Layout is important to a number of manufacturing organizations as every business yearns to reduce duration in the flow of materials and staff. Layout decisions are critical to management as it dictates production environment, capacity, material handling and information flow within the organization. Some of the layout methods include; fixed position, office, retail, process oriented, warehouse and product oriented layout. To reach optimality within organizations, it is important to have proper communications within the facility.
Wheeled coach ambulance applies a combination of assembly line and work layout supported by skilled personnel and tools. The assembly begins with the identification of the clients and every relevant department ensures that the vehicle is given work orders in time.
The aluminum manufacturing department ensures that it avails the necessary materials within five days, and subsequently passes it to paint department which takes approximately three days. During this time the upholstery department begins stitching process as the Plexiglas department makes the interior cabinet, doors and metal frames.
The carpentry department prepares the timber and the countertop material besides building the cabinet that goes into the vehicle. The electrical department assembles the wire harness with the connection of medical, electrical and ventilators. After all the installation is done in a sequential manner, a thorough check follows to ensure that the right product is presented to the client.
As Palmer hospital was approaching almost 90,000 deliverables per year, there was a need for expansion of the premises to accommodate their clients and minimizing the distances covered by the staff. The management therefore designed a radical work cell that organizes people into small groupings to ensure that effort is concentrated.
The designed pod which incorporates strong patient centered service gate has computerized systems and elevators used in service delivery. Though it was perceived as a radical project and staffs were skeptical about it, they later appreciated the efficiency it brought.
Aero maintenance is small aircraft Maintenance Company in Wichita. The company uses layout method which entails, summing up all the trips between the departments. Aero maintenance has 8 departments which include; entrance, receiving, parts, metallurgy, break down, assembly, inspection and test. It also has 8 work areas with each department assigned to each work area, characterized by high materials flow.
There is a great need to minimize the material flow in all these departments and get an optimum flow. To achieve optimality, the company can establish aero current layout flow, and then compute the material movement using the flow within the departments. The aero flow distance can be reduced by switching departments without interfering with quality which will give a better solution to the company.
People working in assembly line includes; those making athletic shoes in China, hamburgers in New York city and those making Boeing Aircraft planes in Seattle. When producing any product it is necessary to recognize time constraints before balancing. The solution adopted here involves dividing the overall time taken with the duration required to complete production so as to get the required number of work stations.
This should be done without violating the work relationships. The solution proposes that all the designed stations must be situated in such a way that they categorically follow another. The method ensures efficiency which is obtained by dividing total task time by the number of work stations multiplied by the largest time taken during production.