www.flexpipeinc.com
Open in
urlscan Pro
15.235.115.45
Public Scan
Submitted URL: https://connection.flexpipeinc.com/e3t/Ctc/2I+113/cjNLF04/VW-sZw75cmr5W55B5tq8hSbqMVDyhz94YKNnbN74PqsJ5nCT_V3Zsc37CgB-jVQGrmt1VzVpH...
Effective URL: https://www.flexpipeinc.com/ca_en/case_study/critical-steps-to-facility-layout-planning-with-flexpipe-at-rw-america-l-p/
Submission: On March 29 via api from IE — Scanned from DE
Effective URL: https://www.flexpipeinc.com/ca_en/case_study/critical-steps-to-facility-layout-planning-with-flexpipe-at-rw-america-l-p/
Submission: On March 29 via api from IE — Scanned from DE
Form analysis 3 forms found in the DOM
GET https://shop.flexpipeinc.com/ca_en/catalogsearch/result/
<form role="search" class="form minisearch active" id="search_mini_form" action="https://shop.flexpipeinc.com/ca_en/catalogsearch/result/" gr-grid="container" method="get" data-hs-cf-bound="true">
<div class="form-item--icon-after">
<input id="search" type="search" name="q" value="" placeholder="Search..." class="input-text" maxlength="128" role="combobox" aria-haspopup="false" aria-autocomplete="both" autocomplete="off">
<button type="submit"><i class="icon-search"></i></button>
</div>
</form>POST https://shop.flexpipeinc.com/ca_en/quickorder
<form class="form" method="POST" action="https://shop.flexpipeinc.com/ca_en/quickorder" novalidate="" gr-form="" data-hs-cf-bound="true">
<div class="typography">
<strong>The best way to order fast!</strong> Simply enter the product code, the quantity and your ready to check out.<br><br>
</div>
<div class="form-item form-item--quick-order">
<div class="order_item">
<label>Product code</label>
<label>Qty</label>
</div>
<div class="order_item">
<input type="text" class="sku" name="order[0][sku]">
<input type="number" class="qty" name="order[0][qty]" min="1" maxlength="5" value="1">
</div>
<div class="order_item">
<input type="text" class="sku" name="order[1][sku]">
<input type="number" class="qty" name="order[1][qty]" min="1" maxlength="5" value="1">
</div>
<div class="order_item">
<input type="text" class="sku" name="order[2][sku]">
<input type="number" class="qty" name="order[2][qty]" min="1" maxlength="5" value="1">
</div>
<div class="order_item">
<input type="text" class="sku" name="order[3][sku]">
<input type="number" class="qty" name="order[3][qty]" min="1" maxlength="5" value="1">
</div>
<div class="order_item">
<input type="text" class="sku" name="order[4][sku]">
<input type="number" class="qty" name="order[4][qty]" min="1" maxlength="5" value="1">
</div>
</div>
<a href="#" id="duplicate" class="order__add-more">Add more product line</a>
<button type="submit" class="btn--primary">
<i>
<img src="/wp-content/themes/flexpipe/dist/img/svg/cart.svg" alt="">
</i>
<span>Add to cart</span>
</button>
</form>POST https://forms.hsforms.com/submissions/v3/public/submit/formsnext/multipart/2641120/881a3f80-aaab-4b3c-bce0-c9b714900f1b
<form id="hsForm_881a3f80-aaab-4b3c-bce0-c9b714900f1b" method="POST" accept-charset="UTF-8" enctype="multipart/form-data" novalidate=""
action="https://forms.hsforms.com/submissions/v3/public/submit/formsnext/multipart/2641120/881a3f80-aaab-4b3c-bce0-c9b714900f1b"
class="hs-form-private hsForm_881a3f80-aaab-4b3c-bce0-c9b714900f1b hs-form-881a3f80-aaab-4b3c-bce0-c9b714900f1b hs-form-881a3f80-aaab-4b3c-bce0-c9b714900f1b_250bdeab-be28-4ad5-a60d-96653ecf9466 hs-form stacked"
target="target_iframe_881a3f80-aaab-4b3c-bce0-c9b714900f1b" data-instance-id="250bdeab-be28-4ad5-a60d-96653ecf9466" data-form-id="881a3f80-aaab-4b3c-bce0-c9b714900f1b" data-portal-id="2641120" data-hs-cf-bound="true">
<div>
<div class="hs-richtext hs-main-font-element">
<h1>JOIN THE FLEXPIPE CONNECTION!</h1>
</div>
</div>
<div class="hs_newsletter_subscription hs-newsletter_subscription hs-fieldtype-booleancheckbox field hs-form-field" style="display: none;">
<legend class="hs-field-desc" style="display: none;"></legend>
