Navigating Complexity: How Agile Automation Powers Telecom Production in Tight Spaces

The Client: Zhone Technologies

Imagine the intricate web of fiber optics and network connections that power our digital lives. Zhone Technologies is a key player in building that world, manufacturing sophisticated telecommunications equipment that makes high-speed communication possible. While much of their high-volume production is smartly outsourced – a strategic move that keeps costs down and allows them to scale efficiently – Zhone maintains a vital in-house facility. This isn’t just any factory floor; it’s their innovation hub, dedicated to the crucial work of introducing new products and fine-tuning them before they hit mass production. Located on a 17-acre campus in Oakland, CA, their manufacturing shop floor is intentionally compact, just 15,000 square feet. This lean footprint is central to their outsourcing model, but it presents a unique set of challenges for the critical pre-outsourcing phase.

The Challenge

Running a high-tech manufacturing operation focused on new product introduction in a limited space is like trying to conduct a symphony in a crowded garage. Every instrument (or product) is different, requires unique handling, and must hit its notes (or test stages) at precisely the right time, all while navigating a confined area.

The High-Wire Act of Product Variety

Unlike a factory stamping out identical widgets, Zhone deals with a wide array of complex networking systems.  

• Endless Variation: As Gary Saltis, director of advanced manufacturing, puts it, “Our production and test processes vary due to a wide variation of our product family.” This means products don’t follow a simple A-to-B-to-C path; their journey through the facility is more like a dynamic, ever-changing maze.
• Flexible Routing Demanded: Getting the right product to the right work station and right testing equipment at the right time, every time, is paramount. Their processes needed to be adaptable on the fly, not rigid assembly lines.

The Bottleneck Blues of Manual Motion

Before implementing a new system, Zhone’s operations, particularly the movement of products, relied heavily on manual effort.  

• Carts and Chaos: Products were moved around using carts pushed by technicians. While functional for basic transport, this manual method lacked precision and control.
• Waiting Games: Technicians would sometimes be left waiting for the next product to arrive at their test cell, wasting valuable skilled labor time. Conversely, products could sit idle, waiting for an available technician. This stop-and-start flow kills efficiency.
• Limited Visibility: Without an integrated system, tracking the exact location and status of work-in-process on the floor was difficult, akin to trying to find a specific file in a messy office without a proper filing system.
• Ergonomic Risks: Handling heavy telecommunications equipment (some units weighing over 100 lbs) manually posed significant physical strain and risk of injury to employees, a major concern in any modern operation.  
• Space Squeeze: The use of numerous carts took up valuable floor space, further constricting operations in the already compact 15,000 sq ft area.

Ebrahim Abbasi, vice president of manufacturing, highlighted the core strategy driving their needs:

“Our manufacturing strategy is based on outsourcing… Outsourcing allows us to focus on our core competencies. So we do not need a large manufacturing space.”

This focus on a small, in-house space amplified the need for extreme efficiency and intelligent use of every square foot and every minute. The challenge was clear: how to build a highly flexible, efficient, and safe material handling backbone within a limited area to support complex, varied production processes.

The Solution

Recognizing that their existing manual approach was a constraint, not a catalyst, for their critical in-house operations, Zhone sought a transformation. They didn’t just need pieces of equipment; they needed a cohesive, intelligent system designed to handle complexity, optimize flow, and enhance the work environment within their specific footprint. This is where the expertise of a Material Handling System Integrator comes into play – think of them as the architects and orchestra conductors for your warehouse or factory’s internal logistics. They analyze your unique operational DNA, design a seamless workflow blueprint, and then select and integrate the right technologies from various specialists to create a single, harmonious system tailored precisely to your needs.

FloStor Engineering stepped into this vital role for Zhone, providing the guidance and design expertise to weave together disparate technologies into a unified, high-performance system.  

Building the Flexible Backbone

FloStor helped Zhone install a combination of specialized equipment components, carefully selected and integrated to create a flexible handling system:

• Roller Conveyors: Serving as pathways for products between different areas.
• Pop-up Ball Table Transfers: Placed at key workstations, these allow operators to easily rotate heavy units, providing ergonomic access from all sides during tasks like PCB insertion.  
• Hydraulic Lift Table & Lift Assist Carts: Directly addressing the ergonomic challenge, these tools provide mechanical assistance for handling heavy loads, significantly reducing manual lifting strain.
• The Smart Spine: Sortation Transfer Vehicle (STV) System: This compact, customized single vehicle operates on a mere 72-foot track, acting as the central nervous system for product movement. Equipped with a roller conveyor deck, it intelligently delivers configured systems to test cells and transports them to their next destination.

Why the STV Won the Race

Zhone and FloStor evaluated several options for the main product delivery and takeaway system.

• Overcoming Conveyor Limitations: As John Friedl, senior manufacturing engineer, explained the choice of the STV over parallel conveyors:

“Based on past experiences with similar applications using conveyor based delivery systems, we determined that an STV would better accommodate the spikes in our production volume and eliminate the inherent bottlenecks common with conveyors.”  

• Software-Driven Intelligence: The STV system provides “more robust routing of our configured products by handling all transactions through software control,” according to Friedl. This built-in intelligence eliminates the need for external scanning for basic tracking; the system knows what’s on the STV, where it’s going, and when transactions occur, providing automatic, accurate work-in-process visibility.  

The “Pull” Process: Keeping Things Flowing Smoothly

A key design principle of the system is a “pull” process, especially within the test cells.  

• Eliminating Waiting: Units are called to a destination only when that destination (a test cell input conveyor) is available. This prevents units from being “pushed” down the line into a queue, eliminating the frustrating and inefficient waiting time for both products and technicians.
• Technician Empowerment: This ensures test technicians aren’t waiting for the next system to arrive, maximizing their productivity.
• Configurable Routing: Though software controls the STV’s core movements, operators use programmable push buttons at each input/output conveyor to manually initiate routing requests, maintaining human oversight where needed.

Handling the Unconventional

New product development units, which often have unique testing requirements, are routed to a dedicated area with bidirectional conveyors.

• Access for Any Product: These conveyors can act as both inputs and outputs, allowing these unique units to be routed to or from any other input or output conveyor in the system, ensuring even the most non-standard products can access the necessary test cells and processes.  

Tangible Benefits Beyond Expectation

While the system was still in final debugging, the advantages were already clear and, in some areas, exceeded initial expectations.

• Ergonomics Revolution: Manual handling of heavy 100+ lb units is drastically reduced, with lift assist carts, the hydraulic lift table, and the STV/conveyor system doing the heavy lifting. This significantly improves employee safety and comfort.
• Optimized Flow and Organization: Material flow through the facility is smoother and more predictable. Removing manual carts from the main pathways has decluttered the factory floor, making it more organized and freeing up space for essential test equipment.
• Real-time Visibility: Managers gain instant insights into the status of the factory floor and the location of work-in-process, simply by observing the system or checking the software.  
• Exceeding Capacity: John Friedl enthusiastically reported: “This handling system has exceeded our capacity expectations throughout a rigorous test and evaluation period. Handling time by technicians is greatly reduced, and there’s increased efficiency in testing procedures.”  

By partnering with FloStor Engineering to design and implement a flexible, intelligent, and ergonomically conscious material handling system, Zhone transformed their compact manufacturing space into a highly efficient hub capable of handling product variation and preparing complex telecommunications equipment for high-volume production. It’s a powerful example of how strategic automation, guided by expert integration, turns spatial and process constraints into operational strengths, proving that even in a small footprint, big efficiencies are possible.