News about WERMA
LogiMAT 2018: WERMA will be showcasing StockSAVER and AndonSPEED
The southern Germany based signal device manufacturer WERMA Signaltechnik is showing two clever solutions which can be retrofitted to existing installations and which have already proved themselves in the market place: both SMEs and global operations are switching to StockSAVER, a new generation Kanban optimisation system and AndonSPEED the unique call-for-action andon system for manual workstations and logistics applications.
StockSAVER – third generation Kanban system
StockSAVER can be easily retrofitted to any FIFO flow rack bringing home a new third generation Kanban system for logistics. With StockSAVER many of the traditional problems of Kanban systems are resolved. The first generation Kanban systems suffered from lost or delayed Kanban cards and offered only limited transparency of the operation. Using scanners to make bookings formed part of a second generation system but this did not solve the human issue of, for example, forgetting to scan a new booking leading to racks being filled incorrectly as well as the booking error itself.
WERMA’s third generation Kanban system deploys sensors fitted to the flow racks which detect stock movement and give complete transparency of stock levels and automatically trigger replenishment orders thus preventing stock-outs occurring.
StockSAVER – proven in the field
The global automotive supplier Auto-Kabel uses StockSAVER to prevent stock-outs on the line and machines running idle. Thanks to StockSAVER Auto-Kabel has complete transparency on stock levels in its FIFO flow racks and at the same time has an effective and reliable replenishment system. The clever solution prevents stock-outs in the flow racks and resolves a traditional Kanban issue of having to hold excessive safety stocks in order to prevent machines running idle.
Immediate benefits even after the initial trial
“We were able to immediately reduce machine idle times and reduce safety stocks after setting the system up. In fact the cost of the project was amortised in 6 weeks” says Maik Engelhardt, Trial Project Leader Industrial Engineering at Auto-Kabel. “In addition, operators did not have to leave their stations in order to get new stocks from logistics organised as the StockSAVER software generates replenishment orders automatically and prioritises the actions required for logistics.”
AndonSPEED - call-for-action solution for manual workstations and logistics
AndonSPEED is a unique intelligent and innovative wireless call-for-action system for manual workstations. The system gives an immediate optical warning signal indicating which problem has occurred where. In contrast to traditional simple andon systems AndonSPEED not only shows immediately where a problem has occurred, the data captured can be documented and analysed.
Workstations optimised with AndonSPEED
Many well-known international logistics and manufacturing operations have switched on to the wireless system from WERMA in order to optimise their processes. “The WERMA system was the ideal solution for us” comments the warehouse manager of a leading automotive supplier. “It had always been a thorn in my side to see operators standing idle or having to leave their station in order to get a problem resolved.”
Nowadays the operator simple activates a call for assistance by pressing a button on a switch box located at the work station. This triggers a clearly visible signal tower to illuminate indicating the nature of the problem to be resolved, material required or support needed, for example. At the same time the status change is transmitted wirelessly to the workstation of the person responsible for resolving the problem. The calls-for-action can also be displayed in a control station view on a large screen.
“Thanks to the wireless based system the signal tower alerts are transmitted immediately to the control station where action can be taken immediately. This saves time and money and leads to an optimised and transparent process” comments Manuel Schutzbach from technical sales at WERMA.
