IET, Inc - Indirect labor costs reduced by eliminating forklift drivers.

IET, Inc.
3539 Glendale Ave
Toledo, Ohio 43614

www.ieteng.com

Case Study 2-05477

Indirect labor costs reduced by eliminating forklift drivers.

IET helped a client remain competitive in the high volume / low profit margin consumer packaging market.

The Customer

B-Way is a manufacturer of metal cans of various sizes for a variety of paint, varnish and stain manufacturers.

The Challenge

Currently there were 37 forklift drivers across three shifts. The goal was to reduce the number of forklift drivers in the manufacturing plant to increase worker safety, reduce forklift equipment costs and reduce indirect labor costs.

The Solution

IET engineers used work sampling to measure the different activities performed by the forklift drivers on all shifts in all production, warehouse and dock areas. By making changes to:

Work assignments and better balancing
Travel routes
Empty fork travel
Double handling loads
Driver communication
Storage area locations

The number of forklift drivers was able to be reduced to 27 across all three shifts. That equals a savings of 10 drivers. Three leased forklifts were able to be removed from the fleet and safety was improved for production operators.