, (usage, inventory, performance, etc)
  • Format, (online, email, printed)
• Pricing
  • Contract
  • Volume discounts

Why does it work?

Our manufacturing partners offer a substantial discount based on our annual volumes from consolidating hundreds of individual corrugate users. Further discounts are provided to compensate for the value added services and financial risks we undertake on their behalf. These discounts allow us to be competitively priced versus purchasing directly from manufactures.

We have strong expertise in designing corrugate containers with a focus on problem solving and adding value. During our analysis, we are often able to identify design changes that reduce costs or solve existing packaging problems.

Customers are able to conserve space, cash flow, time, and energy on corrugate and utilize those resources on better opportunities.

The program is designed to be simple, easy to use, and to eliminate errors, allowing new people or occasional users to take over when need be.

Inventories are closely managed and always available from inventory when needed, eliminating costly stock out situations.

Benefits

• You only pay for what stock you receive
  • This is very beneficial for your businesses cash flow
• Space saving
  • Saving money for pallet positions and floor space
• Space can be used for other company needs
  • That space can be transformed from costing money to creating money
  • New product lines, increase their inventories, item control
• Cost of down time
  • We never run out of your boxes so you virtually will never have down time because of insufficient box stock

A toothpaste factory had a problem: they sometimes shipped empty boxes, without the tubes inside. This was due to the way the production line was set up, and people with experience in designing production lines will tell you how difficult it is to have everything happen with timing so precise that every single unit coming out of it is perfect 100% of the time. Small variations in the environment (which can’t be controlled in a cost-effective fashion) mean you must have quality assurance checks smartly distributed across the line so that customers all the way down to the supermarket don’t get ticked-off and buy another product instead.

Understanding how important that was, the CEO of the toothpaste factory got the top people in the company together and they decided to start a new project, in which they would hire an external engineering company to solve their empty boxes problem, as their engineering department was already too stretched to take on any extra effort.

The project followed the usual process: budget and project sponsor allocated, RFP (Request for Proposal), third-parties selected, and six months and $8 million later they had a fantastic solution — on time, on budget, high quality and everyone in the project had a great time. They solved the problem by using high-tech precision scales that would sound a bell and flash lights whenever a toothpaste box would weigh less than it should. The line would stop, and someone had to walk over and yank the defective box out of it, pressing another button when done to re-start the line.

A while later, the CEO decides to have a look at the ROI (Return on Investment) of the project: amazing results! No empty boxes ever shipped out of the factory after the scales were put in place. There were very few customer complaints, and they were gaining market share. “That’s some money well spent!”, he says, before looking closely at the other statistics in the report.

It turns out, the number of defects picked up by the scales was 0, after three weeks of production use. It should’ve been picking up at least a dozen a day, so maybe there was something wrong with the report. He launched an investigation, and after some work, the engineers come back saying the report was actually correct. The scales really weren’t picking up any defects, because all boxes that got to that point in the conveyor belt were good.

Puzzled, the CEO traveled down to the factory, and walked up to the line where the precision scales were installed. A few feet before the scale, there was a $20 desk fan, blowing any empty boxes off the belt and into a bin.

“Oh, that,” says one of the workers … “one of the guys put it there ’cause he was tired of walking over every time the bell rang.”

Are you looking for a better way to handle your high throughput SKU’s?

• Do you need better storage density to maximize your existing space?
• Would you like to increase the throughput of high volume SKU’s with fewer employees?
• Would you like to reduce forklift traffic?
• Is your drive-in racking, push back, pallet flow, or bulk stacking system not meeting your needs?

cam|industrial introduces an advanced high density pallet storage system, The Pallet Mole by Frazier.

How Does it Work?

The Pallet Mole incorporates a racking structure very similar to a Drive-In system, however it incorporates specialized rails. The specialized rails support the pallet and provide clearance for the “Mole” to travel underneath. The Mole delivers and extracts loads within a deep lane pallet system, essentially replacing the forklift in a traditional drive-in system. It does this in a very fast and efficient manner, never damaging product or the racking system. Since forklift operators never enter the aisles, they have more time for other functions.

