"Chris" wrote in message
...
SNIP|
| Anyone else notice the abundance of Snap On tools and boxes in the OCC
shop
| after that build. Poor guys. I remember one show were they were cursing
| the abundance, Snap On boxes everywhere. I wish they were live or
broadcast
| in a timely fashion, I would gladly drive down there and take one off
their
| hands, no charge.

Over on the 777 line, which isn't making a lot of money yet, but folks
are throwing money at it left and right over the moving line conversion. A
buddy of mine came in from the flight line one night and wandered into a
large crib full of thousands (yup!) of tools. Boxes overflowing of damn
near every hand tool they had. Scared the **** out of him! It was like
wandering into a bank vault.

| Software package for managing tools??? I would be the coolest on the
block
| with such.

You definitely would be. The system is called Snap-Cal. Not cheap, I
imagine, but I didn't discuss that part with the fellow since I wasn't
paying. Ironically, damn near every large manufacturer in the Puget Sound
Region (except for Boeing!) has made the switch to tool
control/accountability, and their tool usage dropped like a rock, saving
millions in the process. Snap Cal is a nifty program. They provide you a
laptop and simple instructions. You start with a foam pallet of the
dimensions you specify and start entering your parts list, by part number.
Snap On's or not, damn near everything is in there. Last time I heard, the
count was like 11,000 items. Select a tool on the list and a profile of the
tool appears on the pallet. Put it where you want and go get another one.
Continue until complete. Send the file to Snap On and within a few weeks (I
think we're running a couple weeks last I heard) you get the pallet in hand.
If you don't have the tool profile, put the tool on a scanner and send the
files to them. In no time your profile comes back, ready to use. Boeing
has a special deal with them, so the price billed to the shop is a bit
lower, but it's far and above a quote I got from another company that does
the same thing. For them, I'd have to send a sample of every tool to them
for their design, and pay the setup fee of about a hundred bucks. Pallets
are priced based on quantity and all that, and were around a couple hundred
bucks for a one off.) I think Boeing pays about sixty bucks for a pallet
about the size of most rollaway drawers, and the price is the same
regardless of how many you want. The foam pallets are top notch, and you
can order little plastic label with the tool part number, identification
number, or whatever you want on it, either on the outside of the tool pocket
or inside. There's other things you can do with them also, but that just
depends on the arrangements.

If you have a lot of money in tools, and want to reduce your money spent
chasing tools or replacing them, by all means call your salesman up and ask
about it. There is another system called TIMS, Tool Inventory and
Management System, that they use there that controls and tracks all tools
going in and out, from the tiniest knife blade to the big monster torque
multipliers. The tool rooms use that. Not a Snap On system though.