The client’s plant had established an internal team of experts in each of the manufacturing steps required to produce lithium ion cells. Pertinent calculations for each process were performed with independent analysis tools. The client was having difficulty keeping track of and coordinating proposed process changes. In addition, very little time had been devoted to overall material handling and storage requirements for the plant. The project goal was to create a unified model to document inputs and to evaluate future requirements.

IET compiled the data from all of the client experts and created a comprehensive interactive model of the manufacturing process using Excel.

The model was driven by anticipated production volumes from initial plant start up to site saturation. Other inputs included products, bills of material, component dimensional data, process steps, OEE estimates of uptime, scrap and efficiency as well as container sizes, material handling devices, days supply on hand at each step and storage concepts.

The output of the model included machine requirements, equipment loading, raw material storage units, purchased and WIP storage units required and material handling moves per time period.

The data was used to evaluate the preliminary storage and material handling plans for the facility. Based on the data from the model, IET prepared concepts for component storage, re-containerization and material handling. IET recommended the relocation of docks and corrugated recycling compactors to reduce travel time. IET also recommended the use of specialized narrow aisle vehicles to improve the component staging process prior to assembly.