Flexpipe Blog

A Flexpipe roller track is an essential component for lean gravity-fed FIFO (First-In, First-Out) flow racks. They are used in material-handling systems, such as picking and kitting carts and racks, and line-side replenishment, where material storage and retrieval must be seamless.

A roller track consists of low-friction rollers securely mounted within a steel frame. Accessories like level stoppers ensure material bins stay in place. When properly used, Flexpipe roller tracks are ideal for storing material bins and totes, allowing for easy loading and unloading as needed.

In lean manufacturing, roller tracks ensure line-side production technicians can easily retrieve materials and consumables from shelving units. A roller track leverages gravity, requires no power, and has low-friction rollers for seamless material flow. They are durable, come in different widths and configurations, and can be cut to whatever length is needed.

Flexpipe roller tracks :

Are a gravity-fed solution

Require no power

Have low friction rollers

Are 100% modular and scalable

Can be cut-to-length

Are incredibly durable

Come in multiple widths and configurations

Key Takeaways

Roller tracks are a gravity-fed solution in lean manufacturing racks and material handling.

The Flexpipe R40 Roller Track is the most common option.

The Flexpipe R40 Flanged Roller Track provides built-in guidance for narrow containers.

The Flexpipe R40 Bi-directional Roller Track allows bins to move in both directions.

The Flexpipe R85 Roller Tracks support heavier loads and wider lanes.

Flexpipe Accessories control placement and material flow.

What is a Roller Track and How Does it Work?

A Flexpipe roller track is a gravity-fed solution used in material flow racks to control the storage, movement, and retrieval of material bins. Material is stored from the back of the flow rack and retrieved from the front.

A roller track is a critical component of any lean manufacturing FIFO flow rack. Each Flexpipe roller track is installed at a 5-degree downward angle. A tab stop at the end of each level stops material bins from falling over.

The 5-degree decline  ensures the bins slide down from the loading side (back of the rack) to the picking side (front of the rack). By providing line-side access to material bins, a roller track reduces motion waste as operators don’t have to travel outside their workstation for material.

Benefits of Roller Tracks

Critical for FIFO Inventory

Essential for FIFO Flow Racks

Reduces Motion Waste

Ensures Steady Material Flow

Ensures Continuous Material Replenishment

How to choose the Right Roller Track

Choosing the right gravity roller track is critical to ensuring your material bins move easily from the back of your FIFO flow rack to the front without getting stuck. That means choosing a roller track matched to the types of bins your company uses. The following flow rack roller track guide outlines the most common Flexpipe options available and when to use them.

Roller Track Selection Guide

R40-RT96 – “R40 Roller Track” – Roller Track Steel 40 mm x 8 ft ESD

The R40-RT96 is the standard Flexpipe roller track for any electrostatic discharge (ESD) requirement. The wheels are polyethylene (PE) and are mounted within a galvanized steel enclosure. They work with standard-sized material bins, generate low friction, and are exceptionally durable and quiet.

Polyethylene (PE) Wheels

Galvanized Steel Enclosure

ESD-Safe

Generates Low Friction

Durable

Quiet

Each wheel can support 20 lbs and about 507 lbs over 1 meter (3.28 feet). This Flexpipe roller track is modular and scalable, ensuring easy access to gravity-fed material bins, minimizing handling, and improving efficiency.

Use the R40 Roller Track when…

Working with standard-sized bins and totes

Building lightweight FIFO flow racks and gravity racking

When needing line-side picking solutions

R40-RT96FL – “R40 Flanged Roller” – Roller Track Steel with Flange 40 mm x 8 ft ESD

Next up is the R40-RT96FL – R40 Flanged Roller – another ESD-compatible flow rack roller track with polyethylene (PE) wheels. The R40 Flanged Roller supports the same overall weight per wheel and meter while improving material flow by providing low rolling resistance.

The R40 Flanged Roller has flanges that act as a built-in guiding tool, keeping material bins aligned while reducing blockage. 

Polyethylene (PE) Wheels

Galvanized Steel Enclosure

ESD-Safe

Built-In Guiding Tool

Low Friction

Keeps Bins Aligned

Eliminates Blockage

Use the R40 Flanged Roller Track when…

You need to ensure bins are aligned and don’t fall off track

Using lightweight, uneven-bottom, or older bins

You want to ensure proper guidance of material bins

R40-RT48BD – “R40 Bi-Directional Roller Track” – Bi-Directional Roller Track 40 mm X 4 ft

Providing the same great low-friction operation, the R40 Bi-Directional Roller Track allows for movement in both directions, making it an extremely flexible solution.

This low-resistance roller track provides exceptionally smooth rolling performance, and its compact design allows for easy integration within any standing rack. The R40 Bi-Directional Roller Track also reduces handling time as operators don’t have to manually turn bins around.

Allows bins and totes to move in both directions

Extremely flexible gravity roller track

Reduces handling time (no need to manually turn bins around)

Fantastic rolling performance

Low friction and compact design

Use R40 Bi-Directional Roller Track when…

Line-side flow racks where material flow and direction change frequently

Workstation-to-workstation transfer points

(moving bins back and forth between workstations)

Lean work cells needing bi-directional material flow.

R85-RT96 – “R85 Roller Track” – Roller Track Steel 85 mm x 8 ft ESD

The R85 Roller Track is 85 mm wide, which makes it perfect for supporting heavier bins. This ESD-compliant flow rack roller track is best used with sensitive electronic components needing protection against static discharge.

The frame is made of heavy-duty galvanized steel, making this FIFO roller track incredibly durable. Like all Flexpipe roller tracks, the R85 Roller Track is a low-friction, incredibly smooth roller track that can be integrated into any line-side FIFO flow rack.

Wide 85 mm track ideal for heavier loads and material bins

ESD-compliant protects against static discharge

Low-friction and exceptionally smooth

Heavy-duty steel frame means it's incredibly durable

Use R85 Roller Track when…

Handling larger and heavier material bins, cartons, and totes

Needing a high-strength, extremely stable roller track

Working in ESD-sensitive assembly environments.

