Moving Metal

With the warehouse space now used to its full poten- tial, further efficiencies were obtained by more systematic order retrieval. Every size and type of sheet metal that Reliance stocked was assigned its own address card on file in the central office. When order forms were prepared they

included these address numbers to guide the order fillers. To obtain sheet, order fillers punched the address of the requested stock into a small pushbutton console mounted on the retrieving machine. The retriever then moved down an aisle between the opposing storage racks, stopped, rose to the proper rack level, extended a small conveyor into the proper pigeonhole, lifted out a stock-loaded pallet, and then returned with it to the order filling station, where the sheet was cut and prepared for shipment. The round trip averaged just six minutes. Retrieving coil was almost as easy. Previ- ously, order fillers had to locate the desired coil, laboriously remove it, and then rebuild the pyramid. Now, when an order came into the warehouse, a forklift operator went directly to the rack address of the desired coil and made it ready for slitting or leveling within five minutes. The new system occupied only 12,000 square feet of floor space, opening up 20,000 square feet for expansion and saving Reliance an estimated $1,200 per month, based on 1962 Los Angeles area industrial property rental rates, or $140,000 if land and buildings were bought outright. With inventory neatly stacked and organized in racks, damage and deteriora- tion costs were cut by $4,000 to $5,000 per month. Recording inventory became more accurate and maintenance became much easier, reducing correction costs. Only two men were required to operate the system, and so Reliance was able to reassign four of the six men who pre- viously worked the warehouse. Overtime was reduced and because the system made the job both easier and more pres- tigious, absenteeism and turnover became negligible. With fewer workers on the floor and machines handling the more dangerous work, serious injuries became rare, which trans- lated into significant insurance savings. A subsequent study

A retriever machine, part of the Triax system installed in 1962, takes sheet metal from one of 1,850 pigeonholes.

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