Daimler Trucks Parts Manufacturing Plant supplies all of their North American assembly plants and parts distribution centers with components such as battery boxes, decks, forward frames, clutches and brakes. Employing more than 900 people, the plant produces nearly 20,000 part numbers totaling 30 million pieces annually
PROBLEM: Lack of Flexible, Reliable, Cost-Effective Parts Delivery
The Plant established "Flex Mart," a centralized parts inventory under consignment control. Staff in consignment received new parts, managed orders and filled totes to be delivered to the line. However, they lacked the human resources necessary to deliver the fasteners to the line. Tape used by Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) was frequently destroyed by forks or material dragged on the floor. Manual tugger routes were too costly and inconsistent. Additional "runners" were frequently pulled from other areas to conduct emergency deliveries. Despite unnecessarily high levels of stock, production frequently experienced parts shortages. The company could not expect growth without a flexible, reliable and cost-effective delivery system to support a three-shift operation six days per week.
SOLUTION: Seegrid’s GT3 Tugger
After conducting research and onsite demonstrations, Daimler’s Plant management deemed the GT3 the "right vehicle with the right route." Purposely built to do facility-wide transport, the GT3 has the lowest total cost of ownership and the highest Return on Investment (ROI) in the materials handling industry. The GT3 met a tall list of criteria developed by the Plant management for their automated solution:
RESULTS: Daimler Trucks
The GT3 proved to be a perfect fit for Daimler Trucks' JIT continuous improvement project for its parts assembly process. Utilizing a 2,600-foot route ten times per day with a maximum of 17 service stations per route over three operating shifts, the GT3 delivered a number of key benefits.
At Daimler, the GT3:
