Factories are manufacturing plants
with machines and equipment used to produce
products. Designed for the purpose of what they
will manufacture, some factories are designed to
run continuously, such as steel mills. Some are
designed to build the same part over and over
again, such as auto plants. Others build in
intermittent ordered lots, such as toys, which
change from year to year.
Factories are laid out to fit
specific manufacturing needs. Where machines are
placed in a building reveals whether the plant is
a process or product plant. A process plant groups
similar machines or processes together to
simultaneously manufacture different items. A product
plant sets up machines and processes to
achieve the most efficient way to produce one
item.
The main advantage of the process
layout is its comparatively lower machine cost
and the wider flexibility of work that can be
done. Its main disadvantage is time lost
traveling to different areas in the building to
assemble the various pieces.
The main advantage that product
layout offers is that the item produced flows in
a straight line, minimizing delays. Its main
disadvantage is the relatively high cost of
duplicating machines that do the same job and
then shutting down and breaking down the whole
process to make changes.
You have heard the adage, "A
place for everything and everything in its
place." Before a factory is set up,
attention must be paid to where every item will
be placed- machines, storage space, supplies,
and offices. If time is not well spent in
planning, the business owners will spend extra
money and lose
to make any corrections.
A machine template of where the
machines will be installed and a flowchart
diagram of how the product will travel
through the building, showing the stages of
completion, are developed before machines are
installed.
Sometimes a building such as a
warehouse already exists and the manufacturing
process must be designed to fit within the
building.
|