Because of their new wire carousel, ABB improves the ergonomics, productivity and achieve economies of scale.

ABB is a company operating in the electrification and automation business. MSK Canada had the chance to talk with Jonathan Frohar, production supervisor, responsible for planning, production, quality, continuous improvement and health and safety at work at two departments. He called on MSK Canada’s specialists to organize the space in ABB’s warehouse.

Initial Situation

ABB’s warehouse gathers all types of coil wires used in the assembly of final products. Before the installation of the wire carousel, the small coils were stored, without any organization, in a racking system. The largest ones were lying on the floor, and sometimes under the racking. When employees needed big wires, they had to go under the racking system, pull the coils, install them and finally unroll them to cut wires. Because of the handling of heavy coils, some weighing 30 kg, some employees were injured. This is why ABB was looking for an ergonomic and safe solution.

The advantages of wire carousel

In addition to improving workplace health and safety, the wire carousel brings many other benefits to ABB.

Productivity

First of all, this solution allows the company to increase productivity by minimizing waste of time. Employees wasted precious time looking for the right dimension of the wire to use. The warehouse was messy and it was difficult to visually identify the coils.

Organization

Secondly, the wire carousel optimize the organization of the warehouse. It is used to store coils of different colours but the same size on the same bay in addition to placing two identical one behind the other. In this way, the visual cue is easy for the use of wire coils, and also to control the emptied dimensions. Thus, unnecessary orders are avoided.

Economy

To finish, this new technique also allows ABB to achieve economies of scale. With a better visual spotting, it’s easier to know which dimension is emptied and should be reordered. In fact, optimizing the storage of wire coils allows the company to buy larger quantities at lower cost per unit.

Final Situation

In the end, the production supervisor expresses great satisfaction for the wire carousel. In addition to gaining space, he believes it is the optimal solution to avoid employee injury, reduce travel and maximize efficiency at work.

MSK Canada has been a leader in space optimization for over 25 years. Whether it’s in the automotive, industrial or commercial market, the experts at MSK will design, plan and recommend the best products to maximize your space and your productivity. Visit our website at www.mskcanada.com/en.