In most applications, lean manufacturers start with the standard R40 roller track. As their requirements and needs change, they often start using the other roller tracks.

Ultimately, a flanged roller track guides material bins and keeps them perfectly aligned. The bidirectional roller tracks support two-way material flow, while the R85 roller tracks are used with wider and heavier bins.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQIElPo_gJ8

Sizing a Roller Track Lane

Several important criteria should be considered when sizing a roller track lane. First, always consider the width of your material bins. That width determines the spacing between the roller tracks. Material bins holding lightweight materials will require shorter spacing compared to material bins holding heavier materials.

Second, start with a 5-degree angle for the slope of the roller track. However, be willing to adjust this angle slightly up or down depending upon the weight of the materials within your bins. A 3- or 4-degree angle is sufficient for heavier material bins, as the extra weight ensures the bin slide downward. However, lighter bins may require more slope.

Finally, the weight of the material bins is also essential to choosing the type of roller track. Remember, the standard Flexpipe R40 roller track’s wheels support 20 lbs and over 507 lbs over 1 meter (3.28 feet). Anything heavier than that would typically require R85 roller tracks.

What Accessories Are Needed for Roller Tracks?

Flexpipe provides lean manufacturers with a comprehensive list of roller track accessories that help to secure bins in place while improving material flow. A breakdown of these accessories, along with a description of each, is provided in the table below.

Common Applications for Roller Tracks in Lean Manufacturing

The most common applications for Flexpipe roller tracks are FIFO flow racks. However, they are also found in supermarket racks, kitting and picking carts, and racks, in addition to any requirement for line-side replenishment or warehouse replenishment.

In lean manufacturing environments, it’s common to have mobile FIFO flow racks positioned immediately outside a given lean manufacturing workstation or lean work cell. Inventory personnel will store material bins from the back of the rack. The front of the rack faces the operator.

This simple configuration ensures the operator never has to leave their workstation or lean work cell to get critical materials or consumables. Everything is stored for them. They simply remove a material bin as needed, and a replacement takes its place while inventory personnel store the bin from the back of the rack.

FIFO flow racks

supermarket racks

kitting racks

picking lanes

line-side replenishment

warehouse replenishment

Roller Tracks vs Skate Wheel Tracks

An all-too-common mistake is trying to use skate wheel tracks in place of roller tracks. First, it’s important to understand that these two products serve different functions. They are not interchangeable.

Roller tracks are predominantly found in lean manufacturing FIFO flow racks, picking and kitting carts, and line-side material handling structures that support production with critical materials and consumables. They are essential to providing operators in lean workstations and lean work cells with the critical materials needed during assembly.

Skate wheel tracks are most often found in packaging and shipping. They are heavily relied upon for order fulfillment, allowing warehouse personnel to move parcels down the track to shipping. While they may be found in production, they are not used on FIFO flow racks or material handling structures that provide production employees in workstations with critical materials.

Roller Tracks

Ideal for heavier bins, totes, and flat-bottom material bins.

Ensure proper material flow in production.

Provide straight-line material flow.

Used in FIFO flow racks, lean manufacturing racks, and in Kanban structures.

Skate Wheel Tracks

Used heavily in packaging and shipping

Essential to order fulfillment

More multidirectional movement point-to-point

From warehouse to shipping and back again

Ideal for lightweight packaged products and finished goods in boxes/cartons.

Most Common Flow Rack Design Mistakes

The most common mistakes in designing  include using the wrong roller track. It’s common for companies to forget to account for the material bins’ width. They simply install the roller tracks only to find out there isn’t sufficient space between the tracks to allow for easy movement.

Another mistake is not adjusting the flow rack angle. Heavier material bins don’t require as steep a slope, whereas lighter material bins require a steeper slope. This leads to another common mistake, not using Flexpipe roller track decelerators (R40-SLOW) for heavier bins.

Wrong Roller Track Width

Not accounting for material bin width

Not Adjusting Angle of Roller Track

Not using decelerators for heavier bins

Overloading Racks

Not accounting for weight distribution per roller track

Buying Welded Steel Racks Instead of Modular Flexpipe Racks

Full customization is possible with Flexpipe – not with steel-welded racking

Overloading racks is another common mistake, and consequently, overloading the roller tracks. Always be aware of the total weight of each material bin relative to what the roller track can support.

While each of these mistakes is common, perhaps the biggest mistake is when lean manufacturers buy fixed, steel-welded flow racks. These fixed FIFO flow racks do not allow for customization. In most instances, they don’t match a manufacturer’s bin dimensions, and if those bin dimensions change, there is no way to adjust the structure.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a roller track used for?A roller track is used in gravity flow racks. Bins, totes, or cartons are stored at the back of a rack, and gravity moves them to the front, supporting FIFO racking systems and improving production efficiency.What roller track should I use for a flow rack?The Flexpipe R40 roller track is the most common choice for flow racks because it works well with standard bins in lean manufacturing and warehouse environments.What is the difference between R40 and R85 roller tracks?R40 tracks are designed for standard, lightweight bins, while R85 roller tracks have a wider profile, allowing them to support larger, heavier bins.When should I use flanged roller tracks?Flanged roller tracks should be used when you want to properly guide bins to ensure they don’t drift off the roller track. The integrated flanges help guide bins and maintain alignment.Can roller tracks support FIFO systems?Yes. Flexpipe roller tracks are used in FIFO flow racks because they allow containers to move smoothly from the loading (bask) side to the picking (front) side using gravity.

Design and Assemble Flexpipe FIFO Flow Racks Using Roller Tracks

The Flexpipe system is the ultimate solution for customizing FIFO flow racks and other material handling systems. This cut-to-size-and-assemble system is exceptionally durable while being a low-cost alternative to fixed-in-place, steel-welded material handling structures.

