Accumulating Value
$36,666
Industry
Warehousing & Distribution
Product
Novitool® Aero® 325 Splice Press
PROBLEM
A major retail distribution center in the U.S. with 7.8 miles of narrow belts that drive live rollers and transport totes, was experiencing long periods of downtime to splice their belts. At 60 minutes per splice, they were experiencing production losses and found themselves pushing back ship dates. On many occasions, the belts were failing so frequently that seven or eight belts might be down at one time. The splice press they were using to tackle these repairs was not only slow, but would only be able to splice 2 to 3 belts before having to be shut off to completely cool. Safety-wise, the press posed a danger to workers because exposed surfaces got so hot that they often burned the operators. In addition to all of these issues, the press wasn’t consistent and would need to be serviced often because of under-cooking or overcooking the belt.
SOLUTION
With a conservative hourly downtime estimate of $55,000, the operations manager was desperate for a solution to this productivity-busting issue. After seeing a Flexco representative demonstrate the Novitool® Aero® 325 Splice Press complete the same type of splice on the 45 mm wide flat drive belt in only 20 minutes from preheat to cool down, the operations manager was sold. They even ran the 30 mm double v-guide belt that transports the totes and finished the splice in 1/3 of the time of the other press. Not only was the Aero 325 fast, but they were amazed by the quality of the splice and the safety features of the press, as well as its ability to splice both types of belts.
RESULT
It wasn’t long before this capital equipment purchase was approved as management saw the instant savings it could bring. Within a few months of purchase, the maintenance crew has used the Aero 325 more than 40 times, calling it “the best tool in the toolbox.” Why only 40 times? Because the quality of the splice meant belts were also lasting longer. The math indicates that, in a downtime situation of $55,000 per hour, the Aero 325 provides an operation savings of $36,666 cooking one splice.
What Does Flexco Accumulating Value Mean?
When you see the Flexco Accumulating Value (FAV) icon, you can expect a Real-Life Result that represents the measurable, repeatable value added to an operation through its investment in a Flexco solution.
FAV results document the ongoing dollar value realized with implementation of Flexco products or services and details how that value helps operations achieve and maximize their productivity, efficiency, throughput, output, and uptime.