Using an electromechanical platform, the Pallet Mole lifts and lowers pallets into position with extreme precision.  To ensure proper pallet spacing both photo optic and pressure sensors are used.  The Mole uses internal “Stock control” that automatically indexing the first pallet to the first pallet position.  This is a great benefit for storage, inventory control and shipping.

Another great feature the Pallet Mole offers are built in mechanical controls. These controls don’t need any sensors on the rack itself to operate. This makes the Pallet Mole the only electronic piece of machinery that needs to maintained and installed.  It does not use hydraulics in its unique mechanical lifting system which means less overall maintenance.  With AC driven technology there is a reduction in overall down time for your operations.

Current Usage

Since its 2011 launch in the USA, the Pallet Mole has been continuously gaining support.  Shuttle systems have been very successful all over the world including Europe, China and Asia. In Europe alone the Pallet Mole is currently being used in more than 40 large companies and 14 countries worldwide.  In fact, ACME, one of the largest food producers in East Asia, opened a facility with over 2000 pallet positions dedicated to the use of the Pallet Mole.

Advantages over Other Storage types

Extra Benefits & Capabilities

• High Speed - Operates at highest industry speed for peak performance
• Max density – Up to 6 high and 50 pallet positions deep
• Full two way communication – Provides constant feedback to the operator
• 2 & 4 wheel drive options – Available on all models
• U.L. Certified – Only manufactured semi-automated vehicle to be U.L. certified
• Pallet Shuffle - Can be programmed to automatically move pallet loads forward in the aisle pick location
• FIFO/LIFO – Able to be used with both inventory control systems

Kal Tire is an environmentally conscious company that is continually looking for ways to reduce their environmental impact. Kal Tire’s 7^th Aim, which represent their core values, specifically identifies the need to respect the environment.

As part of their environmental assessment, Kal Tire identified that there was substantial corrugate and plastic waste material being generated in their warehouse and disposed to the landfill. Looking for a way to reduce their environmental impact in this area, Kal Tire came to cam|industrial looking for a solution.

Every month large quantities of cardboard and plastic are used in their warehouse operations.  A few noticeable issues began to arise from the build-up of these materials.  The first issue was the cost of bi-weekly disposal.  Secondly, storing it for 2 weeks at a time was beginning to create a space issue.  And worst of all, their recycle bins could not hold much material and a great deal was being thrown away.  Something had to be done not only to bring down this cost but to reduce waste.

Working with Kal Tire, cam|industrial identified three major issues:

• Environmental Impact – It was estimated that 100,000 – 150,000 lbs. of recyclable material was going to landfill annually

• Disposal Costs –Waste bins were being picked up every two weeks costing $700 / month or $8,500 annually

• Space Considerations – Often more material was being generated than could be held in the bins and as such waste materials were accumulating inside the warehouse between bin pick-ups.

The solution was the Marathon V6030-HD Baler combined with a recycling program.  The baler is able to compact large quantities of material, save space and virtually eliminates the bin removal cost.

To date, the baler has compacted 66,000 lbs. of plastic and 69,000 lbs. of cardboard.  Bales weighing anywhere from 800-1200 lbs. are stored until their monthly disposal.  The bin no longer has any use and the recycling situation only needs to be monitored once a month.

Space was the second issue.  Bales can be stored and left for a short period of time until they are able to be recycled.  With their compact size, these bales can be easily set aside and wait to be taken each month.

The bales of recycled cardboard are sold to a local recycler who takes it and uses it in paper production.  Through the recycling program Kal Tire has effectively removed all of the cardboard that previously went to a landfill.

Kris Jacobsen at Kal Tire said himself “We are helping the environment and it is not costing us nearly as much as if we threw the materials away. The baler has been paid for from cost savings and the rest of the costs are being paid by dumping the bin less and by receiving small amounts of money for our cardboard. With a little more effort, and with the smaller cost to Kal Tire, we are protecting the environment and efficiently storing and removing our waste materials. The baler is working great”

cam|industrial is pleased to have implemented a solution that not only decreased cost, created value and saved space but did it all while keeping the planet in mind.  We are happy to have worked with Kal Tire on this project and look forward to working with them in the future.