A Flexpipe FIFO flow rack, workstation, kitting cart, picking cart, lean work cell, or tugger cart can be customized, assembled, modified, and adjusted on-site at your facility.

To learn what’s possible with the Flexpipe system, please visit our Design Guide.

To see existing solutions that can help you reduce your costs of material handling, visit our Free Plans.

To speak to someone directly or inquire about our design services, contact us now.

Every journey starts somewhere. In lean manufacturing, that journey begins with a continuous improvement (CI) workshop. A CI workshop provides the foundation by which your company can make significant lean improvements that reduce waste, increase throughput, and reduce costs. When Flexpipe customers want to learn the most efficient, proven ways to run a successful CI workshop, they combine the scalability of Flexpipe’s steel tube and joints with the insight, expertise, and lean teaching solutions provided by Flexpipe’s global partner – Quadrant 5.  

So, how can the combination of Flexpipe’s ease-of-use material handling system and the lean subject-matter experts at Quadrant 5 help your manufacturing location adopt a continuous improvement, lean manufacturing mindset that provides endless returns?

A Global Partnership Focused on Lean Manufacturing

An experienced consultancy group based out of San Francisco California, USA, Quadrant 5 comprises Toyota Production System (TPS) experts with extensive international experience over three continents and 17 countries. Quadrant 5 has helped some of the most recognized global manufacturers adopt lean manufacturing solutions and best practices. 

Needing a lean manufacturing workstation and material handling assembly system that allows for quick, immediate, low-cost, near-instant changes to workstation structures led Q5 to Flexpipe’s steel tube and joint system. Flexpipe’s system – whose origins can also be traced back to the Toyota Production System – was a natural fit for Q5’s CI workshops and continuous improvement initiatives.  

This partnership provides customers with the tools, training, and expertise needed to make CI workshops that all-important first step to adopting lean manufacturing.

What is a CI Workshop?

Think of a CI workshop as a sequential, step-by-step process to prototyping the perfect manufacturing workstation. In the case of Q5 and Flexpipe, that includes using the steel tube and joints to create a new, lean, much improved, and far more efficient workstation. So, what’s the first step? 

1. Embrace Kaizen 

Long before any changes begin, management and employees must embrace the Kaizen, lean manufacturing doctrine. Kaizen is Japanese for “change for the better”. However, Kaizen is not a one-time event – as some North American manufacturers sometimes assume. It is an every-second-of-the-day, never-ending process where daily improvements are made to increase efficiencies and eliminate waste. 

Within manufacturing, waste can take many forms. Think of waste not just in terms of physical parts and defects, but in the extra movements and steps production technicians often take unnecessarily. Waste can include excess inventory. It can include lost time from machine downtime, and missing parts, tools, and instructions.  

Waste can include high transit times to move work-in-process (WIP) parts across the shop floor and between each workstation. It can include redundant and time-consuming work processes, incomplete and unclear work orders, confusing bills of materials (BOM), repetitive work tasks, and redundant approvals. Most importantly, waste can include production technicians lacking sufficient clean workstations. 

Ultimately, waste becomes much easier to spot once you start the CI workshop. The essence of lean is to allow production technicians to eliminate this waste by empowering them to be proactive. This is the mindset that must be adopted for a CI workshop to be successful. Without this all-important mindset, any incremental improvements will be abandoned. 

2. Identify a Production Area That Requires Improving

In our example, we’ll focus on a workstation that is poorly laid out, poorly structured, and needs to be properly redesigned. We’ll assume this workstation has been chosen because it has high manufacturing cycle times that create unnecessary backlogs for the adjacent workstation. Ultimately, cycle times to complete work tasks are high, backlogs build up, space is at a premium, workflow is constantly interrupted, and production volumes suffer as a result.

Quadrant 5 hands-on consulting provides production technicians will all the tools they need to design lean manufacturing structures and workstations

3. Focus on Small Incremental Improvements

This particular workstation’s frame includes a wooden structure that is dilapidated and warping, insufficient space for the operator or technician to perform their work tasks, and an obvious lack of structure and organization for tool placement and storage. In addition, there is an oversized welded worktable and steel cabinets.

Tools and consumables are often misplaced, and semi-finished parts are often strewn about. With no designated place for tools, accessories, and consumables – and with limited space to perform work tasks – it’s easy to see how this workstation has high cycle times and why backlogs are commonplace.

By focusing on small, incremental improvements, this waste can eventually be eliminated. A new workstation structure can be designed, assembled, changed, and quickly adjusted with Flexpipe’s steel tube and joints and the insightful guidance and lean teaching of the Q5 team.

The welded worktable can be replaced with a right-sized, tailor-made Flexpipe worktable with the proper decking material while all the tools, accessories, and consumables can be properly stored using 5S principles, Flexpipe’s Kaizen foam and either Flexpipe’s white HDPE Peg Board or Flexpipe Rigid Honeycomb Board.

A perfect example of how 5S principles ensure that every tool and consumable has its rightful place.

While this is just an example, the experience, guidance, and insight provided by the Q5 lean manufacturing team along with the scalability and flexibility of the Flexpipe steel tube and joints system allows these incremental changes to produce incredible results.

4. Measure the Performance of the New Workstation

Throughout this entire process, it’s essential to gather feedback and suggestions from the production technician. Their input is invaluable, and they must feel like an active participant in this process. Determining the success of these adjustments ultimately comes down to measuring the performance – or put differently – the production throughput of the newly designed Flexpipe Workstation.

The Q5 team can provide invaluable insight into how this improved performance can be measured and quantified. The result is a much-improved workstation layout where cycle times have decreased, production volumes have increased, the production technician has a cleaner work environment, tools are easily found, and future backlogs have been eliminated.

Quadrant 5’s consulting provides in-class training for senior management, line-side managers, and supervisors.

5. Duplicate Success

The goal is to duplicate this success throughout all the workstations on the shop floor with the overriding purpose of creating a true, lean manufacturing environment. This quickly becomes a necessity as improving one workstation – while not improving the next – would eventually lead to additional backlogs as the improved workstation would easily outproduce and outpace its counterparts.