<div class="input"><input name="newsletter_subscription" class="hs-input" type="hidden" value="true"></div>
</div>
<div class="hs_sales_language hs-sales_language hs-fieldtype-select field hs-form-field" style="display: none;"><label id="label-sales_language-881a3f80-aaab-4b3c-bce0-c9b714900f1b" class="" placeholder="Enter your Sales Language"
for="sales_language-881a3f80-aaab-4b3c-bce0-c9b714900f1b"><span>Sales Language</span></label>
<legend class="hs-field-desc" style="display: none;"></legend>
<div class="input"><input name="sales_language" class="hs-input" type="hidden" value="EN"></div>
</div>
<div class="hs_email hs-email hs-fieldtype-text field hs-form-field"><label id="label-email-881a3f80-aaab-4b3c-bce0-c9b714900f1b" class="" placeholder="Enter your <p></p>" for="email-881a3f80-aaab-4b3c-bce0-c9b714900f1b"><span>
<p></p>
</span><span class="hs-form-required">*</span></label>
<legend class="hs-field-desc" style="display: block;">
<p></p>
</legend>
<div class="input"><input id="email-881a3f80-aaab-4b3c-bce0-c9b714900f1b" name="email" required="" placeholder="email@domain.com" type="email" class="hs-input" inputmode="email" autocomplete="email" value=""></div>
</div>
<div class="hs_submit hs-submit">
<div class="hs-field-desc" style="display: none;"></div>
<div class="actions"><input type="submit" class="hs-button primary large" value="JOIN"></div>
</div><input name="hs_context" type="hidden"
value="{"embedAtTimestamp":"1680108982529","formDefinitionUpdatedAt":"1642606708289","lang":"en","notifyHubSpotOwner":"true","renderRawHtml":"true","convertedFormId":"7e501567-7f27-4edb-b118-3da394e4557e","userAgent":"Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/111.0.5563.146 Safari/537.36","pageTitle":"Critical Steps to Facility Layout Planning with Flexpipe at R+W America L.P. - Flexpipe","pageUrl":"https://www.flexpipeinc.com/ca_en/case_study/critical-steps-to-facility-layout-planning-with-flexpipe-at-rw-america-l-p/","isHubSpotCmsGeneratedPage":false,"contentType":"blog-post","hutk":"bdfca166ab7f8fb796edcba0e3af4bf3","__hsfp":3897811554,"__hssc":"196874803.1.1680108983222","__hstc":"196874803.bdfca166ab7f8fb796edcba0e3af4bf3.1680108983222.1680108983222.1680108983222.1","formTarget":"#newsletter_signup","boolCheckBoxFields":"newsletter_subscription","locale":"en","timestamp":1680108983240,"originalEmbedContext":{"portalId":"2641120","formId":"881a3f80-aaab-4b3c-bce0-c9b714900f1b","region":"na1","target":"#newsletter_signup","isBuilder":false,"isTestPage":false,"isMobileResponsive":true},"correlationId":"250bdeab-be28-4ad5-a60d-96653ecf9466","renderedFieldsIds":["newsletter_subscription","sales_language","email"],"captchaStatus":"NOT_APPLICABLE","emailResubscribeStatus":"NOT_APPLICABLE","isInsideCrossOriginFrame":false,"source":"forms-embed-1.2933","sourceName":"forms-embed","sourceVersion":"1.2933","sourceVersionMajor":"1","sourceVersionMinor":"2933","_debug_allPageIds":{},"_debug_embedLogLines":[{"clientTimestamp":1680108982663,"level":"INFO","message":"Retrieved customer callbacks used on embed context: [\"onFormSubmit\"]"},{"clientTimestamp":1680108982664,"level":"INFO","message":"Retrieved pageContext values which may be overriden by the embed context: {\"pageTitle\":\"Critical Steps to Facility Layout Planning with Flexpipe at R+W America L.P. - Flexpipe\",\"pageUrl\":\"https://www.flexpipeinc.com/ca_en/case_study/critical-steps-to-facility-layout-planning-with-flexpipe-at-rw-america-l-p/\",\"userAgent\":\"Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/111.0.5563.146 Safari/537.36\",\"isHubSpotCmsGeneratedPage\":false}"},{"clientTimestamp":1680108982666,"level":"INFO","message":"Retrieved countryCode property from normalized embed definition response: \"DE\""},{"clientTimestamp":1680108983236,"level":"INFO","message":"Retrieved analytics values from API response which may be overriden by the embed context: {\"hutk\":\"bdfca166ab7f8fb796edcba0e3af4bf3\",\"contentType\":\"blog-post\"}"}]}"><iframe