When Best Environmental Technologies approached Cam Industrial to provide a box that would hold up during packaging and transportation.   Their main goal was to create a box that once in the hands of their end users, would be in good condition and identifiable.  Seemed like a slam dunk… just build a stronger box!  Not so fast.

Background

Best Environmental Technologies is a leader in the agricultural market place.  They are committed to working with nature to restore natural ecosystems.  Their purpose is to create solutions, technologies, and products that are environmentally friendly and acceptable to global communities.  Operating in 9 countries around the world, Best Environmental was founded in 1999 and has grown to a global company in just over a decade.

The Issue

Two of Best Environmental’s most popular products are a Seed Germination Fertilizer and a Soil Rejuvenation product.  Both products are packaged in a 10 litre plastic container.  Best Environmental packages two 10 litre containers per box and uses the same size box for both seed and soil products.

The products are heavy and employees were continuously ripping the handle from the force of moving the box from place to place.  To control the problem, employees were taping the handles in the area where it was tearing for a short term solution, or replacing the box outright.  This highlighted obvious issues:

1. Lost productivity for time used to repair or replace the damaged box.
2. Increased material costs (tape and/or additional boxes).
3. The overall aesthetics of a torn box when it reached the consumer does not represent the quality of the product contained therein.

Overall, time and money was being lost, and at times the product arrived in an unattractive state.  The product was not consistently being represented in a fashion that reflected the values of the company.

Our Solution

The first thing that needed to be corrected was the recurring tearing of the box handle.  By implementing a reinforced synthetic strip just above the box handle, strength and durability were added.  This strip circles the entire box and is applied at the corrugator between the box liners, making it invisible to the naked eye.

The box was also sized down to a single wall rather than a double wall.  There was no need to provide a thicker wall as the threat of puncture was not an issue.  By downsizing the box wall thickness and putting the saved cost towards a durable handle, the box could now perform as intended, while keeping the cost down.

Teaming Up

While Cam Industrial was improving the construction of the box, Best Environmental and Odvod Media were undertaking a project of their own.  They were in the process of designing and implementing a new logo which would better represent their brand.  The program extended to the development of new labels for their product containers with the hopes of developing new labels for their boxes as well.  It was soon after that Best Environmental, Odvod Media, and Cam Industrial met to discuss how the new and improved image could be transferred to the box.

Solution #2

With Odvod Media handling the design and layout for new box labels, it was Cam Industrial’s part to determine what kind of label, and how it would be attached, that would be best suited for the application. Cam provided Odvod a CAD drawing for the art layout and were instructed to 522mm x 1182mm, printed on 80lb coated gloss text, process colour (CMYK) they added the overall gloss UV. That upgraded it that much more.

This label gets applied onto the 522mm x 1182mm corrugated sheet containing the reinforced strip and then a box is completed.

The Result

By listening to the issues Best Environmental Technologies were experiencing, and partnering up with another vendor in Odvod Media, Cam Industrial was able to provide a  box which decreased cost, increased usability, and properly represented the high quality products from Best Environmental Technologies.

(Old Box Design)                               (New Box Design)

]]> http://blog.camindustrial.net/teaming-up-to-bring-solutions-to-best-environmental/feed/ 0 http://blog.camindustrial.net/frazier-structural-steel-racking-now-available-at-cam-industrial-supply/ http://blog.camindustrial.net/frazier-structural-steel-racking-now-available-at-cam-industrial-supply/#comments Mon, 19 Mar 2012 17:28:01 +0000 camblog http://blog.camindustrial.net/?p=336

Heavy Duty Racking Choice

cam|industrial supply is excited to announce that we now are an official distributor for Frazier Structural Steel Storage Systems. Frazier has been designing and manufacturing Structural Steel (SS) racking since 1949, and is recognized as North America’s leading manufacturer of structural steel storage systems.

The addition of the structural racking to our product mix allows us to provide viable solutions to some of the more challenging storage needs.

