Progressive Distributor - Space for sale

Space for sale

by Paul Markgraff

Learning customer requirements for tool storage is the first step in providing the right tool for the job

End-users can be notoriously fierce when defending their favorite tools. They may own hand tools that refuse to strip or break down. They may use power tools that have held up well under difficult conditions. They may have a favorite brand of gloves or safety glasses. It’s important for distributors to understand these end-user preferences in order to provide the right tool for the job and meet the end-user’s needs.

But how often do distributors view tool storage solutions in the same light? The right toolbox for the job can be just as important as using the right tool.

Asking the right questions about end-users’ tool storage requirements will help create a more productive atmosphere at end-user facilities. By providing end-users with the right tool storage solution, distributors can help customers become leaner and more efficient.

“People tend to ignore this when selecting tool storage,” says Dave Thompson, president of Kennedy Manufacturing in Van Wert, Ohio. “But it’s really a continuation of the same process that asks how we can best provide customers with what they need to do their jobs. Everybody who lives in the industrial market has to be asking these questions in order to provide the right solution to customer issues.”

Asking the right questions
Thompson and Beth Sulentic, senior marketing manager for Waterloo, Iowa-based Waterloo Industries, use a series of questions to determine what types of tool storage solutions will fit the end-user’s situation.

Thompson says the first question he would ask is how does the end-user want to work? In some shops, end-users will want a chest/cabinet combination, but in other shops, the end-user needs to use the toolbox as a rolling workstation. In that case, the end-user might want to look at a longer roller-cabinet, which doesn’t stand as tall as the chest/cabinet combination, but allows the user to put some kind of work surface on top of the unit to use it as a workbench.

“They’re maximizing the use of space by working off the top of their rolling workbench, as opposed to a tall stack sitting immobile next to a piece of equipment or machinery,” he says.

Thompson and Sulentic agree that it’s important to ask customers what types of tools need to be stored. If the end-user needs to store hand tools, they will require a different drawer configuration than they would need if they stored bigger, bulkier supplies. For example, precision tools are typically thinner than maintenance tools, Thompson says.

“Those types of questions will dictate what kind of drawer configuration they will need,” he says. “Do they need wider drawers or deeper drawers? Do they need a drawer that will handle a safety helmet or power tools? Or will they be more focused on smaller precision tools, where they would need smaller, shallower drawers?”

Sulentic says storage requirements will also determine the type of drawer slide necessary to the end-user. Toolbox drawers can come with several different types of drawer slides. Waterloo uses ball-bearing slides on some of its higher-end products. Bearings slide easier and handle heavier loads. If the customer needs to use the box frequently and tends to store many tools in one drawer, the bearings make the drawer easier to operate.

“On products where the tools aren’t so heavy or the user doesn’t need to get into the drawer as often, we have friction slides, or a metal slide rubbing against a metal runner,” says Sulentic. “It doesn’t operate as smoothly when it’s loaded down. But if it’s going to be storing smaller supplies and used infrequently, this type of drawer slide can be appropriate.”

Distributors also need to address mobility requirements. How far is the end-user going to walk with this box every day? What kind of space is available in the facility? What is the floor like? Does the end-user’s facility have rougher floors? Will the end-user need to get in between machinery and how far apart is this machinery?

“You don’t want to sell somebody a box that’s 2 feet wide and find out they need to get into a space that’s 20 inches wide,” says Thompson.

These questions will help the distributor determine the size of casters required to make the box easier to push around the plant, he says. If the user needs to move around the plant with the box on a daily basis, then purchasing the largest box that any manufacturer sells is counterproductive.

“If you have to push this box a mile per day, you don’t want one of those 60 inch by 24 inch monster boxes,” says Thompson. “You want something that’s going to roll easier, where you can take only the tools you need.”

Sulentic says it’s also important for the distributor to understand where the toolbox will be used in a facility. If the toolbox will be used around chemicals, the paint can tarnish, resulting in a rusty toolbox.

“If the toolbox is used in an area with a high amount of chemicals, the customer should probably think about using some kind of plastic tool storage that might be more resistant to those chemicals,” she says.

Distributors should also find out about the customer’s security requirements. If only one person uses the box, and stores a low-dollar volume of tools inside it, security is not as important, she says. But, if the customer needs to store a large-dollar volume of tools in the box, or if numerous workers commonly frequent the area around the tool storage, security needs to be a priority.
“We have products that come with just a hasp and a lock bar,” says Sulentic. “But our more security-oriented products come with key locks and tubular locks that provide a higher level of security.”

Lean requirements
Sulentic and Thompson also stress the importance of understanding whether customers use lean best practices in their facilities, because the right kind of tool storage can go a long way toward eliminating process waste on the plant floor.

Thompson identifies several different areas in which tool storage supports lean efforts. Service carts and smaller roller cabinets can be outfitted for particular tasks, such as quick setups, specific machinery repair, preventive maintenance and specific work-cell responsibilities.

This leads to the concept of better tool control within a facility, which Thompson sees more companies starting to embrace. Tool control means just that: knowing with a high degree of certainty that the tools are going to be there when and where the worker needs them.

To do this, the distributor must go through the box with the maintenance mechanic or technician and decide which tools he or she absolutely requires. Then, they design the box together, figuring out the construction of the drawers, mobility requirements and proper drawer size.

If the company is paying for the tools, it needs a system where the maintenance mechanic can quickly audit the box every morning and night. They know those tools are going to be there and that they are going to be in good shape. So you don’t see the shrinkage because the technician knows where his tools are. It improves accountability and the end-user can capitalize the tools instead of expensing them, says Thompson.

“Any customer that does not have a tool control system, even though they buy tools guaranteed for life, expenses those tools as soon as they come in the door,” says Thompson. “No CFO in the world is going to say, ‘Yeah, I’m convinced I’m going to know where that wrench is a year from now.’ If you’re convinced that tool is going to be there 12 months from now, you can capitalize it, and you don’t need to expense the entire cost in one year. If those tools are going to be good for five to seven years, you only need to take one-fifth or one-seventh of the price off every year in depreciation.”

Sulentic says distributors also need to have a basic understanding of lean manufacturing. She says they should ask general questions to gauge how far down the lean road a customer has traveled. Their answers to these questions will determine what types of toolbox setup the customer requires.

In lean facilities, multiple people commonly share workspaces, so it’s important to understand how they use storage – whether they need tools in the open or tools in drawers – in order to satisfy their needs. And some facilities might not have the need for traditional tool storage as we know it today. For some customers, workbenches are more important; they need a work surface and open bulk cabinets next to them.

“It’s really important for the salesperson to have a conversation with the end-user to find out where the storage is going to be used, how it’s going to be used, and come up with recommendations from there,” says Sulentic. “With the toolbox, the assortment is so broad with many different quality levels and sizes. The advantage the distributor has is to go in and understand what those needs are and recommend a product that best fits those needs.”