An inventory control system implemented by Crown Equipment Corporation’s New Bremen, Ohio (USA) manufacturing operations has attracted considerable trade media attention for its ‘cutting edge’ approach. So far, stories on Crown’s innovative use of RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) to manage indirect materials has appeared in Industry Week, RFID Journal, Manufacturing Business Technology, Production Technology News, Production Machining, Reliable Plant and American Machinist.
As one of the largest lift truck manufacturers in the world, Crown needs access to tool crib inventory 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The idea was for Crown employees to simply walk into the tool crib, pick up the needed supplies (like drill bits or carbide inserts) and get back to work without sacrificing inventory management, tracking and proper replenishment.
Crown looked to RFID for a creative and manageable solution to this indirect inventory control challenge.
Through the use of the CribMaster Accu-Port (from WinWare, Inc.), a commercial inventory management system geared specifically for managing indirect materials, Crown accomplished its goals.
The system allows Crown workers to gain access to the secured area by using their RFID employee identification badge. Upon entering the storage area, the worker selects the needed part by selecting a tagged and bagged part from a coordinate system. The bagged parts include the necessary label and RFID tag. Upon exiting, the worker removes the part and places the bag in a ‘mailbox’ for restocking. This step minimizes tag costs and limits the time associated for restocking efforts.
This innovative RFID application resulted in labor savings, improved productivity and less downtime. It also reduced daily inventory usage significantly and showed a return on investment in less than four months.
WinWare, Inc.’s case study (in PDF format below) describes in more detail the Crown success story.
An inventory control system implemented by Crown Equipment Corporation’s New Bremen, Ohio (USA) manufacturing operations has attracted considerable trade media attention for its ‘cutting edge’ approach. So far, stories on Crown’s innovative use of RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) to manage indirect materials has appeared in Industry Week, RFID Journal, Manufacturing Business Technology, Production Technology News, Production Machining, Reliable Plant and American Machinist.
The system allows Crown workers to gain access to the secured area by using their RFID employee identification badge. Upon entering the storage area, the worker selects the needed part by selecting a tagged and bagged part from a coordinate system. The bagged parts include the necessary label and RFID tag. Upon exiting, the worker removes the part and places the bag in a ‘mailbox’ for restocking. This step minimizes tag costs and limits the time associated for restocking efforts.