MRO Today - Take control of power tools

Take control of your power tools
Electronic lockers reduce lost tools, theft and stockouts

by Robert Holmes

It's nearly impossible these days to find a manufacturing facility that doesn't use a wide variety of power tools. From electric drills to air chisels, the industrial world relies on them.

But, how are these power tools distributed to maintenance or production employees in these manufacturing plants? How about your plant? How are your plant's employees using these tools, how are they expected to access them and how do they find a tool when it's not where it's supposed to be?

Speeding up the process of distributing power tools on the shop floor eliminates downtime.

Effectively tracking where the tool was used, who used it and what it was used on removes the guesswork.

Using a point-of-use distribution device that enables the employee to easily access needed tooling on the shop floor, and leaves him or her with the mind set that they are accountable for its return, can overcome most of the difficulties associated with power tool distribution.

A typical scenario
Some operations have tool crib personnel who are responsible for issuing and receiving tools. That crib can be close to the work area, but more often than not, it is a healthy hike from it. Some cribs are at the other end of the building, or in another building altogether.

When an employee heads to the crib, he not only drops what he or she was doing, but many times shuts down a machine or an entire production line. It's a waste of time and limits personal, departmental and plant productivity.

If that's not enough . . .

What if the employee walks to the tool crib and the tool crib manager says, "Somebody must have gotten that drill on afternoon shift yesterday and didn't write it down." The crib manager must walk around to locate the drill. The employee, meanwhile, still is in shutdown mode.

The tool crib manager finds out that Joe had the drill but gave it to
Melissa on rolling mill No. 4 and she hasn't brought it back. So, the manager must walk again.

This scenario is quite common for facilities lacking an effective way of distributing their power tools. A huge amount of time can be wasted chasing tools around the shop.

Lock them up
Electronic lockers are a very effective solution for securely storing, tracking and distributing power tools.

A number of companies that specialize in inventory management solutions have taken the "school kid" locker concept to the industrial workplace, and a number of different types of systems are available.

Some lockers are similar to those you had in high school, but these attach to machines that vend keys to enable access. Other lockers are electronic and driven by software. These track every movement of the tools they distribute on the shop floor.

Both types of systems allow point-of-use distribution, so a plant employee no longer encounters lengthy downtime because he or she has to walk across the plant to the tool crib.

Both types increase your ability to distribute tools on the shop floor. Software-driven lockers, however, have advantages over manual, key type locker systems.

Advantages include the ability to:
-- securely store your power tools with easy access;
-- set security for product access control;
-- track tool usage by cost center;
-- easily return the item to the electronic locker;
-- automatically generate reports on power tool usage;
-- eliminate theft;
-- leave users with the feeling of accountability; and,
-- reduce stockouts.

Eliminate theft, missing tools
Any manufacturing facility that uses power tools on a daily basis knows how costly it is to replace tools and how frustrating it can sometimes be to locate tools. With electronic lockers, operations immediately put an end to missing tools and begin instilling a stronger sense of accountability among employees.

Tools no longer float on the shop floor from machine to machine, or get deposited in lunch boxes when the shift is over.

How can storing tools in lockers reduce theft and missing tools? Just storing them in lockers won't. A software-controlled locker system is more than a storage unit. A good electronic locker system tracks a tool's every movement.

For instance, if Joe takes a cordless drill from the locker at noon and another employee walks to the locker and finds the tool gone, he or she can easily access the software with a touch screen monitor to find out Joe is the tool's current user.

And since Joe realizes the drill is traced to him, he takes better care of it and returns it when he is done. A responsible employee isn't going to take a tool home or let someone else on the shop floor use it, knowing that the lockers logged him or her as the person currently using the tool.

I need a drill
Using electronic lockers are easy. The steps are as follows:
1) Walk to the electronic lockers and type your password on the touch screen, or scan your employee badge with a bar-code scanner.
2) The touch screen shows you the tools you may access.
3) Select the tool you need and the locker door opens automatically. There are no keys to lose before you return the tool.

When finished using the tool, returning is also easy.
1) Walk to the lockers and scan your badge or enter your password.
2) Select "return mode" and the touch screen shows you all of the tools for which you are currently accountable.
3) Select the tool you are returning.
4) The electronic locker door opens, you return the tool and you are no longer accountable.

Taking control
At the start of the article, you were asked, "How are your power tools distributed? How are your plant's employees using the tool? How are they expected to access it? And, how does an employee find a tool when it's not where it is supposed to be?"

When answering those questions earlier, did your answer make sense, did your answer include the word "effectively," and are you comfortable with the way your company is distributing power tools? If the answers are "no," your plant needs to rethink its current system.

Electronic lockers could be the solution. System setup is many times "plug and play," and a good electronic locker system will enable your organization to take total control of its power tools and stay in control of its budget.

Robert Holmes is the marketing director for WinWare Inc., a manufacturer of inventory management systems.

This article appeared in the April/May 2000 issue of MRO Today magazine. Copyright 2000.