Site: Boeing Rotorcraft Div

Point of use automated tool crib system increases tool accessibility by 90%

Application: Tool cribs for aerospace manufacturing

Equipment: Four Sentinel® Tool & Item Dispensing System, One TD-10 Automated Tool Dispenser and CribMaster software

Summary: Save floor space, increase workers productivity, reduce tool usage by 60%

With more than 65 years of manufacturing, design and production experience the Boeing rotorcraft division in Mesa, AZ is universally recognized as one of the world’s leading producers of military rotorcraft and ordinance systems. Headquartered in a modern, two-million-square-foot complex 20 miles east of the Phoenix metropolitan area, Boeing and its 5,300 employees produce the AH-64D Apache Longbow multi-role combat helicopter, highly reliable medium-caliber cannons for worldwide distribution, and a wide range of electrical subassemblies for Boeing-produced combat and commercial aircraft.

As a technology leader, Boeing is still on the ascent. In fact, the company has organized cutting-edge programs that place it in the forefront of technology develop-ment for rotorcraft systems. Three examples highlight this point:
• The Rotorcraft Pilot’s Associate, a futuristic software program, to control helicopter combat mission activities.
• The Canard Rotor/Wing aircraft that lifts off like a helicopter and converts to a high-speed, fixed-wing craft.
• The NOTAR™ system that eliminates the need for conventional helicopters to use tail rotors while making them quieter, safer and easier to maintain.

Gaining - and maintaining - this kind of industry position requires an operation that is at once efficient, organized and cost-effective. To keep with changes in the industry, Boeing recognized the need to enhance the effectiveness of its storage and tool-dispensing systems. Until recently, these functions were completely manual.

John Simons, Manager of Tooling, recognized the need to automate. So Simons, along with Richard Tuzzolino, Production Tech Lead Senior of Manufacturing Research & Development, and Robert Withrow, Manager of Tool Control, teamed up to review their options. Ultimately, the team turned to Remstar for their tool storage and control solution.

“We looked at numerous systems and found that Remstar provided exactly what we wanted,” said Tuzzolino. “Remstar products support all of our storage needs and have adopted CribMaster tool management software to control the system. The integration of Remstar storage and dispensing systems with CribMaster software has created a system that effectively meets The Boeing Company’s needs,” he said.

Boeing is using four Sentinel TS120’s and one TD-10 Automated Tool Dispenser. The system offers point-of-use storage with unattended access in work cells for the storage of small parts, perishable and durable tooling and gages of various sizes. The Sentinel provides increased productivity and security, reduced inventory shrinkage and access accountability. In addition, the unit’s relatively small footprint (4’3” wide, 3’9 1/2” deep) and ability to utilize the available ceiling height, which is like no other tool dispensing system on the market today, has allowed Boeing to maximize available space.

The Sentinel Solution
Using the Remstar system, Boeing has reduced its perishable and durable tool usage per employee by more than 60%. It has also allowed the company to consolidate from 8 tool cribs to seven. From the standpoint of accountability, the company now knows exactly where a tool is at any given time. The automation and consolidation has not only made the company’s materials and tooling more organized, the point-of-use access provides substantial time savings; accessing materials now involves a short 30-second transaction in lieu of a five-minute walk. And since employees can now spend more time on assembly, overall productivity has been increased.

The Sentinels are used in the manufacturing and assembly of the company’s AH-64D Apache Longbow combat helicopter, and in its wire harness facility. Remstar products can store diverse size and shape items, giving customers like Boeing increased flexibility. The Sentinel features 6 sliding doors, security carriers and dividers, and is available in several heights. See-through windows are an especially attractive feature of the Sentinel, allowing the operator to preview the product which, in turn, helps prevent picking errors. The Sentinel provides necessary return capability for tools that are finished being used or tools that need to be calibrated. This increases their availability while tracking usage and calibration.

Tuzzolino said that the addition of bar-code technology to the units has augmented the company’s security, as well as employee accountability. “We’ve made the Sentinels barcode compatible so that employees have to swipe their badge to gain access,” he said. “It helps us keep closer tabs on our extensive parts and tool inventory.” The company has adopted R/F interface technology to increase the system portability. All picking, return, or restocking transactions are logged at Boeing and are available as one of the more than 100 reports.

CribMaster offers
The CribMaster Tool Management Software is a vital part of the overall Remstar system. CribMaster is an advanced tool management system, which allows users to automate their tool storage, retrieval, and tracking. Designed specifically for Windows/NT systems, it’s capable of tracking a diverse range of items, including expendable, durable, reworkable, gauges and kits. CribMaster not only controls the manual cribs and locations, but also drives and manages the automated retrieval systems.

The TD-10 is an automated tool dispensing system designed to store and dispense, individual indexable insert tooling and drills, taps, reamers, or similar tooling up to 8.5 inches long and .625 inches in diameter.

The TD-10 can typically accommodate 60 or more tool types, a capability that allows Boeing to group a wide range of tools in one area. The TD-10 features a cycle time of just five seconds, meaning that tools can be dispensed rapidly and employees can return to their task. The system can be accessed via an industrial keyboard and a visible light bar code reading wand or infrared card reader, but is also linked to CribMaster’s touch screen system.

The system also gives Boeing increased accountability, employee ID, work order ID, date of transaction and other tool-related data which are maintained and posted to reports of transaction and inventory status.

Employees helped decide where the machines would be located, and which products would be stored in them, helping to develop a strong sense of “ownership,” Tuzzolino said. “Employees seem to like having a tool crib that is accessible 24 hours a day,” he said.

Boeing has installed three additional Sentinels and the company could expand its’ system later this year, to support activities in the Flight Testing area and on the assembly line.

“The Remstar system has brought a new level of organization, security and productivity to our operation,” Tuzzolino said. “The changes have been dramatic”.