Modification of an Existing Layout of a Production Line Based on Distance Function

Abstract

Plant layout or facility layout planning(FLP) of an industry means planning for the location of all machines, working areas, offices and any other utilities for efficient and smooth production. FLPs aim to locate interrelated units subject to some design criteria and area limitations, with one or multiple objectives. The flow pattern (of goods & service) in the organization/plant determines the layout type and efficient material handling is a main objective of FLP, specially for industries where continuous and mass flow of goods/materials is there in the production line. So taking material handling as main factor to account for, this paper presents a technique of layout improvement based on distance function. The production line of a soft drink refiling company is taken as a case study and effort is made to reduce the length of the conveyors between the facilities, relocate the facilities and thereby reduce the cost associated with material handling (or transportation cost).

A modified layout is proposed and it shows a considerable reduction in conveyor length and bottle travelling time which ultimately results in reduction of transportation cost.