The project aims to replace rollers on a conveyor belt to prevent boxes from toppling over and blocking flow. Boxes catching on the large gap between old rollers causes issues. New rollers with a smaller gap will prevent boxes from getting stuck and falling, allowing the machine operator to focus on other tasks. This will save an estimated 2% in downtime per year, yielding a return on investment of the $1600 cost within 7 months based on lost revenue from downtime.
1. Project Name:
Roller Replacement
Current Problem(s):
Boxes (4X1’s,in particular) arecatchingon the roller
and tippingdue to the largegap between the rollers.
Suggested Solutions(s):
By getting rollers with a much smaller gap,the boxes
will havenothing to catch on, preventing them from
topplingover. This will allowDevin to keep his
attention on his machineinstead of manning the
conveyor belt. Itwill also preventthe boxes from
fallingdown and blockingthe flow throughout the
conveyor set up.
Suggested Products & Quotes:
Conveyor #11F10EG15B15 - $1,300 (Ashland
Conveyor)
Model: RS14G-18-1.5-30 - $1,503 (SJF Material
Handling)
Roller Conveyors - $1,422 (IngallsConveyors)
Gravity Conveyor - $1342 (FloStor Engineering)
Highlighted is not recommended, but still an option
*Does not includeshipping
Savings/Results:
Accordingto data compiled by Chris,the intern last
summer, the casepacker is responsiblefor
approximately 22%of machine downtime. With new
rollers,thatdowntime can reasonably cutby 2%,
consideringthatone of the issues Devin has is turning
the machine off to forcibly remove an incorrectly
oriented box from the box queue. I only estimate a 2%
elimination becausethe topplingoccurs primarily with
4X1’s,and keeping the boxes upright does not correct
the issueof the boxes being improperly turned.
ROI Calculation:
Estimatinga 2600 hour work year and usingChris’
calculationsof 26%of total worktime being occupied
with maintenance issues,
2600 hours X .26 X .02 X $200/hr = $2,704/yr
Estimated Cost: $1600
ROI: 1600/2,704 = 7 months (approximately)