Structural steel racking is typically more expensive initially, but is more suitable and provides the best value in many applications. Its inherent design makes it far more resistant to damage than standard roll formed racking while also providing higher capacities. SS racking retains its capacity far better when damaged and is usually repairable without needing to be removed or replaced, yielding an overall lower total cost of ownership in the longer run.

If your business operates with some of the following circumstances then structural racking may be a good fit.

1. High Volume Operations – Increased forklift traffic increases the likelihood of damage to the system. High volume operations often also have an increased need for flexibility in design, which also suits SS racking.
2. Heavy Loads – Standard SS racking offers significantly higher load capacities than roll formed racking. To match the capacities of SS racking, rolled formed racks require a combination of heavier gauge steel, additional strutting, or even often double posting, eliminating the cost advantage of the roll formed design. Even with matched capacities, roll formed racking will not resist damage as effectively as SS racking.
3. Tight Working Areas – Congested warehouses and tight aisles often lead to damaged racking as forklift operators try to navigate the storage system and meet productivity objectives. Slant-back frames offered by Frazier can dramatically prevent / reduce damages in these situations as they give the forklift operator more working room at the floor level.
4. High Ceilings – High warehouse ceilings provide the opportunity to incorporate more storage levels per bay of racking, which results in higher load capacity requirements for the end frames. Again, SS racking is often the most economical way of achieving these required capacities vs. heavily modified roll formed racking, while also providing superior impact resistance and ease of repair.
5. History of Damage – Warehouses that have a history of damages to their racking systems should consider SS racking. It should be every company’s policy to record and investigate all damages to their system and implement processes, procedures, and protection to prevent them from happening again, however even well designed and protected systems can be vulnerable, particularly with employee turnover and inexperience operators.
6. Safety is a Priority – When safety is your number one priority, Structural racking is your best option for ultimate reliability and peace of mind.

Why is Structural Racking Stronger?

Structural Steel rack is fabricated from hot steel which is rolled to make I beams and C channels.  SS rack connects the I beams and C channels by either bolts or welds and sometimes both.  Heavy duty horizontal braces and foot plates come standard on all structural steel pallet rack.  Having a horizontal brace lower down on the rack increases strength and capacity of the rack structure.  This creates a very structurally secure body that can handle more abuse than normal forms of racking.

In comparison, roll formed racking uses lighter gauge / thinner coils of cold steel to substantially reduce costs.  The steel is unwound then rolled and bent into various shapes which give the thin wall steel additional strength. It is the multiple bends and turns in the steel that give it the capacity to withstand loading. The thin steel can be compared to a piece of paper. Without folding a piece of paper, it is impossible to stand a piece on its own, (try it), but with folds and bends the paper can stand upright on its own. Depending on how well it is folded it may even be able to support some weight.

As previously stated, Structural steel rack can hold up to 90% of its weight capacity when damaged.  In most cases, it can also be repaired back to 100% capacity, with minimal effort.  

Frazier Accessories and Options

To further enhance the safety and protection of the racking system several options are available from Frazier such as rub rails, row end protectors, post protectors, and slant-back frames.

If any of the above information applies to a current or future project at your facility, take structural steel racking into consideration.  With higher durability, strength and stability, structural steel rack may be a better fit for your situation than other racking solutions.  We can work with you to assess your needs and help determine if Structural Steel Racking is a good fit for your facility and operating conditions.

Frazier Structural Steel Rack is now available from cam|industrial supply.

Case Study – Increasing Martin Brower’s Packaging Productivity

Martin Brower is the world’s largest distributor of products to the world’s largest restaurant company – McDonalds. Martin Brower employs over 3,900 people in 30 distribution centers in 6 countries. There are 7 DC’s in Canada and this case study reviews the challenges and solution brought to the Calgary facility, through cam| industrial supply.

The Calgary DC services 211 stores across Alberta and in parts of Saskatchewan and British Columbia, wrapping 325 skids on average each day. McDonalds is continually adding new store locations, resulting in a growing demand for Martin Brower’s services. The primary challenge is to maintain the high level of service, reliability, and cost control expected from McDonalds while accommodating the ongoing growth.

