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Modern material handling in the structural fab shop

Automation replaces cranes as a means of material movement

With the advent of Industry 4.0 technology, material handling in structural steel fabrication is getting smarter.

Industry 4.0 is playing a bigger role in material handling. New systems, platforms, software, and components are all designed to collect data, and that data can be used to make smart material handling decisions. Photo courtesy of Voortman.

Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared in Canadian Fabricating & Welding.

Structural steel shops face unique material handling requirements that sheet metal shops do not. Oftentimes heavy fabricators have large bays with overhead cranes to move the large beams and heavy sections through workstations around the shop. Moving heavy material can be time-consuming and have significant implications for production cycle times if not done correctly.

Traditionally, the material handling systems designed for structural steel shops tended to be all operator-driven. For example, if a shop had several different work centers, whether for sawing, drilling, coping, or shotblasting, an operator would need to be at each of these positions. Not only would the operator need to run the machines, he or she would be responsible for advancing and staging material as well as discharging it to appropriate locations. This meant the operator had to know the exact flow of the material through the shop and which pieces of material moved on to other processes and which needed to be stocked for later. The operator was responsible for making material handling decisions that significantly affected work flow, cycle time, and bottlenecks.

There is a science to how heavy materials are moved throughout a structural steel shop. Today’s automated material handling technology has become more efficient and intelligently moves beams and heavy material throughout the shop floor with ease.

Latest Trends

There is a growing trend from today’s heavy fabricators to be nimbler and have fast turnaround times on projects. Instead of buying raw stock from steel mills, many fabricators have turned to local steel suppliers to have material delivered to meet just-in-time production demands. In some cases, the material has undergone primary processes, whether it has been cut to length or minimally processed so it can move straight to the production line.

“In these cases, the heavy material does not need to be stored or constantly take up the use of a crane,” said Ben Morrall, vice president of sales, Voortman Steel Group, Monee, Ill. “It tends to be a bit more expensive, as you pay a premium for it to be delivered this way. But it does resolve some cash flow issues as you are only paying for materials needed for a given job rather than paying for a bulk quantity upfront that will sit on the shop floor or in stock until needed.”

Depending on the existing material handling system in place, a piece of material may be handled by multiple operators throughout the day. The operator handling the material needs to know everything about that material, what it is intended for, what processes it already has undergone, where it is to go next. He or she must make smart, informed decisions and take time away from operating the machine to move material through the production process. What if there is a bottle neck at the subsequent machine? The operator must then move the material to a storage area until it is ready for processing, where another operator then is responsible for material handling.

“More and more, we are seeing shops trying to get away from using overhead cranes to move steel through the shops,” Morrall said. “There is also a push to limit the amount of times steel is moved through the shop, especially to different work centers. It costs time and money to constantly be moving heavy beams and plate through a shop. But there is also a safety factor involved. The less movement, the less likely someone is to get hurt.”

To be able to move away from overhead cranes and manual maneuvering, shops are investing in automated material handling systems that intelligently pick, place, and move the material around the shop.

“Generally speaking, material handling equipment tended to be very manual in nature,” said Andy Overton, vice president of sales, Ficep Corp., Forest Hill, Md. “However, in the last decade these systems have become completely automated. The latest technology removes the need for multiple operators to make material handling decisions, and instead is able to process the material and move it through the shop with ease and error-free. Once the stock material’s bar code is scanned, it is automatically measured, the proper CNC programs are loaded, and the material is positioned through the system. It can also anticipate machine queues and move material to help eliminate bottlenecks. Today’s equipment now needs only one or two attendants to ensure proper loading and unloading at the front and back ends of the system.”

Smart material handling systems can move beams easily through a shop.

Today’s automated material handling technology has become more efficient and intelligently moves beams and heavy material throughout the shop floor with ease. Photo courtesy of Ficep.

Automation doesn’t entirely eliminate the need for an overhead crane, as it may be needed to place the material on the machine as well as store the parts once they’ve been processed.

“But what an automated material handling system for a heavy fab shop does is it maximizes material utilization to its optimal efficiency,” Overton said. “It removes human error and operator dependence. Every aspect of material movement is done automatically.”

Available Options

Automating material handling inside of the shop can be a big undertaking that often requires a complete overhaul of the shop floor.

“A shop can incorporate a huge full-service system, but that’s not always going to be the cas. “There are some great entry-level options available that offer automation at a price point and configuration that make sense for a small structural steel shop.”

For shops with existing material handling systems, there are some options available to update and enhance what’s already in place. However, totally automating an existing system is limited. Loading and fitting stations can be added to help set up and offload material, limiting some crane usage, but the existing handling remains basically the same.