Customers and Industries that Use Flexpipe and Q5

The strategic partnership between Q5 and Flexpipe has helped numerous manufacturers in the USA, Canada, and Mexico. From automotive manufacturers to aerospace Primes and contractors to corrugated packaging companies and furniture manufacturers, Q5 and Flexpipe’s partnership has had a direct, bottom-line impact on numerous manufacturers.

Some of Q5’s most recognized customers include Acme Corrugated, Bay Cities, President Container, Kento US, AICC, Cartro SAPI de CV with current projects including L&M container, Royal Container, Construction Innovations, Rexmoore, and M3 Components – just to name a few.

A clearly defined daily plan of attack, metrics, KPI, Master Schedule, and performance tracking are staples of Q5 lean manufacturing training and consulting.

A newly transformed crib station designed and implemented by Q5 using customized Flexpipe portable workbenches, customized flow racks, and shelving units with special bins to hold consumables, fasteners, and hardware as well as Flexpipe shadow board for tool placement and storage.

Q5 Workshop Consulting Services With Flexpipe Steel Tube and Joints

The global partnership between Quadrant 5 and Flexpipe provides the tools, training, and insight manufacturers need to create bespoke workshops and lean manufacturing best practices that increase speed, eliminate waste, improve product quality, and reduce costs.

This unique global partnership empowers manufacturers to create unique solutions for their operational teams allowing them to reduce costs and increase production throughput faster than any other solutions on the market today.

To make the best of your CI Workshop with Quadrant 5 and Flexpipe’s steel tube and joint material handling system, training for senior managers (10 Hours) is available to ramp up everyone in the latest lean techniques.

Technical training is also given to your CI personnel during the construction of the workshop. Additional visits can be created, depending on the level of support needed.

Quadrant 5 and Flexpipe: A Global Lean Manufacturing Consultancy Partnership

As a North American designer, assembler, and provider of modular, scalable material handling systems, Flexpipe combines its steel tube and joint system with multiple support products to help manufacturers improve efficiencies and reduce costs.

To learn more about Flexpipe’s modular and scalable material handling solutions, please visit Flexpipe.

By combining its services with the knowledge, experience, and in-depth TPS and lean manufacturing consulting offered by Quadrant 5, both companies provide global manufacturers with the best and most proven solutions for improving operational effectiveness. 

To learn more about how Quadrant 5’s consulting services can help your business gain the upper hand, please visit Quadrant 5.

Kaizen is a continuous improvement methodology incorporating multiple practical applications like 5S, value-stream mapping, fishbone diagrams, spaghetti diagrams, Pareto charts, control charts, and the Shewhart PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act) cycle. However, at its core, Kaizen is ultimately about fostering an environment where employees and management are motivated to improve where they work, how they work, and how work flows from one step to the next.   

Make enough small improvements, and your company will achieve substantial returns like stronger product quality, improved workflow, reduced waste, and increased efficiency. While this might all sound theoretical, there are real-world Kaizen examples where companies have transformed workspaces and achieved incredible results – and the tool they use is Flexpipe.

Workspace Efficiency and Flexpipe

Throughout its lifetime, your manufacturing business will most likely experience periods of rapid growth, followed by brief lulls before growing/expanding again. That continuous change requires an efficient workspace solution that can adjust and change as needed. This is exactly what the Flexpipe solution allows.  

Given that the very nature of Kaizen is continuous improvement – coupled with the fact that manufacturing is never static or stationary – a modular, low-cost, scalable solution is needed that allows your employees to design, assemble, and change workspaces/workstations as needed.  

These workspaces can’t be welded. They can’t be fixed structures and they can’t be haphazardly made with suspect materials like wood. These workspaces must be flexible, scalable, and comprised of durable, high-strength materials.   

The Flexpipe’s steel tube and joint system is like an erector set. It is a modular and scalable workspace solution that allows you to design, assemble, change, modify, and adjust workspaces. This increased flexibility is the perfect solution for lean manufacturing/Kaizen environments and their continuous improvement efforts.

Flexpipe in Action: Workspaces Before and After

There are multiple real-world examples of how companies/manufacturers have used Flexpipe to workspaces into extremely efficient, safer, and more functional workspaces. These new Flexpipe workspaces provide employees with increased flexibility, and ideal space, and eliminate wasted movements so often associated with poorly conceived and poorly designed workspaces.

In the example above, a large cabinet manufacturer – that had adopted lean manufacturing – decided it needed to improve its workspaces by doing away with its welded, heavy, and hard-to-navigate workbenches and workstations. By using the Flexpipe modular and scalable solution, this manufacturer created a much safer, more ergonomically friendly workspace which helped to reduce trips, falls, and stumbles.  

This new Flexpipe workspace allowed the manufacturer to increase their 5S score from 64 percent to 75 percent, representing a 17 percent improvement. They were also able to reduce the average distance traveled by employees within the workspace – for each unit assembled – from 180 feet to 18 feet, representing an astonishing 90 percent waste reduction. The operator no longer had to walk around the welded bench or bend over the side to get critical parts.

Another example of how a welded workbench and permanent shadow board did not allow the manufacturer to make any layout changes without incurring a substantial amount of wasted time and labor. This example comes from a corrugated packaging company that experienced high amounts of wasted time due to misplaced tools, consumables, and spare parts. 

By adopting 5S principles – and using Flexpipe’s steel tubes and joints – the company was able to create a mobile-capable workspace where every tool, consumable, and spare part had a proper place. A simple solution of incorporating Flexpipe casters in the design of this workstation eliminates all the wasted time and labor required to move the workbench. Whereas two people were needed before – one is needed now and without any strain involved.

The example above comes from a manufacturer of retail refrigerated merchandisers. At this manufacturing location, efficiency was seen as a critical requirement. Unfortunately, their workspaces were large, heavy structures that didn’t fully adopt the essentials of 5S. Parts and consumables went missing, work instructions and BOM were misplaced, and operators often retained critical tools that could be used by co-workers – as evidenced by the two hand-held cordless drills on the workbench.  