name="target_iframe_881a3f80-aaab-4b3c-bce0-c9b714900f1b" style="display: none;"></iframe>
</form>Text Content
* Creator
Benefits
How to install
Download
Help Center
License
* Products
New Products
Pipes
Square pipes
Roller Tracks
Joints
Deckings
Accessories
Casters
Fasteners
Starter Kits
Tools
Others
All Products
* Applications
Modular system
Structures
Case studies
Free plans
* Learning
How to build
Technical data
Web training
Robot plant Tour
Training at Flexpipe
On-site Training
* Blog
* Support
Open account
Getting started
FAQ
Customer service
Shipping
Add-on
* Company
About us
Why Flexpipe
The team
Contact us
Offered Services
*
* Download ourPrice list
* Shop online now
* 1-855-406-0253
* Shipping
* Quick Order
* Contact
* Log in
* Open account
* image/svg+xml English CA
* Spanish US
* image/svg+xml French CA
* English US
* image/svg+xml English CA
Quick order
The best way to order fast! Simply enter the product code, the quantity and your
ready to check out.
Product code Qty
Add more product line Add to cart
Ask for a free sample
* Home
* Applications
* Case studies
CRITICAL STEPS TO FACILITY LAYOUT PLANNING WITH FLEXPIPE AT R+W AMERICA L.P.
Download
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Justin Fleming, an engineer for R+W America L.P. – a division of R+W
Antriebselemente GmbH in Germany – was tasked with laying out R+W’s America
L.P.’s new manufacturing facility in West Chicago, Illinois. Facility layout
planning is a long, detailed, labor-intensive, and arduous process. However,
once successful, companies benefit from considerable cost savings.
Faced with this daunting task, Justin turned to Flexpipe’s tube and joint
system. With Flexpipe, Justin maximized his shop floor, warehouse, and inventory
space, standardized his material handling structures, and reduced inventory,
material handling, and warehouse storage costs.
Read on to learn more about how Justin used Flexpipe to accomplish all these
things and more.
FACILITY LAYOUT PLANNING
Facility layout planning is about creating a manufacturing layout that maximizes
the facility’s square footage and allows for easy movement of parts, materials,
and semi-finished goods. It’s not just about deciding where machinery and
equipment should go. It’s not just about designating the inventory and
warehousing locations.
A successful facility layout involves seamlessly integrating everything into a
cohesive plan. It’s about anticipating potential hazards, obstructions, or
obstacles before going live with production. Companies must consider the
available floor space relative to the material handling structures, equipment,
tools, and machinery that will eventually be installed to have a successful
layout.
You want a seamless flow of work. However, as the saying goes, even the
best-laid plans sometimes run amok. Eventually, you’ll need to change or adjust
something, and for Justin, Flexpipe became the immediate solution…
> “Once I saw the Flexpipe modular piping solution, I was all for it. I can
> design, build, adjust, change, and modify my material handling structures and
> workbenches at a fraction of the cost of having another company build a
> customized flow rack, cart, workbench, or trolley. There is no comparison;
> spend $150 or $200 with Flexpipe or have a company customize a solution for
> $1200 or more.”
COMMON APPROACHES TO LAYING OUT YOUR SHOP FLOOR.
Companies can use a couple of methods to lay out their shop floor. Spaghetti
diagrams allow companies to define how materials and work-in-process (WIP) parts
will move from one manufacturing cell to the next.
A line is used for each product line or material to define the traffic flow.
Those lines start from incoming material reception, quality inspection, and
kitting through each manufacturing work cell. If the lines dart back and forth
over long distances multiple times – from one workstation or manufacturing cell
to the next – then transit times will be too high and cycle times too long.
