Military manufacturer increases safety, productivity after deploying positioners

Schutt Industries chose two headstock and tailstock positioners from ALM Positioners.

Situation

Schutt Industries is a producer of industrial and military-grade cargo-handling equipment. With more than 80 employees based in Clintonville, Wis., Schutt Industries designs and manufactures small and large utility trailers and semitrailers designed to haul 40 tons of payload.

With a variety of products and a need to increase throughput wherever possible, the company began researching positioning equipment to make its welding and assembly processes safer and more efficient.

“We had homemade spinning devices for some of our smaller setups,” said Mark Schutt, production manager. “It was a lot of manipulation using overhead cranes and things of that nature.

“Safety was one of our very first considerations when we began looking at positioners,” Schutt continued. “We were flipping very heavy trailer frames, and we needed to keep the safety of our employees as our first priority.”

Resolution

After researching different positioning equipment options and even considering its own in-house design, the company chose two headstock and tailstock positioners from ALM Positioners to manipulate and access the product. What was once done with overhead cranes and ladders is now done with the push of a button.

“With the positioner, we’ve eliminated handling time and the use of overhead cranes. That makes our process a lot safer and more efficient,” said Schutt.

“When you eliminate handling from start to finish, you can knock days off the process. Now we can rotate our product a full 360 degrees in literally a minute or two, which means we save all the downtime and get the piece in the perfect position to work on comfortably.

“We’ll install all the components of the trailer and rotate it to give the workers good access to some of the tight areas,” Schutt continued. “When they don’t have to stress or contort their bodies in unusual positions, that makes a big difference for them.”

In addition to safety and efficiency, portability was also a draw.

“We have many different product lines, and the length can range significantly. We knew whether we’re running 20 ft. or 40 ft. we could accommodate different products with ease. Having the elevation and full 360 rotation was also a large benefit,” Schutt explained.

With the positioners, quality and reviewing every checkpoint have become easier.

“There are a lot of quality checkpoints throughout our process, especially on our bigger trailers,” Schutt said. “It’s not just assembly. We have similar quality checkpoints for welding too. With the positioner, it’s easier to assemble and weld with quality to begin with because our employees are able to reach tight spots comfortably. Then, it’s easier for inspectors to double-check that work.”

Inspectors review everything from specific torquing of hardware to ensuring measurements and certain dimensions are spot-on. They also look at things like brake lines and air lines to ensure quality.

“Being able to simply rotate our largest products has been a huge boost in being able to take a look at everything and ensure quality,” Schutt said.