Through meetings with Martin Brower, three objectives were identified for their Calgary facility. They were:

1.  Increase plant productivity
2.  Increase plant output
3.  Decrease operating costs

Additionally, any capital investments proposed to address these objectives required a reasonable payback of less than two years.  From a productivity and throughput perspective, a bottleneck in the system was identified at the shipping area where pallets of picked product where accumulating prior to final packaging / stretch wrapping.

The existing process of wrapping pallets was creating several issues.

• Order Pickers and their equipment were being tied up during the wrapping process to monitor and assist the wrapping equipment. There are a limited number of pickers and equipment available to pick orders and throughput was being directly limited by this laborious process.
• The accumulated pallets in the wrapping area were creating clutter and inefficiencies.
• Customer service metrics were in jeopardy at times and overtime was sometimes required to meet customer needs.
• Outgoing trucks were not being loaded as quickly as possible and at times trucks were waiting for access to docks.

The main causes for this bottleneck were:

• Unstable pallet loads that could be toppled if not physically monitored and assisted during the wrapping process
• The existing wrapping equipment did not allow for automatic film start and cut off and therefore required order pickers to leave their equipment to manually perform these tasks.
• The existing machinery was not properly sized to accommodate the loads, further exacerbating the unstable nature of some of the loads.

It was also noted that the existing wrappers were not equipped with modern gear ratios for pre-stretch. Today’s high performance stretch film allows for much higher gear ratios and therefore far more yield in terms of pallets wrapped per roll. A significant opportunity existed to reduce the annual stretch film consumption, reducing costs and benefiting the environment.

The S-300XT pallet wrap machine by Lantech was selected for wrapping the pallets.  It is specifically designed for heavy and unstable loads and is ideal for order pick load environments.  The recommended system incorporates an Automatic cut and clamp system that allows operators to stay on their equipment and resume order picking sooner.  As well, the new machines incorporate a 110” wrap height arm to accommodate the tall loads on the Martin Brower skids.  The solution will reduce labor hours associated with wrapping pallets by 50 percent and therefore offered an appealing payback at just over 1 year.

 Quicker, easier and more convenient online ordering

The latest version of the Cam customer portal has a much faster order form making it even more efficient for our customers to order their packaging, safety and maintenance supplies.

The performance improvements were necessary due to limitations with Internet Explorer’s ability to handle large script files. For customers with large order forms, the load times could be excessive. So we went back to the drawing board and asked our software development team to find a way to improve the performance without having to remove any useful features such as real time pricing, product images, and open order reminders. Given the popularity of Internet Explorer we also didn’t want to ask our customers to switch to a different browser. What was needed was a light weight grid that worked well with Internet Explorer and offered a reasonable balance between functionality and speed, even for the largest forms.

Most order forms, including ours, are built with third party grid software, so the first step was to research alternative grids. After piloting another commercial grid component and consulting with industry experts it became clear that the only way to get to a streamlined solution compatible with Internet Explorer was to go in another direction. It would require building the grid with native .Net components, meaning fewer bells and whistles but with the advantage of a much smaller code footprint. The end result is that all visitors using the order form will experience better performance without any loss of prior functionality. The speed boost is most significant for customers that use Internet Explorer version 8 or lower and have over 100 items on their custom order form. The load time improvement is as much as 60% over the previous version. For customers with smaller forms or those using a different browser, the speed improvements will be more in the range of 30 to 40%.

Feedback on the performance improvements and suggestions for other enhancements are most welcome and can be entered via our portal home page. To get setup with an ID for online ordering please call the Cam customer care team at 1.800.772.3213.

Cracking Down on Safety

Alberta’s Occupational Health and Safety Department has expressed disappointment with the results of their latest workplace inspections across the province. Close to 600 inspections over a month period were conducted on 400 companies. The inspection brought back 394 orders that included 83 stop work orders. Of these incidents, close to 140 were issued due to improper fall restraint. Other infractions Included eye protection, machine safety and lack of supervision.

