Lean manufacturing methods have proven effective in speeding factory production, improving safety, and throughput. To achieve continuous process improvement specialized material-handling equipment is needed to achieve a Lean Six Sigma Value proposition.
Ed Brown, founder of Topper Industrial holds patents to dozens of custom-design carts that can be pulled in a train, turn in tight spaces, and linked with auxiliary carriers handling specialized fork truck free operations.
Unlike other industrial cart manufacturers with a single flagship product linked to a tugger cart, the unique industrial engineering designs of these mother carts move the daughter cart carrying the parts. The tandem mother daughter design reduces costs and improves delivery times to production lines.
Brown explained the differentiator of these carts is found in the simplicity, functionality, maintenance, and operation which is why the cart “train” is towed by a tugger tractor and can make smooth, tight turns that are crucial in a factory with narrow aisles.
The amount of aisle space can be a challenge for forklift trucks. Since employees walk those same aisles it is only appropriate that a fork truck free solution is implemented to ensure safety and space for human beings.
Some facilities will utilize one-way traffic to help minimize congestion so the equipment is always tugging in the same direction as material is moved through the plant. They also can incorporate drop-off and pickup areas at various locations in the plant. This process eliminates more than six times the number of trips as a fork truck which occupies more space.
From automotive manufacturing to appliances, from food to aerospace, the rapid deployment of fork truck free systems allows Topper customers to ultimately eliminate fork truck activity in the areas that are now utilized by assembly or other factory-related work.
Brown is adamant, “Where people are present the dangers of a fork truck accidents exist… tugger trains allow one operator to transport many more pallets than could be moved by that person with a forklift.”
The daughter carts, which ride on the mother carts, are available in a variety of shapes, styles and types. At MODEX 2016 in Atlanta earlier this month, Topper Industrial introduced the first diamond-shaped daughter carts. This approach and other popular cart SKUs are ideal for a kit cart, which allows customers in a kitting environment to take bulk material and warehouse it offline and bring it to the point of use as a kit at specific timed replenishment intervals.
About Topper Industrial
For more than twenty years, Topper Industrial, (www.topperindustrial.com) based just outside of Milwaukee, WI, has been a leader in the material handling equipment industry. The company’s product roster features industrial carts, conveyors, lifts, lifts & tilts, shipping racks, containers, casters, and cart components. From mother-daughter carts to quad steer carts to tilt carts and rotate carts, Topper’s material handling solutions make delivering material line side more effective through more efficient practices. Topper Industrial has a team of experienced professional experts able to assess and provide the right product for all material handling equipment requirements.
Topper Industrial is a proud member of MHI. Follow on Twitter @TopperInd or on LinkedIn.