Transportation—moving parts or assemblies from place to place in a factory—is one of the seven wastes specified in the principles of lean manufacturing. Transportation does not add value.

BLOOMFIELD, CT—mk North America Inc. has introduced an online tool, the Conveyor Product Finder, that makes it easy for engineers to find, specify and purchase conveyors for their applications.

The assembly line in Hall M13 at the ŠKODA plant in Mladá Boleslav is one of the Czech carmaker’s busiest. The best-selling ŠKODA Octavia is assembled here, as is the ŠKODA Enyaq iV electric SUV. Every minute of downtime on this line means losses in the form of unproduced cars.

Conveyors do more than simply move parts from point A to point B. They serve as the backbone of an assembly line, and, as such, help manufacturers move forward on their road to success.

Short-cycle applications have a wide range of requirements. Manufacturing engineers must consider numerous aspects of transfer systems: Can the system move forwards and back again? How flexible is it? What sizes and weights can be transported? Can it be expanded if necessary?

Looking for stuff, whether it be keys, wallet, phone, meeting notes, spices in a kitchen cabinet, or pencils in my woodworking shop, is the bane of my existence. Some days, I feel as if I spend more time looking for stuff than I do actually using the stuff I was looking for.

Many products installed in a home are taken for granted as things that should always work properly. A good example is the electrical outlet.