Solution: Inventory Management 

The Cubs faced two different inventory management issues as the 1060 Project evolved.

First, the facility staff realized they needed a better way to organize and store its necessities. To maintain Wrigley Field, the Cubs’ Operations team needs a wide array of items – from the outdoor equipment used by the grounds crew to everyday fix-it supplies such as tape, sealant and much more. They couldn’t easily access items they needed.

Grainger implemented the KeepStock inventory management program to help the Cubs better organize their inventory and reduce waste. Vending machines are at critical locations throughout the ballpark, which is essential when space is at a premium. 

“Using the KeepStock system, we’ve been able to see what we’re using and what we’re not using, and it gives us the ability to be able to know, ‘Hey, we’re using a lot of these specific items,’” Spatafora said. 

KeepStock also helps make sure items are kept in the areas where they are used the most. 

“Our KeepStock system downstairs helps us to keep the basics of what keeps our shop running, the nuts, the bolts, the gaffer's tape, caution tape, stuff like that,” Spatafora said. “It helps me to focus on the bigger projects rather than ordering specific smaller picture hanging or specific size bolts. We already have those in stock so it helps to free up our time.” 

The club’s other inventory challenge stemmed from acquiring a lot of equipment unrelated to hosting baseball games, equipment which further tested its limited storage space. Grainger helped develop a plan for shelving, racking and space optimization across it all. 

“Having it all set up in the way that we did it made it way easier to track items that have been there for a long time and find them when I need them,” Spatafora said. 

Solution: Tooling Lists 

For the 1060 Project, the new engineering team needed a better, more systematic way to outfit their tool kits. Grainger worked with the team to develop a tooling list for the type of equipment they’d be servicing, to help the club standardize both what was needed and what wasn’t. 

“We’ve been able to fine tune and pull out of stock things that we don’t use,” Spatafora said. 

Solution: Keeping People Safe 

Grainger’s decades of experience in safety also helped the Wrigley Field facilities team during this major project and beyond. 

Safety Data Sheets (SDS): The Cubs previously kept these OSHA-required documents, which contain hazard and safety information about specific substances or mixtures for use in workplace chemical management, in a printed format. They were difficult to access and update. 

Grainger identified a service partner that was able to help digitize the documents, put them on a database and partially automate the ongoing process of updating them. Now, users can access the SDS simply by scanning a QR code with a smartphone. Meanwhile, the Cubs staff can make updates based on emails from the service partner.

Paige Herbert, the Cubs’ manager of environmental health and safety, said updating just one manual SDS can take up to an hour, and there are about 55 SDS in the inventory. The digital solution dramatically reduced the time needed to make updates. 

Footwear: Grainger also worked with Herbert to identify the different use cases for safety footwear across new and existing departments in the expanded staff. Some needed safety boots as standard footwear, some just needed a steel toe cap occasionally. Grainger then developed a good/better/best option for each role and hosted a try-on day on site so employees could choose their own footwear.

“That was helpful in getting the buy-in from the people who were wearing the shoe,” said Herbert, who was charged with embedding a safety-focused culture within the growing Operations team. 

The Results 

When it was largely a baseball-only facility, Wrigley Field is used to roughly 3 million fans visiting the ballpark on a yearly basis. Millions continue to flock to Wrigley Field not just for baseball games, but to enjoy the added amenities created as a result of the 1060 Project. 

Winterland at Gallagher Way, a seven-week event featuring an ice rink and slide inside the ballpark as well as other attractions outside, drew about 500,000 visitors in 2022. Attending a concert at Wrigley Field is also popular with the venue hosting 10 concerts in 2023. A wide range of smaller events are also attracting more visitors to the campus, and it’s all the result of the 1060 Project. 

Beyond Grainger’s contribution to the 1060 Project are some intangible outcomes for Cubs’ employees. 

“What it comes down to is employee satisfaction and a sense of caring,” Meenan said. “Engineers feel like they’re being given the tools and supplies they need and it’s always there for them. Because of the work Grainger did to help them develop what the tool inventory should be, and KeepStock to know what supplies there are, they feel supported in that they have the things they need to do their job.” 

He applied the same consideration to the warehouse team getting the right footwear, as well as guidance or space utilization and proper safety techniques, and how frontline associates can see materials in KeepStock machines that they know they can get at any time, without needing to ask permission, to help create the best guest experience. 

“When I look at Grainger, there’s lots of different parties you could buy some of the products from, but it’s really the extra services and the consulting services that differentiate Grainger from others in the market,” Meenan said. “As a team that’s been growing rapidly over the last five years, we’ve been having to implement lots of new processes, lots of new operations and lots of new technology. Grainger has been someone that’s been working with us hand-in-hand in helping us to scope those opportunities, come up with solutions to solve them, and really give us a perspective that we lacked internally.” 

The Future 

In the next phase of growth for the Cubs and Wrigley Field, the club is examining what should be added or changed to the areas that weren’t considered during the 1060 Project. Grainger’s relationship with the Cubs is progressing along with that growth.  

Grainger’s product offerings, including more than 165,000 safety products and a diverse MRO assortment from tape and antifreeze to tillers and wall clocks, remain at the heart of it all. Grainger’s Consulting Services team is also re-engaging with the Cubs to identify ways to support their evolution beyond the 1060 Project.  

“Before, Grainger supported the Cubs at a broad macro level,” Meenan said. “We had one to three points of contact to work with to expose us to different areas. Now, we have a safety person in Paige and Grainger’s safety specialists can engage in more detailed and mature processes. Same thing with many of our other teams. Now that we internally have grown to include these specialists, we can have much deeper conversations between our specialists and those Grainger specialists.”