Team 06
Team Members |
Faculty Advisor |
Jake Fones |
Rajiv Naik, Craig Calvert Sponsor Jaypro Sports |
sponsored by
Design and Implementation of a Raw Material Management System to Decrease Station Downtime by 50%
Jaypro Sports is a manufacturer of high quality sporting equipment such as basketball hoops, soccer goals, and football field goals, among many other products. During the manufacturing process, raw materials must first be cut at the saw workstation before bending or additional processing takes place. The current process for moving raw materials to the saw involves forklift transportation of large bundles from outdoor storage before using the overhead gantry crane to further navigate the inside of the facility. This process must be repeated for each cutting cycle, which creates multiple limitations on the overall production process. To address Jaypro Sports’ operational needs, our team designed and implemented a semi-automated raw material storage, loading, and unloading system integrated directly at the cutting workstation within the production process. The final product features a four-tier storage rack with roll-out arms and a custom scissor lift for bundle retrieval and loading. Its placement adjacent to the cutting area is critical for optimizing workflow and ensuring smooth integration with existing operations. This system can successfully free up crane availability for the material handling department and enable saw operators to switch between materials without causing production downtime. This project is expected to decrease downtime by 50% and increase throughput by 20% over the next year. Further, if this project is proven successful at the bandsaw station, this system can be implemented at two other workstations within the facility to further increase production throughput and decrease downtime leading to labor savings of $56,250 and increased work opportunity of $280,000.