Another pre-production planning approach involves doing a mock layout of your
shop floor. You can put tape on the floor to designate structures, equipment,
and machinery. Some companies use cardboard boxes. In other cases, companies
build small Flexpipe structures and test out the layout with a Flexpipe cart to
identify any tight-fitting areas or potential hazards as the cart moves
around.
Watch Royal Container’s journey to successful planning with Flexpipe Creator to
see how they realize the pre-production planning using the Flexpipe Creator
design tool.
Either approach works. Both help planners to anticipate how employees will move,
transport or carry materials, work-in-process parts, and finished goods between
adjacent work cells and around equipment and machinery.
So, now that the layout is done, what’s next?
HOW FIXED/WELDED MATERIAL HANDLING STRUCTURES NEGATIVELY IMPACT YOUR LAYOUT
Unfortunately, most material handling structures are welded or have pre-defined
dimensions. It’s common for companies to finish their layout and then start by
installing their equipment and machinery. However, once they define their
workstations, they invariably find out that the flow racks, carts, trolleys, and
workbenches they’ve purchased are too wide, too long, or not wide or long
enough.
Justin anticipated this issue beforehand. It was the ability to make instant
changes to any Flexpipe structure that Justin appreciated most…
> “I’m not going to increase the distance between my shelving in the warehouse
> (inventory) because of a fixed or welded cart’s dimensions. I’m going to keep
> the spacing as is and build a Flexpipe cart on my own that works and can
> easily go down the aisle.”
Justin purchased the standard cart on the right only to find it was too wide for
the space between his inventory shelving. It could not go down the aisle because
the cart width was too large. This was a fixed/welded cart; changing it would
have been too expensive. What was Justin’s solution? He built a Flexpipe cart
that easily fit and could move down the aisle.
Regarding facility layout planning, equipment and machinery have specified
dimensions. Engineers and planners go to great lengths to understand their
dimensions and specifications. It certainly stands to reason; purchasing
equipment and machinery involves large capital expenditures, so you must become
very familiar with their dimensions and sizes.
Unfortunately, very little attention is paid to material handling structures
during the facility layout phase. It’s a common mistake. Companies don’t see
material handling as expensive enough to warrant a detailed analysis of their
dimensions and function. It’s often the last thing that is addressed.
Unfortunately, it’s only after all the equipment, machinery, and workstations
have been installed that companies face issues with fixed or welded material
handling structures that are too large and cause all kinds of obstructions.
Justin optimized his designs by working through all the kinks upfront. Once he
finalized the design, he and his team made the exact same Flexpipe Inc.
structure. This saved Justin and his team time, money, and valuable resources.
A SIMPLE AND STRAIGHTFORWARD FACILITY LAYOUT PROCESS
Justin used AutoCAD to lay out his shop floor. He designated the warehouse,
inventory, kitting, work cells, and production areas. He accounted for machinery
and equipment and defined their dimensions. Justin maximized his available space
and ensured that no obstructions, obstacles, or hazards were present.
Next, Justin determined the number of Flexpipe structures he would need for
workbenches, flow racks, carts, and trolleys. He then optimized each of his
Flexpipe structure’s designs. This is critical. Justin worked through all the
issues for each Flexpipe structure. Only after he and the employees were
satisfied did Justin move forward with making the remaining structures.
Justin took advantage of Flexpipe’s modular and scalable tubing solution because
it allowed him to “make changes on the fly.” He built his structures alongside
his employees. Everyone took part, and everyone had a say. Justin specifically
focused on the employees’ usability and not his own.
> “I’m 6 foot 4, and I’m always hanging up pictures and things in my house that
> nobody else can reach. It was important for me to make sure the technicians,
> operators, and employees could easily access the height of our structures.
> They had to be designed with them in mind.”
Justin’s approach was simple. Optimize the Flexpipe designs with every
employee’s input. Once everyone is satisfied, go ahead, and make the remaining
structures.
SIMPLE TIPS FOR FLEXPIPE STRUCTURES
One of Justin’s unique approaches was creating his own Poka Yoke for cutting
Flexpipe tubes. Poka Yoke is a simple mistake-proofing tool that eliminates
human error. Poka Yoke gives operators, technicians, and everyday employees
visual cues, warnings, or sounds about potential future errors.
Justin created a simple Poka Yoke using Flexpipe connectors where he identified
the 20-inch lengths and 24-inch lengths needed to cut Flexpipe tubes for
different Flexpipe structures. He would have his employees mark the various
distances on each pipe before cutting.
