1 CASE STUDY TWENTY SHORT CASE PROBLEMS Prepared by

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CASE STUDY NO. 10

TWENTY SHORT CASE PROBLEMS IN MATERIALS HANDLING

Prepared by Marvin E. Mueller Anheuser-Busch, Inc. Manger of Operations Material Control Department St. Louis, Missouri

and Thomas P. Cullinane University of Massachusetts Department of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research Amherst, Massachusetts 01003

Copyright ? 1978 The Material Handling Institute

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Introduction

Recognizing that improvements in productivity can be realized through innovation and application of the proper equipment at all levels of materials handling, the twenty short cases that follow have been developed for classroom use. The objective of these cases is to provide the student with an introduction to those types of handling problems encountered on a daily basis in industry.

Although these cases are very brief, they illustrate some commonly encountered operational and equipment oriented problems. A solution for each of these cases can be derived in a minimum amount of time. Ideally the cases will be used as points of discussion or assigned in groups as homework problems.

In a few of the situations presented, the full problem is not clearly defined and the student is challenged to solve whatever problems are apparent to him/her after studying the case. Hopefully this approach will induce controversy, an essential element of the educational process.

Case 1

Situation: The Hawkins Supply company is currently faced with an inventory rotation problem. This difficulty stems from the fact that some supplies must be used prior to a stated expiration date. Upon receipt, a new shipment of these perishable items must be stacked beneath the boxes that are currently in inventory. A substantial amount of time is consumed in restacking the items according to their expiration dates.

Question: The company would like to reduce the double and sometimes triple handling of items. How can this goal be achieved? Are there alternative solutions which might also be effective?

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Case 2

Situation: The JAW Bottling company has recently introduced a new beer to the market called HEAVY. It is extra high in calories. It has been developed specifically for those people that enjoy feeling full after only one beer.

The materials handling supervisors at JAW Bottling have been receiving complaints from lift truck drivers that cases of the new HEAVY beer are slipping off pallets during intra-plant movement and truck deliveries.

Thus far the JAW engineering department has tried to eliminate or reduce case slippage through the use of the following methods:

1. Top case clamp on the fork truck. 2. Strapping cases to pallet. 3. Plastic wrapper around cases. 4. The use of a large size pallet with a retainer strip nailed along

the edges.

Question: Using a method other than those described above, can the case slippage problem be solved?

Case 3

Situation: Field, Bell and Weiss, a consulting firm, has been engaged by the Fizzle Beverage Company to determine possible methods for expanding their warehouse facilities. The current warehouse has 16' ceilings with a possible 10' clear stacking height. At the 10' level the obstructions are steam pipes, lighting fixtures and air ducts.

Fizzle Beverage currently receives all pallets by truck. Each pallet load is 6' high (including the pallet). In order to take full advantage of all available height the second level pallet in each stack must be broken down.

Question: How could Fizzle increase storage capacity?

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Case 4

Situation: The Acme Warehouse Company received a consignment of 20' lengths of 3" diameter stainless steel pipes. Acme had never handled pipe as part of their warehousing operation. The forklift truck operator assigned to this job used the truck's forks as a ram to load, handle, and unload the pipe. Inspection of the pipe by the owners revealed that the forks were bending and damaging the pipe.

Question: Suggest several alternative methods for eliminating the problem of pipe damage. From a cost and ease in application standpoint, select one alternative solution for adoption.

Case 5

Situation: The Free Wheelin Car and Foundry Company is in the business of modifying and repairing the coupler pins on railroad cars. Due to the nature of the mechanism the complete coupler assembly must be removed from the car. Once detached, an overhead gantry crane is used to lift and move the coupler to a location adjacent to the car being repaired. Because of the various uses of this crane, many scheduled operations must be delayed.

Question: Preliminary investigation indicates that the super-structure is very sound with columns placed on 20' centers. Suggest an approach for the reduction or the elimination of the delays currently being experienced in the gantry crane operations.

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Case 6

Situation: The Jones Company operates a centrally located storeroom in their manufacturing complex. Every afternoon each craft foreman (Tin Shop, Electric Shop, Iron Workers, etc.) writes a requisition for common use items that will be required for the next day's work. These common use items include nuts, bolts, screws, washers, flashlight batteries, and gloves. All specialty items are ordered separately.

During the night shift, storeroom personnel fill the orders of items requested by the craft foreman. Each morning, one or two workers from each department go to the storeroom with a four-wheel platform truck to pick up the filled order.

Question: Although studies have never been performed to determine the amount of time craftsmen spend waiting for supplies, it is the thoughts of the management that idle craft manpower is a problem resulting from this procedure. How can time spent traveling to and from the described storeroom be reduced, thus, eliminating or decreasing crafts' personnel travel time?

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