Keeping track of inventory, parts and materials at the busy Bobcat manufacturing facility in Gwinner, North Dakota, used to involve manually tracking the more than 40 truckloads of inbound materials that arrived daily.
But recently Bobcat – the maker of small but powerful front-end loaders, excavators and other landscaping, construction and manufacturing equipment — upgraded its inventory system with a high-tech solution that includes SmartLIFT technology it bought from the inventory control company Swisslog, according to Donnie Herbst, the plants strategic materials manager.
“We had a significant amount of error in trying to locate product,” Herbst told DC Velocity. “We had used gatekeeper — or check-out — philosoph. But humans make mistakes.”
Counted on Forklift Operators
Prior to the new system, forklift operators reported on where they picked up and dropped off their loads. But when pallets were often not being where they were supposed to be and inventory counts were frequently way off, company officials knew it was time for an upgrade.
“We were looking for a solution that would take out the human error,” Herbst explained. Because the warehouse alone has more than 4,000 slotting positions, Bobcat needed a robust, high-tech system that could provide real-time data on every pallet in the facility.
At first, Bobcat executives considered using radio frequency identification (RFID), but ruled it out because the excessive amount of steel in the facilities might lead to inaccurate of lost signals.
Finally, Bobcat turned to Swisslog, which installed the SmartLIFT system, which stands for “Smart Labor, Inventory and Forklift Tracking”.
Collects Data from Multiple Sources
The system uses integrated software to collect data from sensors powered by a TotalTrax platform, according to A.K. Schuyltz, a Swisslog VP. It combines a traditional warehouse management system (WMS) with a new-generation labor-management system (LMS).
“This is where big data meets forklifts,” Schultz said. “We have taken WMS data, combined it with telemetry from sensors, and created all-new dashboards and algorithms that never existed before.”
It’s sort of like an indoor Global Positioning System (GPS), or a real-time location system that is confined to a single facility. The system has the ability to track the speed, location and direction of every forklift operating with the factory and warehouse to within one inch of its actual location. Then, data capture tools provides accurate information about the contents of every pallet handled.
The tracking system uses 11-by-11 inch two-dimensional bar codes that are affixed to the warehouse’s ceiling. Each forklift has an infrared optical position sensor mounted on its roof. The sensor then uses a visual line to the bar codes to determine the vehicle location.
Between each forklift’s mast is an optical label reader which is used to scan pallet labels. The forklifts also are equipped with lift height sensors and pallet detectors, all of which feed data into a terminal mounted on each vehicle, which then transmits the information to the WMS.
Substantial Improvements to Inventory Control
The new system was easy to install and was operational within just a few hours, according to Herbst.
“We’ve seen a significant improvement in inventory accuracy,” Herbst said. “I don’t know the last time something wasn’t where it was supposed to be.” He credits the system with much of the improvement and that the system could pay for itself within 18 months.
Bobcat currently is expanding the use of the SmartLIFT technology to its other facilities in North Dakota and Minnesota. Once the entire system is in place, company officials will be able to accurate track all of its inventory everywhere, not just the Gwinner plant.
“We’ll be able to track goods dock to dock,” Herbst said. “That will be a huge advantage that we don’t have today.”