In this text, the field we will deal with is business , addressing concepts of logistics and production , which will help us see why we need to have a good layout !
Layout in companies and factories
The translation of the term layout stockholder database that best suits logistics is “installation configuration”, which can also be called physical arrangement .
Thus, the book Production Management defines this term well when it says that “physical arrangement is deciding where to place all the facilities, machines, equipment and production personnel”.
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The importance of a well-defined physical arrangement
Furthermore, using the definitions given by Nigel Slack in Production Management, the physical arrangement “determines the manner in which transformed resources – materials, information and customers – flow through the operation.”
From this explanation, we can begin to see more clearly that everything in an organization revolves around the adopted layout . Therefore, any changes made have consequences for production processes. Therefore, a good layout is one of the practices for reducing costs in companies.
In this sense, let's take as an example a large industry with several factories spread around the world: relatively small changes in the location of a machine in a given factory can affect the costs and overall efficiency of production in that branch, when compared to others.
In addition, other problems can also be generated from a poorly defined layout: material stocks , inconveniences for customers, unnecessarily long processing times and high costs .
Is my layout the most suitable?
In view of what has been discussed, we have divided into 3 steps the actions you must take to get your layout right so that you are in control!
1st step:
First of all, the starting point for properly defining your layout is understanding what type of production process you have!
So, if you don't have your processes mapped out yet , take the time to read about it.
2nd step:
After defining your process type, you must choose your basic physical arrangement . This is nothing more than the general form of arrangement of the production's productive resources.
It is also worth noting that this relationship between process types and basic layout types is not entirely deterministic. In other words, a type of production process does not necessarily imply a particular basic type of physical arrangement.
Consequently, there are many different ways to arrange productive resources. However, most physical arrangements derive from just four basic types of physical arrangement, which we will detail later. They are:
Positional physical arrangement;
Layout by process;
Cellular layout;
Physical arrangement by product.
3rd step:
Finally, the third and final step: select the detailed physical layout design .
However, it is simpler than it seems and is more of a point of attention than an activity in itself.
Furthermore, the choice of the basic physical arrangement does not define precisely where resources will be allocated, but rather the general way in which they will be distributed.
Therefore, it is important to define the detailed project to adjust the final details! Carrying out a 5S audit can help at this time to keep you in control of your processes!
