b'Brannon Steel reports that the lift magnet was a game changer in terms of improved safety and reduced labor requirements.Need a Lift? direct mill buying privileges and the flexibility to re-spond quickly to the needs of customers. The com-pany is highly committed to innovation and culti-agement team wanted to avoid at any cost. vates a culture that encourages creative solutions The system enables operators to unload the longfrom all team members. Continual significant invest-strips without having to climb onto the table. Thements in the latest technology and a dedication to magnet system also reduces the unload time of aresearch and development-oriented projects keep 60"360" sheet from 1.5 hours to about 15 minutes.the business on the leading edge.This reduction adds incredible efficiency to the op- This commitment to safety and quality is demon-eration. strated through ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certifica-Weve more than quadrupled our output on thistions. The company also uses lean manufacturing and table as a result, Lee said. The Eriez system pro- Six Sigma tools. In addition, Brannon Steels kanban, vides a huge time savings because we no longerkitting and just-in-time programs are supported by need to manually remove the strips from the cuttingfully integrated enterprise resource planning, elec-table. This system was built specifically to fit the Bran- tronic data interchange and bar coding capabilities to non Steel application, but this style magnet has theensure tight quality control and tracking capabilities.versatility to handle a large variety of sheet and part sizes. Competitors we explored could not customizeBurn Table Designtheir systems to our exact needs as economically asMoving numerous parts from a burn table can be Eriez did with their system. Our new system uses stan- a very time-consuming process. Eriez Manufactur-dard-designed components in an assembly that ac- ings new air-operated Burn Table Full-Coverage Lift commodates our steel sheet and part sizes. However,Magnet System utilizes a large, full-contact mag-because the individual magnets can be rearranged, we can handle other applications if necessary.about the author Safety and Quality Eriez Manufacturing Co. is based in Erie, Pennsyl-Brannon Steels size allows it to offer many cus- vania. For more information, call 814-835-6000 or tomer advantages, including a 24-hour work cycle,visit www.eriez.com.32JULY 2023MaterialsHandling.indd 32 6/15/23 12:48 PM'