Shop Reclaims 10,000 Square Feet with Inventory Management System

For manufacturers of medical devices, fast turnarounds on prototypes can often be the difference between seizing an opportunity and missing out. Every aspect of the machining process matters, from programming to machining cycle time to measurement. One element that’s often overlooked as a time-saving measure is inventory management. “It’s not just about having the necessary items on hand. The real challenge is the speed at which we can access accurate data about the inventory,” says Joseph Forsyth, director of advanced manufacturing at Intech, a medical device manufacturer with operations in Athens, Alabama. “It’s about answering questions like, ‘Do we have the required tool for this specific prototype?’ or ‘How many of this particular item are on hand?’ and crucially, ‘Where exactly is it located?’”

Prototyping in particular requires a wide range of tooling and workholding options. “It's hard for people to grasp how many tools you need to keep control of in inventory just to manufacture something with a CNC machine today,” Forsyth says. A single manufactured component might require 100 or more manufacturing tools, gages and other supplies.

Sure enough, as Intech has grown to serve hundreds of customers worldwide, it has amassed more than 10,000 different component types in its inventory. Conventional systems for managing inventory proved to be ineffective, but a pair of vertical lift modules (VLMs) from Kardex Remstar, combined with tool vending machines from SupplyPro and tool management software from ZOLLER, have transformed Intech’s inventory management system, drastically improving its efficiency.

As Business Grows, So Does Inventory

Intech is a contract manufacturer specializing in orthopedic devices, including complex devices to support surgeries for hips, knees, extremities and expandable spinal implants for medical device companies such as Stryker and Medtronic. The Athens, Alabama facility is one of nine located across the globe. With a recently completed expansion, its 100,000 square-foot facility houses 70 CNC machines, along with engineering, quality assurance, regulatory compliance and customer service departments.

Intech Athens’ investment in innovation and new technology has resulted in drastic growth — doubling its revenue since it joined the Intech group in 2015. But as the shop delved further into advanced manufacturing techniques, inventory complexities have multiplied. Intech found itself with more cutting tools, collets, toolholders, nuts, retention knobs, fixtures, vises, clamps and other components than ever before, and its old inventory management system was slowing work down. 

Intech was storing smaller, less valuable items in grid-organized cabinets, while standard industrial shelving held larger items like fixtures and vices. Everything was cataloged on clipboards, which operators used to check out components, after which they were expected to return the items voluntarily. But this system proved to be unreliable — operators didn’t always return components to their designated spots, making it difficult to locate specific items and determine their condition. Regular maintenance became an uphill battle. “We were like any other job shop, we had the necessary items, but often didn't know their location or condition,” Forsyth says. “We knew we needed to do better.”

Implementing a New Inventory System

The first step Intech took towards improved inventory control was a vending system for cutting tools, which streamlined the process to a degree. However, it only addressed a fraction of the inventory. To get visibility and control over its entire tooling inventory, Intech followed in the footsteps of its sister facility in Toulon, France by implementing ZOLLER’S Tool Management System (TMS) software. This kicked off a process of entering every tool in the facility into the software. “In one year's time we cataloged $1.3 million worth of items,” Forsyth says.

The tools were organized into three categories: consignment (a tooling supplier called Metal Removal Technologies, or MRT, manages tool consignment and provides other tooling to the company), burn (which is for consignment tools that haven’t reached the end of their life), and stock (which is for tooling that’s purchased directly and isn’t used in high enough quantities to justify consignment).

This gave Intech Athens valuable data on its tooling, but it didn’t solve the issue of physically storing the tools. “Time is money and labor is at a premium these days,” Forsyth says. “You really just do not want people hunting for stuff or settling because they can't find or are not aware of a tool that we have.” So Intech replaced its traditional racking systems and most of its cabinets with two Kardex Shuttle VLMs from Kardex Remstar.

With the majority of its physical items stored in the Kardex Shuttles, Intech Athens has reclaimed 10,000 square feet of space. “With this newly freed space, we were able to accommodate two more CNC machines,” Forsyth says. The Kardex Shuttles house 80% of Intech’s inventory in only 5% of its overall space. The other 20% of the inventory is housed in smart cabinets located on the shop floor, where machinists can easily access replenishment tools for even more efficiency.