By using Flexpipe, this manufacturer designed a 5S workspace that was cleaner, more compact, easier to see, and had proper placement locations for parts, consumables (fasteners), and tools. Visibility increased substantially and critical parts and consumables were no longer stashed away in underutilized, hidden drawers. This represented huge savings in movement and time as employees always followed 5S end-of-day practices by putting everything away in its proper place.

Real-World Practical Tools for Kaizen Workshops

If you are a current practitioner of Kaizen and lean manufacturing – or are thinking of pursuing these continuous improvement methods – having a customized Kaizen Workshop ready and able to cut, assemble, and adjust your Flexpipe workspaces and workstation structures is an absolute must.  

Here are some examples of Flexpipe structures that Flexpipe and our customers use inside their Kaizen Workshops. Each of these structures has been built using Flexpipe’s steel tubes and joints.

Pipe Cutting Saw Station

Cutting pipe generally takes the longest when assembling your Flexpipe workspaces and workstation structures. As such, a well-designed and well-laid-out “pipe” cutting station is essential. It streamlines the cutting process and makes it easier for a single operator to lay out, measure, and cut the steel pipes.  

This pipe-cutting station above has two designated overhead storage areas to hold pipes so that the operator doesn’t have to leave the cutting station. The operator simply removes the pipes from one of the storage areas on either side of the miter saw. A shop vacuum is positioned beside this saw station so that the operator can ensure a clean and debris-free area at the end of their shift – which is a critical part of 5S.

In some cutting stations, customers choose to use a rigid pipe cutter (image above to the left) or a large bandsaw (image above to the right).

Mobile Pipe Kitting Carts

Mobile pipe-kitting carts are a great way to organize all your pipes in various lengths. These mobile carts are ideal for supplying new pipes for your pipe-cutting saw station, storing pipe that’s been cut but can still be used, or bringing new pipe to a workspace or workstation that needs minor adjustments.

Height-Adjustable and Mobile Worktable

A height-adjustable and mobile worktable gives your assembly team an ergonomic space where they can prepare and assemble pipe structures until those structures are ready to be placed on the floor. This height-adjustable worktable has Flexpipe’s casters so it can easily be maneuvered to different locations on your shop floor. 

A height-adjustable worktable is an ideal solution when assembling larger workstations or other large Flexpipe structures. The table can be adjusted up or down, depending on what’s needed. For example, a larger or taller structure can be lowered so that it’s easier to work on.

Assembly Tool Shadow Board Platform (Kaizen Foam)

Another Kaizen solution is the assembly tool shadow board platform above. This platform uses Flexpipe’s Kaizen Foam – a simple foam solution where employees can trace their tools onto the foam and then cut out that trace to ensure the tool is secured. The Kaizen Foam acts as a Poka-Yoke in that only the right-sized parts will fit in the foam cutouts.

Mobile PC Station

A mobile PC station with a large flatscreen is especially useful when building your Flexpipe workspace or workstation and relying upon digital assembly drawings. It can also be used by production employees for any complex integrated assemblies. Simply display the drawing on your screen near the assembly area for reference. Some customers, replace the PC with a simple display board with the printed assembly drawings on the board.

Mobile Support Carts

The small, mobile support cart above has storage locations for consumables and fasteners both on the main level and underneath level. In addition, an angled shadow board using Flexpipe’s Kaizen foam makes sure that tools are properly placed in the right area. This mobile support cart can quickly be moved into a given area to support employees when assembling or changing workspaces.

Flexpipe Crib - Part Storage Rack

It’s critical to have a designated assembly area for all your Flexpipe parts and that those parts be stored in that area. The Flexpipe Crib includes a mobile rack for consumable and part storage and a mobile cutting cart.  A good rule of thumb is to store all the highest moving parts at waist height for easy and immediate retrieval.

Flexpipe Steel Tubes and Joints: Your Ideal Kaizen Workspace Solution

Empowering your employees to be their best in a Kaizen environment so they reduce waste and make improvements requires giving them the tools they need to succeed. Those tools must be easy-to-use, simple, and straightforward and allow your employees to make a real difference.

Flexpipe is that all-important tool for workspace optimization and efficiency.

To learn how Flexpipe can help your manufacturing facility adopt Kaizen and lean manufacturing solutions that reduce the costs of each of your workspaces, contact us now.

Flexpipe embarks on a digital lean transformation, implementing just-in-time and "5-zero" principles to enhance operational efficiency and manufacturing sustainability.

Eliminating bureaucratic waste to streamline processes

Cumbersome bureaucratic procedures are now a thing of the past for Flexpipe. Initiating a digital shift in 2019 regarding the digitization of all administrative documents, the company has now moved on to digitizing assembly drawings, marking a new chapter for Flexpipe, combining innovation, profitability, and manufacturing sustainability.

Reading of printed drawings by assemblers - Flexpipe 2019

RATHER COSTLY OPERATIONS

The company's digital lean, distributing electronic tablets to assemblers for reading assembly drawings, particularly reflects its commitment to zero paper, a pillar of "just-in-time." By eliminating bureaucratic waste and printing costs totaling over $30,000 annually, the company takes a proactive approach to reducing lead times and enhancing productivity.

The integration of tablet computers underwent rigorous processes, involving key players and focusing on employee training and support to ensure a smooth transition to the new work tools. This approach aligns with the "zero defects" and "zero breakdowns" philosophy, aiming to detect anomalies early and maintain production process continuity.

Training and coaching employees to overcome reluctance to change

GROWTH AND INNOVATION

Flexpipe's growth and innovation showcase its ability to pursue operational excellence while integrating just-in-time principles. Lean methodologies create a significant competitive advantage, leading to doubled sales while maintaining the same workforce.

