Transportation waste in manufacturing is the unnecessary movement of resources outside of the area where production occurs. Resources that are moved unnecessarily can include raw materials, finished parts, equipment, tools, and employees. Not all transportation is waste, but the unnecessary movement of physical objects adds expense and risk without adding value.
Keep reading to learn about transportation as a form of manufacturing waste. Then, contact Elasto Proxy to learn how we can help you to achieve greater efficiency when it comes to buying, storing, fabricating, and installing industrial rubber products.
Transportation Waste Examples
Transportation waste occurs when resources are moved further than is necessary for the completion of a manufacturing process. Take forklifts, for example. Unnecessary movement causes wear and tear on the equipment. It also wastes fuel or, in the case of electric forklifts, battery power. Pallet jacks require human labor instead, but transportation waste risks damaging in-transit goods.
Employers would pay their forklift drivers and pallet jack pullers anyway, but there’s an opportunity cost whenever workers can’t engage in more productive activities. Remember that a resource that’s navigating a warehouse or assembly line isn’t just moving around. That resource is also adding costs to the operation.
Here are some more examples of transportation waste in manufacturing.
- Sending excess parts from the assembly line back to the warehouse.
- Ordering parts from distant vendors when closer suppliers are available.
- Moving workers from one location to another instead of bringing the work to them.
- Moving tools or equipment from one work area to another.
Now that you understand what transportation waste looks like, where does it come from?
Transportation Waste Causes
The causes of transportation waste are numerous, but there are three common culprits:
- Logistics
- Trip Planning
- Plant Layouts
Logistics is about managing the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of consumption. It includes the movement of goods across your supply chain and within your own facilities.
- A supply chain that’s too long extends delivery times and increases shipping costs.
- A material handling route that’s too long wastes time moving goods from receiving to inventory, or from inventory to production.
Waste can also occur when goods are moved from warehouses to intermediate locations instead of to the point-of-production.
Trip planning can also be problematic. For example, an employee may be sent from one location to another without the right tools or materials. An extra trip to the tool crib or a materials store is then necessary. The employee may also stop to visit with co-workers along the way.
Plant layouts may also cause manufacturing waste. Typically, that’s because raw materials or finished parts move from one end of the factory to another or along winding routes. The most efficient way to move goods is in a line, preferably from adjacent areas.
Transportation vs. Motion
Transportation might sound like motion, another form of manufacturing waste. Yet the two are not identical. Remember that transportation occurs beyond where production occurs. By contrast, wasted motion is unnecessary movement within a workspace.
To appreciate the difference, imagine an assembly line in a factory. Wasted motion happens on the assembly line. Wasted transportation happens between the warehouse and the assembly line instead.
Reduce Transportation Waste for Rubber Products
Does your company buy, store, and use industrial rubber products? Then ask Elasto Proxy how we can help you to reduce transportation waste. For example, if you’d like to shorten your supply chain, ask how our domestic sourcing and strategically located warehouses can help. We can store raw materials or finished products for you and then ship them on demand or in response to your sales forecast.
From custom fabrication to kitting, our solutions providers can also share examples of how our value-added products are helping manufacturers to reduce transportation waste within their own facilities. Imagine receiving a box with all of he parts that you need and then moving that box right from your loading dock to your assembly line. It’s possible when you pick the right partner.
