Rite Way Improves Manufacturing Flow

Rite Way Mfg. Co. Ltd. is a manufacturer of agricultural implements headquartered in Imperial Saskatchewan. They realized their facility and processes needed to improve to keep up with growing demand and an expanding product line and reached out to Acculift to discover the best way to do that.

The Challenge

Rite Way has two rows of welding cells that both handled product material. Individual cells on each side are fed from the middle requiring a wide, open area for material transfers. The existing building structure and was not designed to support loads beyond structural requirements preventing the installation of a ceiling-hung lifting system. In addition, the building has a low ceiling height so a lifting system that maximized every inch of the available hook height was essential.

The Solution

After on-site consultations with Acculift, a large span free-standing structure that supports two runway systems with multiple bridges on each system was proposed as the ideal solution. Multiple bridges on each runway system allow each cell to operate efficiently without having to wait for the use of the crane. A split support structure closest to the wall at the lowest point of the ceiling maximized the hook height of the system. This creative design created the wide-open footprint their processes required without modifying the existing building.

This solution saved time in design, engineering requirements, and installation. The installation process was quicker than building modifications would have taken, and enabled the production to continue throughout almost the entire installation.

The Result

This creative lifting solution eliminated the cost of building modifications and since downtime of operations was minimized production wasn’t impacted. Production speed has increased and the new crane system can easily be relocated and repurposed in the future. By moving away from batch processing Rite Way has also provided a safer work environment for their employees.

The large span support structure with two individual runway systems allows each row of welding cells to operate independently of the cells across the aisle.

With the successful implementation of this project, Rite Way and Acculift are adding additional work cell overhead cranes to further streamline their production process.