Factory layouts are important in any industry, and none more so than in the structural building components industry. Not only do factory layouts allow you to simplify and streamline workflow processes, but they can also assist you in maximizing your productivity and improving overall efficiency.
So, what is needed to ensure an effective and optimal layout? How can you choose the right machinery that supports the effectiveness of your factory layout and also supports increased market share? Consider these critical points.
Factory Layout Considerations
Never underestimate the importance of a factory layout. There are a number of key elements you need to consider when creating a factory layout to ensure you get the best outcome. When you partner with us, we’ll work alongside you and discuss each of these key areas in relation to your manufacturing goals.
Space utilization takes into account how much space you have available and the best way to utilize this space for optimal results. Taking time to do space planning will ensure your workflow processes flow within your manufacturing factory and are safe and efficient. When looking at the space available, consider other elements such as material handling, easy access and movement of staff, clear pathways within and between areas, tasks to be performed inside and outside of areas, and of course equipment placement to maximize floor space.
Ultimately you want to have equipment, workstations, and storage areas placed in the optimal position for workers and material handling.
When it comes to your workflow, a factory layout is critical and if you get this right, you have much greater control over quality and efficiency. The goal here is to position machinery and work areas to achieve an uninterrupted flow, where the manufacturing process logically and safely moves from one stage to the next. Effective factory layouts with workflow optimization in mind allow you to implement a layout that minimizes material handling, transit times, and potential bottlenecks.
They say time is money, right?! A smart factory layout considers material handling and considers the most efficient way to move materials throughout the manufacturing process. To streamline your production flow, you want to consider how you can logically and safely move and store material in a way that requires the least distance to travel and the least amount of manual handling. Clear pathways and purpose-designed trolleys and equipment can help, with automation increasingly being used with great advantages.
Of course, you need a factory layout that is efficient and increases productivity, but worker safety is also a top priority. Your layout will not be optimal unless it takes safety considerations into account. The positioning of equipment and workstations should be done in a way to achieve easy access for workers, limit the amount of heavy lifting required and physical strain, reduce worker fatigue, and minimize the chance of an injury or damage.
When you’re in business, you naturally think ahead and plan for the future to ensure ongoing success of your manufacturing operations. This ‘future’ view is a key consideration when designing a factory layout, so it’s a good idea to think of scalable layouts that will meet your manufacturing needs now and in the years ahead. If you’re wanting to end up with a full wall panel line but are starting off with just a few machines, plan for this at the start so it’s an easy addition in the future with less disruptions and costs.
Working with You on Your Factory Layout
When you partner with Spida Machinery, we work alongside you on your factory layout. Our collaborative approach means we learn what your manufacturing goals and requirements are, go through the key considerations with you, discuss some options, and then recommend a solution that’s best for you. Each of our layouts is unique to the customer given everyone’s factories and workflow processes are different – it’s not one size fits all when it comes to layout.
We’ve been in the structural building components industry for well over 40 years, and collectively we have decades more experience with factories and machinery, so we have extensive insight that we utilize for layout design and installation.
As explained by Cullen Ellis, Spida Machinery Product Specialist, “[At the layout stage], we take pride in taking the time to understand our customers – what their pain points and challenges are, where they have bottlenecks, what they are wanting to achieve with machinery now and in the future. This requirement-gathering stage is a fundamental part of our customer journey and input into our factory layout, allowing us to deliver a tailormade, fit-for-purpose solution.” We take the time to understand your needs so we can make the best recommendations for your business.
Investing in the Right Machinery to Get the Best Results
In addition to an effective layout, it is critical to select the right machinery to maximize efficiency and productivity, quality and consistency, cost reduction and profitability as well as increasing safety. Most importantly, we realize you are not starting from scratch but have existing machinery too! That’s why we begin with a CAD drawing of your factory that we can populate. Your current machinery is put in place and then we add our new ideas. This gives us a shared diagram that we can discuss, adjust, and refine as we go.
Whatever your manufacturing goals are – streamlining processes, increasing output, growing capabilities, reducing downtime, alleviating bottlenecks, reducing manual labor or minimizing heavy lifting – selecting the right machinery can assist with the realization of these goals.
Build Your Market Share
The end outcome of investing in the right machinery and installing it as per a well-planned factory layout is the opportunity to increase your market share.
Investing in the right machinery, that’s designed for the environment it’s intended, allows you to increase production while lowering your manufacturing costs.
Also, choosing machinery that provides versatility and flexibility means you’re maximizing the footprint in your factory while best utilizing the operator and the outputs of the machine. For example, the Spida Raked Wall Extruder is designed to assemble and simplify the process of making raking wall frames as well as common wall frames, from the same machine! No need for two separate lines with multiple machines.
Finally, when investing in the right machinery, consider the advances in technology and how this can support your goals. The increasing use of automation (which we specialize in) is a game changer!
At Spida Machinery, our customer journey begins with you. We listen to what your manufacturing goals are and what you’d like to achieve for your factory. We then recommend the best Spida machinery and equipment to meet your needs now and in the future. We design a factory layout alongside you, taking into consideration your space available, your workflow processes, moving of material around the factory, safety, and your future plans. We know that when you make the decision to invest in machinery, you want it to reap optimal benefits. Talk to us today about how we can help you achieve such benefits in your factory!