Cutting tool inventory costs

Sandvik Coromant believes their AutoTAS tool inventory management system is the answer to some nightmarish tooling scenarios. According to Sandvik Coromant, 60 per cent of tool stock in a typical manufacturing operation is obsolete, 30 – 60 per cent of tools aren’t stored properly and 80 per cent of tools in stock are used only twice a year.

Such inventory woes dramatically impede employee performance: 15 per cent of scheduled jobs are stopped or delayed due to lack of appropriate tools, 20 per cent of employee time is spent looking for tools and 20 – 30 per cent of extra time is spent administrating orders because of delays caused by not having the right tools, states information from Sandvik Coromant.

Enter the AutoTAS tool inventory management system, designed for the “optimization of cutting tool logistics,” says Mike Hammond, Canadian services manager for Sandvik Coromant Canada, in Mississauga, Ontario.

AutoTAS (the acronym stands for “Tool Administration Program”) is the name of a proprietary software program from Sandvik Coromant that controls cutting tool dispensing cabinets made by the SupplyPro. The latter is a San Diego-based manufacturer of industrial vending equipment. In addition to controlling tool access, AutoTAS tracks inventory levels and monitors which tools are being used most often and for what purpose. Operators can configure the system to send out warning emails when specific inventory is getting low. The system is designed to reduce machine downtime, get the right tools to the right person and cut tooling costs by avoiding overstock.

The latest version of AutoTAS software has “a new user interface called SmartPick. Previously the user interface and items were more text-based, code-based. This latest interface is really picture-based,” says Hammond.

The SmartPick feature was introduced at the end of 2013, he adds.

The tool dispensing units controlled by AutoTAS come in two main formats: the “SmartDrawer” cabinet (which resembles a silverware cabinet with a 15 inch touchscreen computer monitor on top) and the “SupplyBay” helix dispenser (which resembles a snack food vending machine).

“Smart Drawer is the choice for most installations in Canada”, in part because it’s very flexible in terms of the size and quantity of products it stores, says Hammond.

Depending on how the system is set up, users can access SmartDrawer with a proximity card, swipe card or touchscreen password. Once access is gained, machinists use the touch-screen computer to find the tool they’re looking for. The computer can be programmed to display tools according to machine type or job-type, among other categories. The display screen can also indicate what spare parts are available for a given tool. A machinist selects the tool they want, in the quantity they need, and the appropriate cabinet drawer opens.

SmartDrawer cabinets can be stocked with all manner of “consumable and returnable materials” as SupplyPro puts it. This includes production components, spare parts, safety supplies, welding supplies, electrical parts, calibrated tools and instruments, power tools, vehicles keys, tool holders, etc.

Each drawer in the SmartDrawer cabinet be fitted with two, four, eight, 12, 16 or 24 storage compartments covered by lids. A high density storage drawer with 48 compartments is also available for small items such as inserts, taps, drill bits, tiny tooling, fuses, switches and keys.

The SupplyBay helix dispenser, meanwhile, comes with either a see-through or solid door and is designed for tough engineering environments that require a high-volume of tools and supplies. SupplyBay works like a vending machine—operators press the appropriate button on a keypad controller for an item then retrieve it from the slot on the bottom. The SupplyBay can stock cutting tools, welding supplies, safety supplies, batteries, maintenance items and shop items. A suggested inventory from SupplyPro includes gloves, batteries, inserts, drills, taps, hand tools such as utility knives and screwdrivers, fuses, etc.

SupplyPro has other industrial vending hardware, such as the SupplyTower, designed to store narrow items like torque wrenches up to 48 inches long.

One AutoTAS powered computer can control multiple tool storage cabinets.

In a multi-cabinet environment, “AutoTAS would be installed on a network,” explains Hammond.

He believes that “500 plus” plants in North America are currently using the AutoTAS tool dispensing system.

Sandvik Coromant use an AutoTAS system of their own at the Sandvik Academy in Mississauga, Ontario. Designated as a Sandvik Coromant Productivity Centre, the Academy offers lessons on various manufacturing-related topics.

“We have a full-blown network-based system at the Productivity Centre that we utilize for demonstration purposes with customers,” says Hammond.

If increasing plant efficiency is the main advantage of AutoTAS, Hammond also sees another benefit.

Manufacturing customers who use the system often discover they’re harbouring “obsolete inventory … a lot of customers know what [tooling] they buy but they don’t actually know what they use and where it gets used … [AutoTAS serves as] a real eye-opener,” he says.