One of Global Kitting's satisfied customers is Moore Process Automation Solutions, which produces electronic control systems for manufacturing plants. Moore was looking for a way to decrease floor space in their circuit board manufacturing area.

Under their old system, each workbench was dedicated to a particular job, and bins containing the appropriate components were permanently installed in these areas. Whenever a particular job was idle, the associated work area remained unused, wasting a significant amount of space. In addition, the bins had to be sprayed with a static-dissipative solution- an added production expense.

George Roberts, Senior Manufacturing Engineer at Moore, ran a search on the Internet for ESD- safe component bins. However, the products he found did not meet his specifications.

Most of the containers were too small for the number of components we use," says Roberts. "We were only finding trays for single components, but not products that could accommodate an entire production process."

Roberts then discovered Global Kitting's Partfolio system, which fit Moore's production needs perfectly. Since implementing the system, the company has realized a substantial decrease in the amount of space required by circuit board assemblers, and spraying the bins of the former component delivery system is no longer required.

Let's say we needed to build three sets of the same circuit board, all at the same time. We only had one table dedicated to building this board, so the jobs had to go through sequentially, because we could only have one person at a bench with all the components at a given time. With the Partfolio system, you just kit three jobs and each worker goes to their bench and does the task, all at the same time.

"We've reduced our total required floor space by about 12 percent," Roberts continues, "and individual work spaces have been reduced by 50 to 60 percent. We need less bench space now because we don't have all that unused area. The Partfolio is the best product for kitting ESD- sensitive electronic components that we could find."

ITAC Systems

ITAC Systems also realized significant benefits using the Partfolio kitting system. The comapny was having problems tracking their circuit baord production inventory for its line of ergonomic computer trackballs. This made it very difficult to determine when to order new components and to maintain accurate bookkeeping.

We were issuing components to our production area in bulk, and we were continually coming up short on parts," says Tom Banks, Material and Logistics Manager at ITAC Systems. "We really needed to get better control of our inventory. We conceived the idea to kit the parts based on how many circuit boards we're going to be produced that day. I looked in some books for a reasonable solution, but found nothing that met our needs. Then I got smart and went on the Internet, and found the Partfolio."

Since using the Partfolio system, inventory shortages have ended at ITAC Systems. The kits are loaded in the afternoon for the jobs to be completed the following morning. This way, all parts are accounted for at the end of the day.

Before, we would issue an entire roll of 5,000 resistors to the production area," says Banks, "now if production calls for 100 pieces, then only 100 pieces will be sent to the floor, and we keep the balance in the storeroom.

We took a physical inventory this past summer. During our last count seven months ago, we had to write off $7,000 in unaccounted material. But since we've been using the Partfolio system, we haven't had a shortage yet."

ITAC Systems will now save a projected $12,000 per year- a six fold savings over their initial investment the first year- as they continue to use the Partfolio system. Banks is also impressed by the design of the product.

Another thing that caught my eye was the fact that you can actually fold the kit up," Banks says. "It's small enough to carry easily, and the parts are locked up on the inside. If a closed kit was dropped, the parts are not going to mix. The Partfolio is a very well-thought-out idea. The units are working well, and they're doing a very effective job for us. I'm extremely pleased with them."