To improve the production practices Innokas has invest in new technologies as well as re-organized its production layout at Kempele factory during the last 12 months. The newest invest was the new storage system Agilon, which was taken in use in the beginning of this year. The new system is intended to clarify and facilitate the production of Innokas component collecting process.
“By choosing to invest in Agilon, we got easily managed and optimized storage system in our Kempele factory. The system is 6,1 meters high and it takes only 16 m2 space. There is even 174 shelfs in the system; the use of warehouse space is now much more reasonable when we’re able to storage more items in smaller space”, says Innokas’ Kempele Production Manager Pekka Suutari.
The system is developed by Konecranes and it utilizes IoT technologies while enabling companies to more efficient daily work when the system automates the warehouse and storage activities. The system records and collects the real-time information and amount of components and other items in the storage, and all the items are automatically stored as well as transferred to employees use when needed.
“When the items arrive to our Kempele factory, Agilon can storage them in right shelfs as well as choose the reasonable places for each sizes. The system also collects and records all the information so the items should never be lost”, Suutari tells.
“With this new system we especially want to decrease the balance errors of components and other materials - through the automatic process the amount of items should always be balanced. The new system is intended also to clarify and facilitate the production of Innokas component collecting process. The system replaces the manual collecting process we were having before Agilon, which speeds up the collection process”, he continues.
Konecranes launched the new system on the market in the end of 2013 and user experiences have been good. The system is proved to be worth of investing in different industries and intended uses.
“Innokas’ first experience with the system has been very good. Agilon is not only a smart robot but a very genuine overall process through which we’re able to develop the quality of our operation as well as our productivity”, Suutari says.
A new production layout improves the efficiency of Innokas Medical’s operations
In addition to the new warehouse system Innokas Medical’s Kempele production space has undergone a transformation during the last 12 months. The production layout has been improved to ensure the more clear and efficient production processes.
”We have re-designed and re-organized the production layout of our Kempele factory, as well as implemented the new daily improvement methods to ensure more efficient but flexible production processes at Innokas. By these improvements and development actions we have made, we were able to have more capacity for the new products in the Kempele factory”, Suutari tells.
The more intelligent production layout and re-planned production processes improve the quality of Innokas’ operation. Yet, Suutari reminds that Innokas Medical has always produced quality.
“Innokas has never cut corners, but improving quality is part of the company’s quality policy. Both the new warehouse system and the re-organized production layout are very important investments for us as in addition to the quality improvements, we were able to increase the production capacity as well as to ensure the flexible operation at our Kempele factory. Added value comes from the fact that through the improvements we’ve made we’re able to offer our customers even better delivery accuracy as well as more cost-efficient production and high-quality operation and output”, Suutari concludes.