Over the last few months the OHS has conducted evening and weekend inspections to assess the impact of new fines and regulations. Numerous companies have been fined or even given stop work orders due to work conditions.  The OHS wants workers to know they can refuse unsafe work and are putting more pressure on companies to have safe practices.

In one case two companies had to pay over $10,000 in combined fines due to no fall restraints, insufficient head wear and no active supervision.  In Saskatchewan a contractor was fined $2,000 for unsafe working conditions.  In many cases you don’t have to be a contractor to be fined either.  Seven workers were fined $580 each for not wearing proper falling restraints in a working area.

In another case a father had talked to his son about unsafe working conditions at his son’s new job.  The 18 year old boy voiced concerns about job training to his father a few weeks before he was crushed and killed by a tractor trailer.  The rail yard is currently closed for investigation.

Make sure that you have proper safety rules implemented in your work space to avoid fines, injuries and to comply with current regulations.  If you’re an employee be safe and know your rights.  It is not worth it to lose money, a limb or even your life.  Below, the three articles from OHS are listed.

http://www.cos-mag.com/Legal/Legal-Stories/saskatchewan-orders-two-companies-to-pay-over-$10k-in-ohs-fines.html

http://www.cos-mag.com/Legal/Legal-Stories/alberta-workplace-safety-inspection-results-disappointing-says-human-services-minister.html

http://www.cos-mag.com/Legal/Legal-Stories/father-says-young-man-killed-at-alberta-jobsite-had-concerns-about-training.html

AS/RS – Horizontal Carousel Implementation

Over the last few months Cam Industrial Supply has begun to work with Federated Co-op to create a complete warehouse system. The system is a new type of installation for us because it is a complete horizontal carousel that will be integrated through software to Co-op’s ERP. We are very excited to be working with another company to grow our company abilities. This specific job is like no other for us and will give us the ability and experience to take on similar scenarios in the future.

Before we started working on the Federated Co-op job, a plan had to be laid out. We came up with 4 basic design conclusions that the system would have to integrate to be a success. The first was for the system to hold four separate pods to pick an average of 7,745 lines a day (35% growth). The planning rate was to have 275 lines picked per hour per pod. One pod can pick 2,200 in an eight hour day, so all four can pick 8,800 all together. This was easily within the targets given by Federated Co-op.

The second is order consolidation. Orders larger than 100 lines account for over 50% of lines picked and over 50% of cubic volume picked. Since the majority of material comes from multiple pods then orders will have to be consolidated from totes to shipping totes for packing. This design is efficient, simple to manage and allows workers to work on multiple orders at once.

Thirdly, tall bin carousels / lift tables will be implemented. The top 50% of SKU’s account for over 90% of lines picked. This large split of SKU activity means the other half of the locations in the system are only hit 10% of the time. Cube data shows that they do not add that much storage space to the system. This creates a good application for tall bin carousels with lift tables.

Lastly conveyor delivery makes the system more efficient by keeping the picker on the pod. By delivering and receiving all material from the pod, the picker can stay stationary and gather lines from the carousel, then send items to outgoing totes effectively. All together the system can efficiently move more products quicker while keeping it organized.

All together the system footprint is about 9,600 square feet. There are four pods picking from twelve carousels, delivering to fifty six total tote batches which are organized into two VLS units. These units can collect 460 totes which are then packaged at eight separate stations and shipped to Co-op locations.

System Highlights

• Each Pod consists of 3 Carousels and is managed by a single operator
• Each Pod can pick 275 lines per hour, or 1,100 lines per 8 hour day
• The system includes 4 Pods, providing the ability to pick up to 8,800 lines per day
• This is achieved in a footprint of only 9,600 square feet
• The VLS systems are the first to be installed in Canada

System Overview

• Incoming orders are sent to the integration software where they are sorted and qued for picking
• Carousels deliver the sku’s to the picker
• Light trees inform picker of pick location and quantity
• Picker removes product from the bin
• Picker places product in totes designated for stores
• Totes are conveyed to VLS where they are accumulated, up to 460 totes
• VLS delivers totes to packaging area for shipping
• Packages goods are sent to the store locations