Raw materials warehouse improvement in a mechanical component manufacturing plant

Abstract

This study involves the warehouse improvement campaign for a mechanical components manufacturer based in Thailand. The focused company has been long suffering from its poorly-managed raw materials warehouse, which leads to untidy condition of storage area, inefficient space and poor materials utillization, raw materials pilferage and potential safety trouble. Through the research, the root causes are identified as lack of proper material storage equipments, inappropriate warehouse layout setup, unclear responsibility in the warehouse and poor warehouse operation. Based on exploration of root causes, six pertinent solutions (1) appropriate storage equipment design, (2) proper warehouse layout, (3) new operation procedure formulation, (4) material handlings system development, (5) safety and security measures establishment (6) proper inventory records are proposed. With Japanese 5S technique, improving activities are subsequently put into action. After implementation campaign, there have been several improvements. The warehouse physical condition is significantly improved. Space utillization is increased by 45%; Material storage, retrieval, and delivery are easier and faster by 60%, which also helps reduce production lead time. No injury and accident is reported during the period of one month after the implementation and potential safety trouble is eliminated. Storage area is well secured.