Lockheed Martin warehouse increases storage capacity by 70%

The ActivRAC® Mobilized Storage System also contributes to a 15% increase in efficiency.

February 28th, 2020 - 2 min read

The Challenge

Material Center Operations, the group responsible for materials management at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control (MFC) manufacturing facility in Orlando, FL, strives for continuous improvement as it aims to help boost the plant’s overall efficiency. The department implemented a new strategy to ensure fast- and slow-moving production materials came together harmoniously as dictated by its Materials Handling Requirements System.

The success of the new approach hinged on the ability to make space for storing slow-moving materials work with the flow, not against it. That drove the need to bring all slow-moving materials closer to the point of use, rather than storing a portion of them off-site.

The issue was that the available storage space was inadequate, reduced from 4,000 to 3,000 square feet, so storing the slow-moving items on-site seemed impossible. And building an addition was out of the question.

missile manufacturing warehouse storage system

“The ActivRAC system gives you the opportunity to take existing space and do more with it. We’ve seen how it can improve efficiencies for relatively low cost.”

– Sam Cox, Senior Manager, Material Center Operations, Lockheed Martin

The Solution

The local Spacesaver distributor worked with a senior manager at the firm to design an ActivRAC mobilized storage system to match the group’s strategic goals.

industrial military manufacture compact storage

The ActivRAC system makes more efficient use of limited storage space when compared with static (stationary) pallet racking. Industrial-grade carriages can be equipped with existing or new pallet racking, shelving, and cabinets. The carriages move side-to-side on a carriage-and-rail system, which eliminates the need for an open aisle between rows of racking or shelving.

That means there’s no wasted space. Instead, users decide which aisle to open to easily access stored materials while remaining aisles stay closed.

Team members use a pallet stacker to access stored materials. A user simply pushes a button on the front of the ActivRAC carriage to open the desired aisle. Materials can be accessed from either side of the aisle, which expands to a full 12 feet for ample room to maneuver.

Aisles can also be opened by remote control or via an app on a tablet or phone.

warehouse pallet racking system military inventory

The Results

Storage capacity increased by 70%: MFC at Lockheed Martin increased its capacity for storing slow-moving materials on-site by 70%, despite the substantially smaller area for storage.
15% increase in efficiency: The ability to put slow-moving materials closer to the point of use contributes to a 15% gain in efficiency, as measured by minutes per transaction.
Improved inventory control: Now that it’s easier to track production materials on-site, inventory control has also improved.
Additional space put to other uses: All that, plus more space at on- and off-site locations has allowed the Materials Center Operations to support additional functions.