You're facing bottlenecks in your manufacturing plant. How can you optimize layout design to overcome them?

Method of choice here is value stream mapping. In the current "Value Stream Design 4.0" version, all material movement and status data from "ramp to ramp" and also the information flow from order receipt to dispatch are analyzed and displayed. Important for bottle-neck identification: - How are interfaces between processing steps designed (push vs. pull, amount of buffer stock)? - Duration of the processing step <= customer cycle? Is all required information available (order data etc.)? - OEE (especially unplanned downtimes)? For highly manual processes: Record this data at several time periods/shifts and with different workers to ensure objectivity. Also helpful: spaghetti diagrams to identify unnecessary routes.

Once the actual status has been documented in the Value Stream Map, the bottlenecks are identified in the value stream analysis: High scrap rates and too long process times in individual process steps, high machine downtimes, long distances, poor links between process steps, undesignated storage areas, waiting times... All these factors ensure that output is lower than it should be. Display the process without these "wastes" in the Future State Map and calculate whether you can now achieve the desired output. Important: Optimize the entire process and not just selectively to change the end result. If the output still cannot be achieved, the number of shifts or machines/workstations may need to be increased.

Ideally, the layout reflects the process. Areas where only one activity is carried out (e.g. turning) lead to long transport routes between the areas if several different activities are required for production. Wherever possible, all machines and workstations required to manufacture a product or product family should therefore be located together in as close a space as possible. U layouts are often suitable because they allow multiple machine handling and the number of employees in a U can be increased if necessary. Make sure there are defined spaces for raw materials and tools. You should also ensure that there is sufficient lighting. At the workplace itself, the arrangement of materials and tools should also follow the process flow.

Approaches for further improvement can come from both the KPIs and the employees. Let's assume that the key figures are consistent and that customer needs can be met. Is the optimization over? No! After every layout and workplace optimization, I received valuable input from the workers who work at the workplaces every day. Even though they were involved in the analysis, planning and implementation of all projects from the start, in practice there are still often points that nobody has thought of: drafts from the air conditioning at a workplace, noise pollution from a long-term test that is now taking place in the line and so on. These issues must be taken seriously, even if it is sometimes "just" about increasing the feel-good factor.