The company's commitment extends to achieving "zero delay" in operations, optimizing every manufacturing stage to reduce downtime and meet customer deadlines. This approach relies on meticulous production flow management, supported by seamless communication and effective digital tool utilization.

Sur la photo: Mathieu, directeur de la distribution, Benjamin, directeur général et Ian, directeur de production

A CONCEPT OF CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

Today's "paperless" objective necessitates a comprehensive process overhaul, encouraging the adoption of new, paperless methods. Rather than banning printing for paper enthusiasts, the emphasis is on transitioning to digital documents, eliminating previously associated superfluous steps. This concept remains relevant across all sectors, emphasizing the need to comprehend its principles and limitations. Achieving the "5 zeros" demands continual improvement commitment, evolving gradually rather than abruptly.

Lean manufacturing isn't just about cutting costs — it's a philosophy of continuous improvement and strategic planning that transforms the entire production process. Among the many lean tools, Hoshin Kanri stands out as a methodical approach to aligning company goals with practical, on-the-ground operations. This guide explores how manufacturing engineers can apply Hoshin Kanri to achieve operational excellence.

What is Hoshin Kanri?

Hoshin Kanri, originating from the Japanese business management system, is a strategic planning process that integrates Lean principles to ensure that every employee is working towards the same objectives. It translates to "direction management" or "policy deployment." By focusing on KPIs, cross-functional teamwork, and the PDCA cycle, Hoshin Kanri empowers engineers and managers alike to steer their teams toward common goals effectively.

The PDCA method or the Deming cycle

This disciplined approach involves several key steps:

Identifying Key Business Objectives: It starts with the vision of the company and breaks it down into clear, actionable steps. 

Developing Strategies for Goals: It involves devising strategies to achieve these objectives, often with the help of cross-functional teams. 

Implementing Action Plans: These strategies are translated into action plans, which are then carried out by employees at all levels of the organization. 

Reviewing and Adjusting: Regular reviews are essential to assess progress and make necessary adjustments.

Benefits for Manufacturing Engineers:

Manufacturing engineers who employ Hoshin Kanri can expect several tangible benefits:

Improved focus on value-added activities. 

Enhanced process efficiency and waste reduction. 

Better resource allocation and inventory management through JIT principles. 

Stronger alignment between management objectives and operational activities.

Planning and online Tools for Hoshin Kanri

The digital transformation of the manufacturing industry has introduced a suite of online tools tailored to support strategic planning and the Hoshin Kanri process. These tools offer a multitude of features that support the various stages of the Hoshin planning cycle, from conception to completion. Here's a curated list of tools that can facilitate each phase of your Hoshin plan: 

Trello: A visual tool that's perfect for monitoring the progress of Hoshin initiatives. 

Asana: Streamlines task assignment and tracking related to strategic actions. 

Monday.com: Offers templates for creating an X-Matrix, a fundamental Hoshin Kanri document. 

Smartsheet: Provides robust planning capabilities for complex strategic documents. 

i-nexus: Tailored for strategy execution, ensuring goal alignment and tracking. 

businessmap: Delivers advanced Kanban boards and analytics to support the Catchball process. 

Lucidchart: Ideal for process visualization, crucial for A3 reports and strategy mapping. 

Understanding the X-Matrix: The Planning Backbone of Hoshin Kanri

A cornerstone of Hoshin Kanri is the X-Matrix, a comprehensive planning matrix that visually maps out the strategic plan, aligning long-term goals with tactics, metrics, and responsible parties. This tool is invaluable for ensuring transparency and coherence in your strategy. This kind of tool facilitate the creation and tracking of the X-Matrix, allowing teams to see how their efforts contribute to overarching company objectives in real time. By leveraging such platforms, engineers and managers gain a birds-eye view of their strategy's execution, ensuring that all actions are purpose-driven and results-oriented.

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Leveraging Online Tools for Strategic Planning

Incorporating these online tools into your Hoshin Kanri strategy can yield transformative results. 

Ensure Alignment: Use the tools to align individual and team activities with strategic objectives. 

Foster Collaboration: Enhance collaboration across departments by providing a common platform for sharing progress and feedback. 

Monitor Performance: Keep track of performance metrics to ensure strategic outcomes are being met. 

Hoshin Kanri is a powerful lean methodology that, when supported by the right set of online tools, can help manufacturing engineers and organizations ensure that every team member is working towards the same goals. By integrating these tools into your Hoshin Kanri framework, your team can work more efficiently, adapt to changes quickly, and achieve strategic objectives with greater precision. 

We're eager to hear about your experiences with Hoshin Kanri and these online tools. Leave a comment below to join the conversation and help others in the lean manufacturing community find the best strategies for success.

In the manufacturing realm, optimizing for efficiency while meeting ever-evolving market demands is critical. Enter Heijunka, a Japanese technique of "leveling production". Renowned as the backbone of the Toyota Production System (TPS) and the foundation of Lean methodology, Heijunka serves as a beacon for operational excellence.

Understanding Heijunka

Toyota Motor Corporation designed their production system to deliver superior quality, optimal cost, and minimized lead time by eradicating waste. The foundation of TPS rests on two main tenets: just-in-time and jidoka. This concept is frequently depicted with the "house" illustration.

Heijunka, pronounced "hey-june-kuh", is more than just leveling production; it represents a philosophy to combat waste, align production with actual demand, and ultimately, streamline operations. Originating as an essential pillar of the TPS, Heijunka's inception was aimed at addressing the unpredictabilities and inefficiencies resulting from erratic production schedules and fluctuating customer demands. 

By integrating the principles of Heijunka, manufacturers are empowered to craft a balanced and rhythmic production cadence. This harmonized approach reduces lead times, ensures high-quality output, and optimizes resource allocation, thus bolstering overall operational efficiency.

Principles of Heijunka

The Heijunka is the solution to the Mura problematic.

Demand Smoothing: Central to Heijunka is the principle of demand smoothing, ensuring production orders are evenly spaced, mitigating the risks of abrupt demand fluctuations. It addresses challenges like overproduction during demand peaks or resource underutilization during lulls. 

