There’s a problem here. This photo is from an assembly workstation in a mid size shop. A magnetic bar holds essential tools. The problem is that it is the ONLY magnetic bar in the area and if there’s a tool missing, then there’s a drawn out search for that one tool to complete the job.  The question stands… How much money is being saved by NOT having duplicate sets of tools in your facility? Let’s do some math:

• Hourly Pay Rate = $15 ($0.25/minute)
• Time spent looking for a tool = 5 minutes
• Times per week looking for a tool = 3

With these numbers in place it costs nearly $200 a year in lost time and money simply searching for a tool ($0.25 x 5 mins x 3 times a week x 52 weeks = $195).  The math doesn’t lie so lets get some part numbers and links:

Amazon Industrial:

• Magnetic Mount – $24
• Allen Wrench Set – $14
• GOOD Scissors – $10
• Box Cutter – $15
• Screwdriver Set – $19

Spending about $80 will save time and $200.  Did we miss anything?