'Minomi' is a concept that can be used in in-plant materials supply to assembly stations, either both for handling and presenting parts, or only for presenting them. The concept has never previously been clearly defined, but the basic feature of minomi is that no containers are used. Instead of being in containers, parts are resting on small fixtures, hanging from hooks, or simply stacked together. Research literature dealing with minomi is scarce, but Liker and Meier (2006) state that the potential advantages of minomi include reduced motion waste, reduced damage to parts, reduced ergonomics problems, and a reduced number of process steps for materials handling. Minomi is a unit load where no container is used. The aim of this paper is to identify the effects of using minomi in the materials supply within an assembly plant. Based on three case studies within the body shop of Saab Automobile in Trollhättan, Sweden, effects of using minomi are identified. Furthermore, relations are identified between these effects and the different characteristics of each case. The paper identifies both benefits and drawbacks of using minomi and relates these benefits and drawbacks to different part characteristics, characteristics of the receiving assembly station, and characteristics of handling and storage. Among the benefits is that minomi is associated with space efficient presentation of parts. This can enable the presentation of a large number of part variants and also result in time efficient parts picking in the receiving assembly operations. Through the knowledge gained in the case studies, the potential benefits associated with minomi are more likely to be realised within industry. The paper provides insight into the concept of minomi, which has previously received very little attention in research literature, but which can offer substantial benefits within industry if used under the right conditions.
Effects of using minomi in in-plant materials supply
Auswirkungen der Minomi-Nutzung in der innerbetrieblichen Materialversorgung
Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management ; 22 , 1/2 ; 90-106
2011
17 Seiten, 5 Bilder, 2 Tabellen, 17 Quellen
Article (Journal)
English
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