Mixed-Model Production: Unlike traditional manufacturing that emphasizes large batches of a single product, Heijunka promotes mixed-model production. It's a holistic approach, producing varied products in small batches, aligning with changing customer preferences without accumulating unnecessary inventory.

Through Heijunka, the goal is to combat inefficiencies born from inconsistent production times.

Takt Time Integration: Central to Lean methodology, takt time — the rate at which a product must be produced to meet customer demand — is interwoven into Heijunka. This synchronization ensures that manufacturing processes are consistently paced and optimized.

Benefits of Heijunka

When implemented properly, the system ensures consistency by balancing demand, adaptability by reducing the time it takes to switch tasks, and steadiness by maintaining a consistent production volume and variety over an extended period.

Waste Reduction: Heijunka's strategic distribution of production orders significantly trims waste. This includes overstock, overproduction, and the mismanagement of resources. By eliminating these inefficiencies, businesses can realize cost savings and enhanced resource stewardship. 

Enhanced Flexibility: The mixed-model production championed by Heijunka enables manufacturers to rapidly pivot in response to market shifts or evolving customer preferences. This dynamism ensures production remains in sync with real-time demand. 

Employee Empowerment: A predictable Heijunka-driven rhythm reduces the chaos and stress stemming from sudden production shifts, fostering a healthier, more engaged workspace.

Implementing Heijunka with the Kanban System

A successful Heijunka implementation can be further enhanced with the integration of the Kanban system, a visualization tool to improve workflow and manage work-in-progress. 

Demand Forecasting: Start by analyzing past demand trends and market trajectories to craft an accurate production roadmap.

This table represents a mass producer (without Heijunka)

Standardized Work: Create consistent work procedures. This uniformity ensures tasks are executed uniformly, promoting a consistent production flow. 

Kanban System Integration: Meld the Kanban system for material resupply. It complements Heijunka by ensuring the smooth flow of materials and matching production rhythm. Kanban visualizes the workflow, makes policies explicit, and fosters continuous improvement — all aligned with Heijunka's goals.

Lean manufacturers who embraced the concept of balancing both volume and variety required an efficient scheduling system to manage production.

Collaboration and Communication: Foster effective intra-departmental communication. This synchronization is key to aligning production plans and swiftly responding to any changes.

In our rapidly evolving manufacturing landscape, Heijunka stands out as a robust tool for optimizing production workflows. Combined with the Kanban system, this synergy offers unparalleled potential to transform manufacturing practices. As businesses worldwide strive for operational excellence, Heijunka and Kanban might be the duo driving them to new efficiency frontiers.

The aerospace industry relies upon a worldwide interconnected supply chain where time-critical and essential raw materials, machined parts, and integrated assemblies must be delivered on time and in good working order. Lean environments abound, and suppliers on multiple continents must focus on eliminating waste and reducing lead times while guaranteeing the highest quality of finished products. 

In lean manufacturing and continuous improvement environments, the Gemba Walk is the all-important first step to starting the day. It aligns expectations, what work must be completed, reviews work processes, and empowers managers and employees to identify potential waste and improvements. Manufacturers use the Gemba Walk daily to improve operations and reinforce a continuous improvement mindset.

When companies think about Kanban, the image of a Kanban board and Kanban cue cards often come to mind. This simple lean manufacturing scheduling system summarizes workflow on a board, showing individual steps required to complete a given project, work, or operation.

The Kanban board is the repository for the Kanban cards. The board outlines a given manufacturing process or defines each stage of a product or project’s step-by-step process. The cards are then placed on the board outlining what tasks need completion.

Aerospace producibility board – Source: planview.com

Cards define what work has been requested, what is currently being worked on, and what work is completed. They represent what remains to be done before moving to the next process step. These cards are also used to outline different ideas and approaches to help move the process along.

The Origins of Kanban

In its simplest form, Kanban is a method of tracking manufacturing workflow or a project’s history. It is a highly effective scheduling method for lean manufacturing, helping to define how much inventory is needed to support current workloads.

Its origins can be traced back to Taiichi Ohno, who – along with Sakichi Toyoda and his son Kiichiro Toyoda – are responsible for developing the Toyota Production System (TPS) and its many lean and continuous improvement methodologies.

Toyota Production System Kanban board. Source: toyota-global.com

Like many lean methodologies emerging from Toyota, Kanban relies upon simple visual cues. The word Kanban is Japanese and literally translates to “card you can see.” It is considered the core tool for managing Just-in-Time (JIT) manufacturing, another lean pillar of TPS. Toyota introduced JIT and Kanban during the 1940s.

JIT is considered a pull system where customer demand is the driving force behind manufacturing. This customer demand essentially “pulls” products to be made, unlike the North American manufacturing processes at that time that relied on pushing products to the market to spur customers to buy those products.  

Kanban is seen as an innovation in that it follows similar TPS guidelines; minimizing costs, eliminating waste, and shortening lead times is the best way to add value for customers.

Kanban in Today’s Business Environment

Companies still use Kanban boards and even post-it notes as a convenient replacement for the Kanban cards. Other companies have moved away from this manual process. They have instead adopted digital, SaaS, cloud-based, and mobile-optimized software solutions that provide granular data and up-to-the-instant feedback on workflow and production volumes.

This adoption of real-time platforms has given rise to multiple Ekanban (electronic Kanban) systems that are quickly replacing the visual cue systems of the past. These systems provide invaluable details to line-side operators, managers, project managers, employees, and technicians in manufacturing environments.

Having a system that tracks production data and a project’s progress in real-time is invaluable. It shortens the time it takes to make critical decisions and course corrections. It identifies areas of concern and provides pinpoint accuracy on issues that impact workflow. It allows companies to determine when inventory needs replenishment to keep up with demand.

