Missing even one simple component can turn a quick assembly job into a frustrating and time-consuming search in the corners of a facility. Having the right parts in the right place at the right time maximises productivity for the assembler. This is the benefit of kits.
One particular application for kitting is offsite (and often out-of-doors) engineering for maintenance, repair or overhaul operations. David Cartledge, Staytite sales director, offers an example of upgrading a rail component: “Fish plates are the essential fastened slabs of metal that sandwich either side of two pieces of contiguous rail track, creating a union that allows the rails to breathe when the ambient temperature expands and contracts the steel. We provided everything the works crews needed to upgrade the fish plate in one easy to use package: a set of bolts, washers, Hardlock nuts, a can of degreaser, and upgrade signage (pictured above).
“During the planned engineering works, the upgrade kits were placed next to every joint, ready for the crew as they worked their way up the line. Because the crew didn’t need to worry if they had the right quantity of parts, they could concentrate on the job in hand -which increased their efficiency.”
He continues: “Time is an integral factor when maintenance crews take possession of a line, so the kit was a crucial element of the task. With the upgrade kits, two joints could be fitted in 15 minutes compared to one joint in 20 minutes using the previous method.”
An advantage of kitting is that the scope and diversity of supply is limited only by the size of the package, points out Chris Dilley, MD of fastener distributor Techsil (pictured). He says: “In MRO, you might start with an acetone wipe to clean the surface. You might have a glue-mixing nozzle and a pair of gloves, and a bit of abrasive paper, and put them all in a pack. This is especially important in MRO, because workers aren’t in a factory site.”
With limited stores held off-site, such outdoor jobs may require kits to get the job done. In a factory environment, of course, there may be significant stocks of parts and spares. In that case, the benefit of kitting comes from freeing up workers that would be otherwise employed running around finding parts, contends Steve Teale, TFC national key accounts director, who adds that even in a vendor-managed inventory context it is supplying kits of parts to speed up production.
“Customers that purchase kits from us will have an idea of how much it costs, not just the final product, but based on time and motion of their own employees,” he continues. And that’s not all; there are hidden costs, too, such as the hassle factor involved in sourcing from multiple suppliers when a highly-diverse kit is required. He continues: “How much time would it cost for a customer to place orders from 10 different suppliers, as opposed to coming to us. The hidden cost benefits are significant.”
In other words, the kitting agent also performs a supply chain consolidation service, reducing the number of suppliers to one.
For Cartledge at Staytite, as the purpose of kitting is improving efficiency, making a decision to outsource it depends on the economics of production. He says: “Having a kit is all about efficiency and eliminating potential errors at the build stage, so its value versus its cost will be determined by the end product. A low value product would need relatively high volumes to justify adding a kitting cost, whereas a high value product would be in a better position to absorb spend on kitting at lower volumes.”
He continues: “An example might be that the end product is a multi-million-pound machine that requires an extensive amount of expertise to build. Production is split into build stages, and having a kit that is specific to that stage is going to be an efficient way of ensuring that the right parts are pre-prepared, ready for use.”
No surprise then that TFC and Techsil report that the size and scale of kits varies by customer. Dilley at Techsil says that the number of parts in most of its kits is relatively small at 4-6; TFC’s could regularly include as many as 50 parts per kit with anything from 100 to 1,000 kits supplied per month.
The irregularity of the components included in kits makes the process of filling the kits difficult to automate, according to Dilley at Techsil. TFC says that the balance between choosing manual processes or automation is evaluated case by case and is significantly influenced by the size and shape of parts contained, and the relative ease of automated handling. Staytite offers manual, semi-automatic and automatic operations. Manual operations are generally filled by one person and checked by a second person for quality control. Staytite’s packages incorporate pictures, item codes and their quantities displayed on the lid to ensure a visual confirmation of the correct packing of the parts. Automatic kitting machines rely on scales to verify contents.
An additional layer of checks can offer traceability of parts in kits, a service which Techsil and TFC mention being able to offer. Adds Dilley: “You need to have a lot tracing system for batches. Particularly aerospace clients want traceability, with this batch number, packed down on this day by this employee. And you have to have good housekeeping and cleanliness so there is no cross-contamination, as well as good labelling facilities and packaging that you pack down into.”
Teale adds that it takes quality control to another level in at least one case. Its kitting services of safety-critical parts supplied to a rail industry customer include producing an initial sample inspection report. He explains: “This is to be sure that key components, such as fasteners, are correct to customers’ drawings and on specification, that all of the critical dimensions are accurate, and are recorded.”
Concludes Teale: “The volume of business of kitting is increasing. We’re having more and more success with it. In an environment that is focused on mitigating cost increases and searching for savings, the hidden cost value and benefits of kitting are coming much more to the fore.”
BOX: Kitting and repacking
Techsil is one distributor that has acquired repacking licences from its suppliers to offer much smaller quantities of products such as adhesives. MD Chris Dilley describes the process: “They come to audit our facilities to make sure we are doing it in a clean, efficient manner. Then they grant us permission to add a label with their brand and logo, and their product warranty, because we are an approved repacker.”
He adds: “We do a lot of custom decanting. That’s because manufacturers concentrate on manufacturing in bulk – 200kg drums, 20kg pails. But a lot of customers want small amounts: a 30cc syringe. That’s too fiddly for the bulk producers, but it’s easy for us.
“We had one customer that had been gifted a machine from its German sister company after the Germans had bought a new one. This set up a special medical syringe that we could only source in Denmark. We bought them, and fill the glue locally here. No manufacturer would do that,” he adds.
