It is that time of year again. With just two months until BCMC 2024 in Milwaukee, WI, here is some BCMC homework as you begin considering capital expenditures (CapEx). It is crucial to go beyond just the financial metrics like ROI and take into account several qualitative factors. And yes, all of these qualitative factors were on full display during our Feed the Beast! Plant Tour at Tindell’s last month. [For all photos, See PDF or View in Full Issue.]
Reliability, after-sales support, availability of off-the-shelf spare parts, and easy routine maintenance requirements go hand-in-hand to significantly reduce downtime if and when something goes wrong. For examples of how easily existing plant personnel can effectively keep Enventek automation and machinery running smoothly, check out my previous article, “Turning Supply Chain Constraints Into Opportunities.”
In fact, ease of use and training has become mission critical for all industries in today’s labor tight labor market, but fortunately some systems are up to the challenge. Each of our automation elements can be taught to run in less than 30 minutes. Our automation and processes are user-friendly, intuitive, easy, and safe to operate, as I reported earlier this summer in “Automation Elements That Can Benefit Any Size Truss Plant.”
So when you are evaluating new equipment to increase your production capacity, you need to think beyond what you see in front of you. Do not just simply replace existing capacity with a new machine. Our solutions are designed to meet growing demand and are scalable incrementally, as I explore in “Incremental CapEx and Accelerated ROI.”
In particular, long-term cost savings by reducing operating costs is a much-overlooked ROI attribute. Reduced operating costs, however, must be sustainable. Will a new machine or automation process continue to reduce operating costs years after the initial ROI or will it become a maintenance nightmare?
When it comes to Incremental CapEx, you can feed any automated saw with an Enventek Lumber PickLine. This will significantly reduce expensive forklift lumber picking, reclaim saw idle time, and increase truss production at the truss build tables by better organization and collation of cut lumber.
When you’re thinking about saws, you have to think about throughput and efficient material handling. For example, in the photo, a Lumber PickLine (on the right) feeds an Alpine 4.0 Linear saw by dispatching boards down the lumber waterfall skate wheel arms to the 10 ft Alpine autofeed deck. This reclaims saw idle time which significantly boosts saw output.
When evaluating your legacy sawing machinery, the most important qualifier is the accuracy of the cut pieces at the tables. Problems at the truss build tables due to cutting inaccuracy is telling you that your saw is past its service life. Did you know that Enventek maintains an extensive supply of used parts for all MiTek series component saws? Just visit our MiTek used saw parts page and submit a picture of the specific part(s) you are looking for on your MiTek Easy-Set saw, MiTek SmartSet saw or MiTek Cyber A/T saw (sorry, only MiTek saws), then we will reply with a used part quote.
When planning for capital expenditures, it’s essential to balance quantitative metrics like ROI with qualitative factors such as reliability, ease of use, production impact, and long-term cost savings. By doing so, you can score high in your ROI homework assignment by also demonstrating sustained operational excellence and growth.
When you’re ready to Feed Your Beast and see these efficient and effective systems for yourself, let us know! Inside and out, LimTek Process Organization Technology will help you squeeze out more truss production and deliver quality trusses with shorter lead times to better service your customers by organizing your truss fabrication processes to maximize your investment in automation. https://limteksolutions.com/#solutions