ITT

Early in 1996, Jim Pierce, senior plant engineer for ITT’s Wiper Business Group, was looking for a cost-effective way to reduce reportable injuries; back strains, shoulder pains, etc. attributed to the poor ergonomic conditions on their NS/GS Nose Cone work cell.  The five-foot long, five-pound plastic nose cone, which is marred with wiper motors, electrical wiring and wiper blades, is manufactured for Chrysler minivans.

“This was definitely an ergonomic hot spot with a number of different problems that needed to be addressed,” reports Pierce. “The stacks of the nose cones were tall, they were bulky, and our workers needed to reach for these parts in a very confined space. Also, the lack of available floor space limited fork truck access which made the solution even more challenging.”

“We were looking for a solution that could do mechanically, what our people were doing manually without creating other problems,” explained Pierce. “By gathering critical input from our own operators and engineers, we were able to come up with a design that would lead to faster operator acceptance.”

Pierce put together a bid package that was distributed to four local vendors, including Aloi. All vendors were asked to respond with finished design/build proposals.  All were invited to the plant to observe the operations.

“Aloi came up with a great design at a very competitive price,” said Pierce.  “And, we trust them to deliver what they promise.”

Building a Solution, One-Step-at-a-Time

“Because Aloi works with a number of leading material handling vendors, we can put together a very cost-effective solution for our customers,” explained Harvey Cain, Aloi President.  “The challenge, of course, is assembling these separate products from different manufacturers into a single, fully-integrated system.  The answer lies in the sophisticated programming and safety controls that are at the heart of this system.”

“Once the bid was accepted, Aloi took the initial concept even further,” said Pierce. “They really took a very active role in the project, doing all the legwork and drawing together a team of experts that put everything together.”

In addition to the Aloi team, ITT Control Engineers were also brought in to augment the original design with added safety features that eliminated the possibility of operator accidents.  ITT engineers and operators also were invited to Aloi’s warehouse to test drive the system and assist in the finalization of the design.

“When we install a new system, we know if it will be successful within the first ten minutes,” emphasized ITT’s Pierce.  “Because of all the up front design work and the extensive operator involvement, this system was fully accepted from the beginning, without a minute of downtime.”  In addition to improving safety conditions, the new conveyor also allowed ITT to reassign one operator for each of three shifts, according to Pierce.

“Aloi is typically the first people we call when we are having a problem,” said Pierce.  “They consistently offer us innovative approaches, great lead times and competitive prices.  They are definitely a service-oriented company!”

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Aloi Material Handling, located in Rochester, NY – Your Upstate and Western New York source for manufacturing and warehouse solutions, pallet racking, shelving, mezzanines, carousels, modular offices, lift tables, overhead cranes and hoists, ergonomic workstations, and conveyors.