Justin also mentioned that a band saw is a simple and straightforward tool for
cutting Flexpipe tubes. You can safely and securely lock the tubes in place with
a clamp and then make your cuts. In this case, tooling is critical. For Justin,
the process is simple…
> “Decide what you need. Get the right tools. Design your Flexpipe structure,
> improve it, and then build the remaining structures.”
R+W AMERICA L.P.
With headquarters in Germany, R+W America L.P. manufactures a complete line of
precision machined line shafts and industrial couplings. Their product offering
includes metal-bellows, miniature-bellows, servo-disc pack, and safety elastomer
couplings. The company is ISO-9001 and ISO-14001 accredited with multiple
original equipment manufacturer (OEM) accreditations and certifications. The
company has developed an unsurpassed reputation for its design-build
capabilities for industrial couplings.
FLEXPIPE INC.
For well over 10 years, Flexpipe Inc. has been helping manufacturers simplify
their material handling requirements. The Montreal-based designer and
manufacturer adopt a holistic approach to how its team helps customers reduce
costs and adopt lean manufacturing best practices. The company’s complete line
of modular and scalable tube and joint systems are easy-to-use, easy to install
and just as easy to change or modify.
If you would like to see how Flexpipe can help, contact us now.
Click to rate this post!
[Total: 1 Average: 5]
You want a smooth start with Flexpipe?
We built multiple starter kits to cover your bases.
Browse our starter kits
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shelly Jacob - Regional Sales Manager - Northeast US (VA, WV, PA, NY, ME, VT,
NH, MA, RI, CT, NJ, DE, MD, DC)
Shelly joined Flexpipe in Feb 2022 as the Project Manager for Northeast US. She
has 27-year experience as a Director of Production and Sourcing manager for an
accessories company. She strives to be the best mom she can be and loves to
spend time with her family. Her motto is “A smile is the only thing in life that
is free”
Related articles
Post
BORROWING LEAN MANUFACTURING CONCEPTS FROM THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY
Post
POKA-YOKE: A TIME-TESTED AND SIMPLE WAY TO MISTAKE-PROOF MANUFACTURING
Page
CONTACT US
NEED MORE INFORMATION ?
Here's everything you need to know!
photo gallery
Get inspired by other structures built with the flexpipe modular system.
Case studies
See how the modular product is applied in your industry.
Getting Started
Learn the 6 steps to get started on the right foot with pipe racking.
Why Flexpipe ?
Why should I switch to Flexpipe? Read about the benefits of our company.
Flexpipe is strong, lean, creative & compatible... Don't just take our word for
it! Ask for a free sample
Products
* New Products
* Pipes
* Square pipes
* Accessories
* Decking
* Fasteners
* Joints
* Roller Tracks
* Tools
* Casters
Applications
* Structures
* Carts
* Flowracks
* Racks
* Workstations
* Boards
* Free Plans
* Modular system
* Case studies
* View all
* Aerospace
* Automotive
* Metal Products
* Electronic Parts
Learning
* How to build
* Technical data
* Training at Flexpipe
* On-site Training
* Blog
Support
* Open account
* Getting started
* FAQ
* Customer service
* Shipping
* Add-on
Company
* Why flexpipe
* About us
* The team
* Contact us
* Careers
* Telepresence robot
* Lean Consulting Firms Affiliate Program
* Lean manufacturing partnership
* Offered Services
* Downloads and tools
Stay connected
Keep up with industry news and event
Facebook LinkedIn YouTube
Join the Flexpipe connection!
Stay connected for the latest pictures and tips from modular community
JOIN THE FLEXPIPE CONNECTION!
Sales Language
*
Need help ?
Talk right now with one of our expert
Live support Help center
Terms & conditions Privacy policy
Flexpipe Modular Material Handing System | 2007-2023
1-855-406-0253
Please disable your adblocker to ensure the best experience. Read Flexpipe
Privacy Policy X
word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word
word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word
word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word
word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word
word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word
word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word
word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word
word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word
word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word
word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word
word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word
word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word word
word word word word word word word word
mmMwWLliI0fiflO&1
mmMwWLliI0fiflO&1
mmMwWLliI0fiflO&1
mmMwWLliI0fiflO&1
mmMwWLliI0fiflO&1
mmMwWLliI0fiflO&1
mmMwWLliI0fiflO&1