Numerically Analyzing Tool Crib Performance

Abstract

Manufacturing companies utilize tool cribs as an effective way to manage common hand tools, measurement tools and consumables needed on the shop floor. By utilizing a tool crib, a manufacturing company can ensure job readiness by standardizing tools, calibration requirements and consumable tracking. Dunwoody College is similar in respect that its manufacturing department utilizes a tool crib with attendants to maintain tool boxes, fine measurement tools and consumables for over 200 manufacturing department students on a daily basis. This project provided a baseline measurement from which an Arena software simulation was used to look at tooling utilization and crib layout options. Dunwoody’s tool crib provides access to more than 10,000 individual tools to machine shop students from 7:00am-10:00pm daily. By tracking the tool usage during this time, recommendations for tooling, crib layout and issuing processes have been made. The overall goal of this project was to provide numerical methods to calculate tool utilization, customer service times and maximum queue lengths. This method provided processes that optimized utilization of tooling and organized tool crib infrastructure to best meet demand.