Production-time evaluation technique for small manufacturing plants

Abstract

Small manufacturing plants usually experience challenges of inefficiency and low production yields. These problems have previously been addressed using methods to redesign plant layouts and reduce distance between workstations. Furthermore, assessment techniques like the machine-distance matrix method have then been required to evaluate layout performance. However, these assessments that rely only on distance evaluation are severely limited. In this paper, a new model called Production-time evaluation is presented for evaluating production layout efficiency. It involves computing the estimated time for production at workstations, time for movement between workstations and number of units of a product manufactured. It is then applied on a case study in small furniture plant. The existing layout of the plant was extracted and the production processes for its three products were outlined. A new layout was designed and both layouts were compared using the Production-time methodology, revealing improvements in reduced production time and increased daily production capacity by up to 37% for a product.

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“…Las empresas manufactureras suelen tener elevados tiempos de producción debido a las distancias que deben recorrer los materiales. Por ello, el diseño del uso de las instalaciones es un factor crucial para lograr un proceso de producción eficiente [16] [17].…”

Simulation and analyses of shea nuts (vitallaria paradoxa) processing plant using FlexSim©

“…Manufacturing Plants are essential to boosting the economic growth and development of any country, however, effective management of resources and design of processes must be enforced to improve efficiency, and productivity, and reduce the cost of production (Theophine, 2021). The rapid increase in global population, varied customer demands and the desire to meet up with these challenges have led to the revolution of the traditional manufacturing processes into a more modern and smart manufacturing system, this revolutionary era is regarded as the Industry 4.0 era; it seeks to integrate information and communication technology, and automation to optimize manufacturing systems (Ricondo et al, 2021), and to generate data to make informed decisions to improve on the operation times, set up times, buffer capacities and efficiency of the manufacturing industry for increased efficiency, profit, productivity and customer satisfaction (Klos et al, 2015).…”