For some, the word “production” is almost synonymous with “quantity,” and throughput is often a question of streamlining the constant manufacture of a single part. However, for high-mix/low-volume shops, throughput can be a bit more complicated.
This is something that Mike Smothers, operations manager for USNR LLC’s Woodland, Wash.-based shop, fully understands. The machines that USNR manufactures are made to order, therefore most of the parts the company produces are made in runs of twos or threes—and the largest run Smothers can conceive of for the shop is fewer than 25 parts.
As a result, much of the shop’s production time was spent setting up, retooling or tearing down a run, while spindle utilization was just 15-25%. Smothers knew he needed a better system to streamline the process and simplify setups.
The answer: Fastems LLC’s Flexible Manufacturing System ONE (FMS). Now, Smother’s says USNR’s spindles run almost continuously.
USNR is a world leader in the building and maintenance of sawmill and wood processing equipment. The company’s Woodland location specializes in machinery components that go into the giant equipment that cut, shape, plane and chip wood.
It can be a complicated endeavor. “We make high speed saws, chippers and profilers, all with pieces that can be difficult to manufacture,” Smothers explains.
In 2019, USNR installed Fastems’ FMS. This modular pallet automation system connected three DMG Mori NHX 6300 horizontal machining centers with a 54-pallet pool for streamlined material management. Each machining unit was equipped with identical resident tooling so they could operate as completely independent production elements. This meant USNR’s spindles no longer sat idle for lengthy periods of time, waiting on setups and refixturing. FMS took setup completely offline, as material and tools could be mounted unmanned.
Rather than wasting time and manpower by manually moving a part from machine to machine, USNR was capable of manufacturing a part from start to finish on one machine with minimal human interaction. “The FMS allowed us to replace all of our stand-alone machines with units that can run spindles almost continuously without worrying about setups,” Smothers says.
The system is connected to USNR’s Kardex Remstar vertical lift storage unit that holds and organizes stock materials, parts, fixtures and tooling for easy access. Its installation improved Woodland’s average delivery time from 25 days down to nine.
FMS is powered by Fastems’ advanced manufacturing management software (MMS). USNR uses MMS 8.0, which collects and analyzes data from various points around the shop, enabling meaningful insights. The system can automatically generate production plans, track materials and tools, monitor production in real time and view key performance indicators.
MMS also provides predictive scheduling. Such capability is “one of the biggest game changes in pallet automation in the last two decades,” according to Robert Humphreys, international sales manager for Fastems.
“This enables the customer to not only make the right part at the right time, but also have visualization of what’s coming in the future. So, it then tells you what resources are missing that need to be added to the cell, whether it’s missing tools, broken tools or materials,” says Humphreys.
Every member of Smothers’ team accesses the MMS multiple times a day. Just by glancing at the dashboard as they walk by, operators can see spindle utilization rates, machine capacities and cell use. Determining which machines are running for various jobs is as simple as looking up at a large monitor in the shop. Daily reports are created so the team can quickly evaluate utilization and throughput.
In 2021, USNR merged with Burton Mill Solutions (founded in Vancouver in 1903 as Burton Saw and Supply), which produces smaller products for maintaining and sharpening equipment for the wood processing industry. “It was a great fit,” Smothers enthuses. “Burton makes all of the products that go into the equipment USNR manufactures.”
Following the merger, it was decided that USNR would also handle a portion of Burton’s manufacturing thanks to the production organization enabled by the FMS, according to the companies.
Two USNR facilities now use the software: the Woodland location as well as one in Plessisville, Quebec. Woodland currently produces about 7,000 pieces a month; Plessisville, with its five-axis Okuma unit, produces larger components with longer run times and less volume. Smothers is adamant about keeping both locations, as well as any future facilities that adopt FMS, outfitted with the latest version of MMS.
Last year, USNR merged with Wood Fiber Group and has already transitioned parts from the latter to FMS. As a result, the company has produced more than 200 different parts, according to Smothers.
Fastems’ MMS software is constantly in development, according to Humphreys, who notes that many of the features were suggested by users through customer surveys. This involves asking customers what they like and don’t like about the MMS control, as well as what features they want added in the future.
For example, Humphreys says, the predictive scheduling capability was initiated from surveys the company did about 15 years ago.
“We have a lot of very clever software people who we don’t want to work in a cave and just dream up some clever fancy widgets. We want them to dream up stuff that actually is based upon customer requests that meet the ever-changing market,” Humphreys explains.
“Customers are starting to understand that it’s living software,” Humphreys says. “It’s being developed constantly.”
Recognizing the benefit of keeping the software up to date, USNR and Fastems developed a software maintenance agreement. The program provides the shop with technical support, training and automatic updates to the latest MMS modules.
With MMS 8.0, for example, a new “Insights” feature identifies production discrepancies. If a process is taking longer than it has in the past, customers are alerted about the situation and can problem solve what’s causing the issue and how it can be fixed, Humphreys notes.
Keeping the software running well is crucial. “If our FMS or MMS goes down, we’re dead,” Smothers asserts.
The cost of the software maintenance plan is nowhere near the cost of the system going down. With the maintenance agreement, new software releases are automatically installed over the web. Fastems can also send experts to USNR to troubleshoot and train on-site as needed.
With facilities in two different locations running simultaneously, the partners note, the ability to access remote support when things go awry is paramount. Operational consistency across locations helps minimize downtime in between runs or even when new equipment is added. Smothers also keeps a backup hard drive with the latest updates to prevent any disruption in the event of a major crash.
The option to update from year to year, or how to utilize Fastems’ training and service, is up to USNR. Whenever that is, and no matter how long it takes (depending on the size and variety of Fastems’ systems at the customer’s site, software updates can take a couple of hours to a few days before all functionalities are verified), USNR can be sure there will be no production stops during the installations.
FMS has helped USNR seamlessly take on new products, such as those from Wood Fiber, Smothers says. Moreover, he asserts that the continuous maintenance and MMS updates will help manage the cell and how well it functions for now and in the future.
For more information about USNR, visit www.usnr.com or call 360-225-8267. For more information about Fastems, visit www.fastems.com or call 513-779-4614.
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