Value Proposition of Tuggers and Carts: Tugger Pulled train of carts means fewer back and forth traffic

February 2, 2018 Fork Truck Free Info 9136 Views

Topper Industrial is at the cutting edge of a trend in the manual materials handling (MMH) industry to utilize towable industrial carts rather than fork trucks as a solution for moving materials within a facility. Tugger AGVs (Automated Guided Vehicles) pull towable carts for moving materials in some industrial environments, from cellular manufacturing to large distribution centers.

MHI Solutions shared that when a forklift operator moves a load of materials, they are seated behind that load, at times making it harder to see where they are going. Operators of the tugger or AGV systems move trains of multiple towable carts and can see the route around the facility more clearly.

The patented Topper Industrial carts are hooked together by using a towbar and hitch that can be quickly connected and disconnected. With a mother-daughter system, the mother carts stay connected all the time and the daughter carts slide into or out of the mother carts easily.

While fork trucks can be susceptible to accidents due to speed, user error and tipping, tuggers or AGVs are only able to move at a slow speed around a designated route.  Knowledge of the traffic pattern is easier to communicate to workers. There is no risk of speed or tipping. Fork truck/container operations usually have a bigger footprint and are heavier than a tugger or loaded cart.

Topper Industrial carts have pioneered and patented this train of tugger pulled industrial carts by designing and manufacturing a specialized cart system that promotes single-piece flow in a value stream and minimize fork truck mileage.

Before any other firm, Topper Industrial produced the first Mother/Daughter Cart system. It entailed different daughter carts that fit inside two different mother carts. A tugger pulled a train of these carts and stopped at an assembly station, where workers would remove the daughter carts, perform the operation, and then return the daughter carts to the mother carts. All pieces needed for an assembly moved as a “single piece” in a value stream.

Once the carts arrived at final assembly, all pieces would arrive together, and assemblers would have everything they needed, spending no time searching, a frequent source of lean waste, for a few missing pieces required to complete assembly.

The more carts that can be safely tugged with top grade casters, ergonomic safety considerations, translates directly to fewer trips back and forth. Every trip avoided is a calculated cost-savings. It is an exponential metric by which the value proposition of tugger pulled industrial carts can be demonstrably better than multiple, unnecessary back and forth transporting of goods to the line.

 

Topper Industrial (www.topperindustrial.com) is a leading manufacturer of material handling equipment. Topper provides lean material handling solutions to the supply chain.

Topper Industrial is able to engineer and design Industrial Carts (Mother / Daughter Cart Systems, Quad Steer Carts or Tracking Carts, Specialized Delivery Carts, Transfer Carts with Roller Deck, Static Carts, Rotation Carts, Tilt Carts or Kitting Carts), Industrial Cart Components (Parts Department), Industrial Containers (Corrugated and Wire Mesh Containers), PalletsLift/Tilt Systems, and Racking. Topper Industrial designs all products with ergonomics in mind, focusing on ease of use and best positioning of material to get the job done.

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