Ekanban systems can be accessed from any laptop, mobile phone, or desktop with an internet or Wifi connection. This means designated employees can easily track production throughput no matter where or when they work. Employees no longer have to view the Kanban board to get a breakdown of production throughput, and nobody has to spend any time updating that board. Instead, everyone merely accesses the information on their own.

Simple, Scalable, and Modular EKanban Systems

One of the drawbacks for manufacturers is the cost of fully implementing an Ekanban system alongside its existing software, like Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Material Requirements Planning (MPR), and other production or inventory management systems. However, like Flexpipe’s tube and joint system, there are modular and scalable solutions that allow you to gradually introduce EKanban without breaking the bank.

Steute Technology’s NEXY Digital Shop Floor Solution is one of these modular and scalable systems. Rob Hargis of Steute USA outlines some simple ways the company’s Ekanban system works.

Watch Ian Johnson from Flexpipe and Rob Hargis of Steute USA outlining some simple ways the NEXY Digital Shop Floor Ekanban’s system is working.

https://youtu.be/9HfLjpqFenE

1. What is the NEXY Digital Shop Floor Solution?

Simply put, NEXY is an industrial wireless solution that streamlines the inventory replenishment process by leveraging Steute Technology’s wireless sensor technology.

NEXY’s flow rack sensor is a robust, sturdy, and easy-to-install device that fits easily on any Flexpipe Flow Rack. It operates at 915 MHz, so it doesn’t interfere with other WiFi signals. This is especially important given the number of Wifi sources on today’s production floors.

The flow rack sensor easily snaps in pace on any roller and does away with operators using barcode/RFI scanners to register inventory at a given work cell.

2. What are the Main Benefits?

One common source of waste in manufacturing includes inventory replenishment. In a lean manufacturing work cell, this often involves an operator leaving the cell, walking to inventory, waiting to get the parts, consumables, or materials they need, and then walking back to their work cell. This is all wasted time.

The further the inventory is away from the lean cell, the longer the transit times and the more time is wasted. Some companies ignore this wasted time. However, calculating how often a given work cell needs replenishment each day, week, or month and how many cells are on the shop floor quickly amounts to a considerable amount of motion waste and non-value tasks.

Water Spider is the go-to person who can make the bridge between the lean cell and the supermarket.

In other instances, operators must go outside the cell to register the inventory with an RFID/barcode scanner. Again, depending on how often the replenishment occurs, this time quickly adds up. For cells with high inventory replenishment throughout the day, this wastes time and ultimately affects production throughput for a single cell.

Even companies that still use the manual Kanban processes on a Kanban board with Kanban cards can save considerable time and achieve significant cost reductions with NEXY. Operators can stay in the cell and focus on completing work tasks while NEXY operates behind the scenes.

No more time filling out Kanban cards or updating Kanban boards. No need for RFID/barcode scanners. No need to leave the work cell to replenish inventory. No more long transit times walking to and from inventory/stores.

No RFID/barcode scanners

No time wasted on inventory replenishment

No Wifi interference

No Noise (low sound always)

No more manual Kanban cards and Kanban Boards

“Everything is done behind the scenes. All the operator or employee has to do is focus on their work. They will never notice when inventory is replaced.”

3. Where is the Data Stored?

Once actuated, the flow rack sensor immediately sends wireless signals to Steute Technology’s access point. From there, the access point sends the data to the sensor bridge – a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) housed in a cabinet on the shop floor.

The PLC then takes all the data and creates an Application Programming Interface (API), which can either be sent to a shop floor server or a cloud-based server. The wireless solution is 128-bit encrypted and works with multiple IT cyber-security protocols.

Wireless tilting sensor RF RW-NET

sWave.NET® wireless technology

eKanban software module

Sensor Bridge

4. How Easy is it to get Started?

The simplicity of NEXY is that companies alone decide how much to buy and when. The system isn’t dependent upon immediate adoption across a company’s shop floor. Companies can start small, learn, improve, and then progress at their own pace adding new flow rack sensors and increasing scalability when they see fit.

“Getting up and running is easy. Customers who buy Flexpipe Flow Racks simply reach out to Flexpipe, and we’ll get involved… We start with a simple consultation to determine their needs and current process and then discuss their goals. After that, it’s simply a matter of doing what the customer asks.”

A Simple Solution to Ease Into Manufacturing 4.0

Nowadays, every manufacturer has heard of “manufacturing 4.0” or “industry 4.0.” Both are the same thing. They simply refer to The Fourth Industrial Revolution, the adoption of automated technologies, and their synchronization with digital data solutions and networks.

The first industrial revolution used water and steam to power machines and equipment. The second included improved communication with the telegraph and the installation of railway lines to transport materials and products. The third occurred during the 1950s with the early adoption of digital solutions that improved communication.

The fourth is simply a natural progression from the third; improved digital solutions linked to automated and robotic equipment ensure a steady stream of real-time data.

NEXY is the simplest way for a manufacturer to be introduced to this all-important fourth industrial revolution. This is especially the case for labor-intensive manufacturers who want to manage their transition at their own pace.

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Rob Hargis

Rob Hargis is a seasoned Brand Manager with the NEXY division of Steute Technologies, providing wireless eKanban, Andon, and AGV integrated sensor networks for manufacturing, assembly and industrial workflow processes in automotive, white goods, and other complex-assembly environments.

Modular, Scalable, and Affordable Material Handling with Flexpipe

Flexpipe is an innovator, supplier, and designer of modular and scalable steel tubes and joints that help companies reduce material handling costs. Based out of Montreal, the company provides multiple products, training, and insight to companies wanting to adopt lean manufacturing.

The company offers a full-service solution that includes its free software add-on SketchUp, multiple outlines and assembly designs, and design and cutting services to help companies build their own material handling structures and reduce costs. 

If you would like to see how Flexpipe can help, contact us now. 

5S, a continuous improvement methodology widely recognized as a building block of lean manufacturing. 5S spearheaded the rise of just-in-time (JIT), a supply chain management and lean manufacturing process that minimizes waste while maximizing efficiencies.