“With an existing system, we are limited with what capabilities we can incorporate,” Overton said. “There just isn’t a practical way to bring manual systems up to today’s technology. Keep in mind, everything is integrated between the CNC processes, tables, and conveyors. For shops that don’t have existing equipment, an automated system is what the industry is currently installing. For those that do, maybe it’s time to rethink what can be implemented to enhance the old system.”

For most processes, like shotblasting, drilling, sawing, and layout marking, an automated material handling system can allow for lights-out operations. However, a shop needs to be able to dedicate enough space for the infeed and outfeed cross-transport system. If a shop can afford the space to have a long in- and outfeed system, the operator can effectively walk away from those processes until the system is out of product.

“However, with plasma cutting, which is usually a big part of the beam line plate processing lines, we don't allow that functionality to run without an operator present,” Morrall said. “It's a process that just needs to be monitored because it has a higher hazard potential.”

The goal of an automated material handling system, whether it’s for a stand-alone machine or a full multisystem integration, is to take the heavy lifting and work flow planning away from the operators.

“Automated systems make operators more like maintenance personnel,” Morrall said. “They are there to make sure that material is loaded and unloaded from the system, but also to ensure that machines have consumables available and if there is an issue, to resolve the problem quickly. Today’s machines have visual and audio cues to prompt an operator when the machine needs assistance. Getting a new system in place that has these automated features can help free up skilled workers to perform more important processes on the shop floor. However, the biggest thing is having the space available. Beyond that, there are no special requirements to enter into material handling automation.”

Automated material handling systems help to eliminate the need for employees to engage in heavy lifting.

The goal of an automated material handling system, whether it’s for a stand-alone machine or a full multisystem integration, is to take the heavy lifting and work flow planning away from the operators. Photo courtesy of Ficep.

With so many options available on the market, shops need to be aware of their annual tonnage both of what they are currently producing but also what they anticipate producing in the next several years. The system needs to be able to meet the growing needs of a company or it can limit production expansion. It’s also important to know the type of work and shop processes to find a system that meets shop needs.

“We need to get an understanding of the type of work a shop undertakes and the complexity of the projects, not just the weight,” Overton said. “We need to determine how much storage is needed between processes, especially if there is a discrepancy in cycle times. Drilling and sawing times differ from one section to the next, so there needs to be material storage between work centers to eliminate bottlenecks.”

Many material handling equipment manufacturers are relying on software and simulation to design the best possible system for a shop. The OEM can take complete files of the job and download them into a simulation of a particular layout to see how effectively the system would work. This is a great way to ensure efficiency and productivity not only with material handling but reducing overall cycle time

.

“It gives us the ability to see an accelerated, real-time version of the actual processing of the material through the system,” Overton said. “We can see how it slows down, speeds up, and where the bottlenecks are located. Everybody's shop is different, and they all take on different types of work. It is a fantastic tool to give alternative layout options and correct any bottlenecks in a proposed systems layout.”

This type of software option also allows for shops to predict the time it will take to process a job. Because the automated system is driven by a program, it’s easy to input a job and get an estimate of how long processing will take. This takes the guesswork right out of it and helps shops make strategic plans for taking on new projects or adjusting projects to better meet deadlines.

Streamline Operations

Today’s automated material handling systems are designed to enhance overall shop efficiency. It’s about trying to move steel as little as possible.

“There is this mentality in structural steel work that if there is a stack of processed materials sitting in front of fabricators, it will motivate them to work faster and harder,” Morrall said. “But a shop really doesn’t gain any profitability by making stacks of material. With that, a shop needs to sort the material in proper order and ensure that it is safely stored. How is this efficient? Having an efficient way of storing steel, moving it directly from the delivery truck to an automated system, is a great way to resolve this.”

It’s important to get all workers on-board with how the system should work. In order for it to work well, workers need to keep it loaded and make sure that they aren’t stacking material. It’s just a waste of time and unnecessary shop floor space. There needs to be a full methodology change for the shop, and the system needs to be allowed to keep its own pace rather than having a lot of human intervention.

“I think one of the misconceptions that a lot of fabricators have today is that they have to have separate work centers for everything, which takes up considerably more shop space,” Overton said. “This doesn't necessarily enhance the productivity in relation to cost. Being able to combine, for example, the drill with the saw or perhaps the drill with a robotic coping machine results in a system that occupies half the space and a substantial reduction in capital investment. It also limits the material handling equipment needed. There is both a time and cost savings associated with that layout.”

Incorporating an automated material handling system also allows shop owners to rethink their processes and machine choices. With a complete material handling mindset shift, shops can look at the shop floor and see other areas for improvement.

Going forward, Industry 4.0 and smart factory automation will play a big role in how material handling is performed in structural steel shops.

“Industry 4.0 is a big part of what we're moving towards on the software side,” Morrall said. “New systems, platforms, software in the background, and components are all designed to collect data, and that data can be used to make smart material handling decisions.”