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Most machine shops end up with a production layout that’s enormously inefficient. That’s because machine tools can be prohibitively difficult to move. As a result, many just end up living wherever they’re initially placed, so the production process works around them. In other words, they become “monuments” in lean manufacturing terms. That means the production …

How to easily move machine tools and ramp up efficiency using air casters Read More »

Protecting factory floors – especially epoxy-coated floors – from damage when moving heavy loads is easy with air casters.  Read the article in Modern Machine Shop here.

Lean manufacturing relies on agility and adaptability.  The ability to re-engineer, re-sequence, and re-position production lines becomes paramount to achieve and maintaining efficiency.  Read more about flexible manufacturing here.

Forklifts aren’t ideal in every manufacturing scenario.  But what’s the alternative?  Air casters are a simple and relatively inexpensive solution that can substitute for forklifts in almost every situation. Air casters yield greater material handling capacity, improved cost-efficiency, and dramatically superior flexibility.  But how do they compare directly? Let’s take a closer look.

Lean manufacturing is about eliminating waste in manufacturing processes. “Lean production is aimed at the elimination of waste in every area of production, including customer relations, product design, supplier networks and factory management,” says Dr. David Cochran, director of the Production System Design Laboratory at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Specifically, lean manufacturing processes aim to …

How Air Casters Can Mitigate Waste in Manufacturing Read More »

How do you choose the right load moving system from all the available options?  Read the article in the summer newsletter: How to Choose the Right Load Moving System.  Also – submit your company for the ‘Innovation Award’ before November 15, 2020.

Material handling systems in industrial manufacturing inherently come with operational costs. But you can optimize these costs, if you know where to look. First, there’s the cost of over-handling materials. Each time you count, sort, stock, move or prepare materials for storage or shipment, you impact your margins. Second, there’s the cost of workflow bottlenecks. …

How to Minimize Operational Costs with Flexible Industrial Material Handling Options Read More »