Pre-Staging, Purchasing and Planning Out Tools

This new system has greatly improved the shop’s efficiency, particularly when it comes to pre-staging jobs. A three-person team is responsible for organizing jobs by priority and gathering all of the tools and other items needed to run each job. Before the Kardex Shuttles and ZOLLER TMS software, pre-stage operators would walk through the shop, opening various cabinets and sifting through boxes to locate the tools required for a specific production run. This process was tedious and prone to errors.

Now, the pre-stage operator simply enters the job number into the ZOLLER TMS software, which is integrated with the Kardex Shuttles. The system then directs the Kardex Shuttles to retrieve every item necessary for the part's production. As the Kardex Shuttle presents each tray to the operator, pick-to-light technology guides the operator to the location specific item to be picked, as well as the quantity. The operator selects the item, confirms its retrieval and places it on a cart.

This process is repeated until all items required for the job are picked, ranging from as few as two tools to as many as 70, depending on the complexity of the part. The operator then delivers the cart with all of the required to the work cell so the machinist can begin the job when ready. “Previously, the three-person pre-stage team was barely able to pre-stage production jobs for 60 machinists,” Forsyth notes. “Now they handle pre-staging for 70 machinists easily.”

Operators have two options when retrieving items from the ZOLLER TMS – checking out or issuing out. When an item is checked out, it’s a wear item that is out of the system forever. When an item is issued out, the item is assigned to a job number and work cell. Operators return issued out items to the inventory management system after the job is complete so they can be used again in the future.

ZOLLER TMS allows Intech Athens to track the lifetime usage and location of issued items, such as cutting tools. The use tool data informs decisions on which tools to consign and which to purchase. Forsyth’s rule is that if a tool is used at least five times per month indefinitely, consignment makes more sense than stocking it. With new data from the ZOLLER TMS, Intech moved some of its tools to consignment. “We didn't know that they were being used so much before because those tools weren’t in a database, and furthermore they weren't in a physical storage device that gives you more confidence with the accuracy of the data,” he notes.

This visibility into Intech’s tooling inventory also showed many overlaps in its tooling supply. For example, the company had more than 20 different types of quarter-inch endmill, with different combinations of flute numbers and coatings. “You'd be surprised by how easy it is to lose control,” Forsyth says. With these adjustments, the company spent $100,000 less on tooling than it had the previous year, despite an increase in work.

In addition to saving money and streamlining processes, the new inventory system has become a valuable discovery tool. Particularly in the finishing and prototyping areas, where a machinist's role verges on artistry, the toolset at their disposal can influence their approach and outcomes. Before the integration of the Kardex Shuttles, tools and supplies were often stowed away in cabinets where they were unseen and underused.

Forsyth recalls instances where staff would painstakingly work on a project using outdated methods, unaware that a tool within their inventory could accomplish the task in a fraction of the time. Now, the organized trays not only store, but also showcase the tools and supplies available. "Our employees can freely navigate the trays, constantly updating themselves,” Forsyth says. “It's not uncommon for someone retrieving a tool to get captivated by another, thinking, 'Wow, I didn't even know we had these!' It's contributed to keeping that curiosity and knowledge alive within our employees."

From Tooling to Assembly

Intech Athens is expecting delivery of a third Kardex Shuttle, which will primarily serve its assembly department. Many of the parts the company produces go through this department, as they are actually components in complex assemblies. “Robotics and navigation is a growing trend in orthopedics, and our customers are developing devices that are more precise and intricate than ever. It's tricky to keep all that organized,” Forsyth says. Currently, components and finished assemblies are stored in a 2,000-square foot room that’s filled with metal racks. “These are expensive assemblies that consists of 50 or more sub-components. As such, being organized is crucial for this step. if I’m missing one component for one assembly, I’m losing thousands of dollars because the component wasn’t accounted for,” he continues.  

Intech plans to store these components and assemblies in the new Kardex. Jobs will be assigned to specific locations in the Kardex Shuttle via a job location utility within its ERP system, while the ZOLLER TMS software will be used to actually call up those locations.  Forsyth also envisions using Kardex Shuttles for storage in other departments as well, such as maintenance.

But just because Intech Athens is implementing this solution in other areas of the business doesn’t mean it’s done optimizing its tooling inventory. “I'm still moving forward with implementation because you'll never stop adding tools. You'll never stop changing storage,” Forsyth says. “But the foundation is there now.”