Tracking the toolsSFlb
Youngstown
Efficiency has become one of the most important things in business.
Companies constantly have to be looking for ways to reduce costs and make things more efficient, said Terry V. Herzberger, operations manager for City Machine Technologies in Youngstown, which does engineered industrial services at three locations in Youngstown.
To increase efficiency, City Machine recently installed two vending machines that distribute needed tools to its employees. Fastenal developed the industrial vending machines and is responsible for ensuring the machines stay stocked.
“It allows us to track what tools are used for which jobs and who is using them,” Herzberger said.
To get a drill bit, safety goggles or batteries from the machine, employees have to enter the job number they are working on and an employee number, he said.
“It has ended excess inventory for us,” Herzberger said.
Workers would have extra supplies in their station because they were afraid they may not have a necessary piece, he said. The stockpiling made it difficult to track what was being used and for what job.
Typically, the vending machines allow a company to reduce equipment costs by 20 percent or 30 percent, said Brian Baughman, general manager for Fastenal in Youngstown. Reliable numbers prior to the machine were not available.
The tracking involved with the process also has helped reduce costs for a number of supplies and improved work efficiency, Herzberger said.
“A guy might have used to get a new pair of gloves every day. Now he might not do that because he knows we’re tracking what he uses,” he said.
In addition, previously if a worker could not find the right-size drill bit, he might have used one size bigger or smaller to make it work. Now they can always find the right size bit, Herzberger said.
City Machine never runs out of supplies because Fastenal tracks the inventory electronically in the machine, Baughman said. City Machine also saves because it does not have to pay for the equipment on delivery but on when it is used, and the company is not charged for the machine.
City Machine was able to set minimum and critical supply levels for tools, and when those levels are reached, Fastenal employees will refill the machine the same day, he said.
“It’s like having a little piece of the Fastenal warehouse right here in City Machine,” Herzberger said. City Machine was even able to get Fastenal to change its computer tracking system so the information could go directly into City Machine’s software, said Claudia Kovach, corporate secretary for City Machine.
“This is a 24-7 job. We don’t want to run out of things in the middle of the night,” she said. “A lot of calls are emergencies in the middle of the night out in the field at steel or other industrial companies.”
It takes about a month for Fastenal to get the machines ready for an industrial site. The items used have to be tested to ensure the vending machine will work correctly, Baughman said.
The company has larger lockers using the same tracking technology and uses electronic tool lockers where the company knows if a worker has not returned an electrical tool at the end of a shift, he said.
“There aren’t a lot of limitations,” Baughman said.
City Machine still has a lot of ideas about how the tracking can help to increase efficiency, Herzberger said.
“It’s a situation where you have to walk before you can run,” he said.