Reorganization of inventory to improve kitting efficiency and maximize space utilization

Abstract

In industry 4.0 Smart factories, assembly time and space utilization are improved by supplying pre-sorted kits and optimal arrangement of storage tubs. However, the process of kitting itself in its current state at the place of this research is inefficient. With kitting around the entire research facility, improvements had to be made in several areas including but not limited to excess travel, retrieval time, and redundant inventory updates, to simplify the process flow and alleviate the burden on pickers. The current state of kitting consumes a large number of labor hours resulting in excess strain and fatigue due to the picker's long travel distances for retrieving the parts and creating an ergonomic hazard with huge weights pushed on kit carts. This paper investigates the gaps in the current kitting process by identifying the root causes using Process Failure Modes Effects Analysis (PFMEA) while also optimizing kitting space. This research established an optimized kitting process for 21 parent parts based on commonality, standardization, and frequency of co-occurrence of parts. This led to a reduction in kitting times by 36% to 49% for high demand parts and improved space utilization by 30% to 36%. The approach used in this paper is simplistic and generic in the form to render itself applicable to different kitting processes in small to medium shop companies and is of practical importance.© 2023 Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME). Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)Peer-review under responsibility of the Scientific Committee of the NAMRI/SME.