Modelling

When this company decided to relocate its aerosol plant, it also took the opportunity to upgrade and optimise the plant layout. To achieve this a model was commissioned which included a full set of parameters dealing with conveyor speeds, machine failure profiles, operator movements and supply of consumables. This enabled analysis work to be carried out on a number of configurations and through several iterations. This resulted in a smoother running and more efficient layout being developed.

Specific attention was paid to buffering capacity in front of machines requiring stock replenishment, so that production further up the line could be maintained. Also, presentations to the line team gave the opportunity for valuable feedback and an understanding of the proposed operation of the new plant layout.

For the same client an experimental bottling plant was modelled to investigate potential problems arising from stock supply and operator utilisation. Running at 500 parts per minute, this adventurous linear approach to layout was designed to enable raw materials to be supplied at one end of the factor and finished product arriving at the other. By insisting on high machine reliability, product buffering, and therefore work in progress, could be kept to a minimum, thus improving variant changeover times.