Move It, Improve It may sound like a new exercise craze sweeping the nation, but in the world of manufacturing and production it stresses that a successful relocation project is not just moving the operation, but using the opportunity to gain long term cost and efficiency benefits. The phrase Move It, Improve It comes from the idea that if your company is planning on expanding, downsizing, moving locations, or modernizing an existing plant, that this is the time to improve on the layout, material handling, and overall improvement in process efficiency. Let’s take a closer look at things that could be slowing down your manufacturing process and what techniques can help Move It and Improve It.
- Bottlenecks – Take a moment to consider your production line or manufacturing space. Where are the common bottlenecks or slowdowns? More importantly, how much are these slowdowns costing you and your company? BIC helps evaluate current slowdowns and finds ways to improve output and workflow through design and planning of the facility, whether you plan to move to a new location or use the existing layout. Our consultants can study an operation, find solutions and facilitate a simulation model to prove output increases.
- Older Equipment – How well does your current equipment run? Is it the cause of a slow down or costly breakdowns that can cause unplanned downtime? Sometimes newer equipment is worth the cost in that it may take up a smaller footprint saving you critical real estate on your production floor.
- Layout Issues – As companies grow and change, many times the layout of a production line or manufacturing facility are no longer as efficient as they once were. For example, ask these questions: Is work being built up prior to a workstation? Can work be effectively processed across the station and with current equipment? Can workstations be organized in a work cell to minimize movement? Are employees waiting on product to get to their station? Are the employees spending excessive amounts of time walking, searching or finding material? Boston Industrial uses Systematic Layout Planning as the backbone of facility-based projects. Our design process encourages client participation throughout the engagement, beginning with execution of a square footage analysis of current and proposed space, thus eliminating layout issues.
If your company is considering Move It to Improve It, call Boston Industrial Consulting for master planning, layout designing, all the way through project management. Call BIC at (978) 739-0399 or contact us here.
