Introduction
The facilities of an organization are not only the physical space where it is located, but also the place where its production process takes place and is carried out. Hence the importance that each decision that is made regarding the design and distribution of the company is appropriate.
The design and distribution of the facilities are decisions previously analyzed and subsequently selected, which allow the organization to reach its objectives. This is due to the fact that the proper design and distribution of the facilities allows the available space available to be used more efficiently, as well as facilitating the manufacturing process, minimizing investments in equipment and production time, and consequently reducing costs in materials handling.
The facilities play a more than important role within the organization, not only do they house it, they also help it in the process and its productive capacity.
Facility design
LAYOUT is a term from the English language. This concept can be translated as “provision” or “plan” and has a use in the technological-industrial field. The notion of Layout is used to name the layout scheme of design elements.
LAYOUT is an important step that serves to establish a physical relationship between activities. It encompasses design and analysis components, the final design of the distribution of a plant will be built from a large number of decisions previously studied and selected.
Layout's objectives are:
Minimize:
- Investment in equipment and total production time Costs of material handling Types of material handling equipment
As well as:
- Use existing space in the most efficient way Provide safety and comfort to employees Facilitate the manufacturing process Facilitate the organizational structure
Production capacity
Production capacity or productive capacity is said to be the maximum level of activity that a productive structure can achieve. Its study is essential for business management, since it allows us to analyze whether appropriate use is being made of each of the resources in the organization and whether there is an opportunity to optimize them.
The increase or decrease in productive capacity comes from investment or divestment decisions, for example when additional machinery is acquired or when it is decided to shorten the number of employees.
Productive capacity is expressed in various units such as:
- Tons / month Daily volume Units per time period Hours / man
In productive capacity the following concepts are also named:
- The designed capacity: as the ideal production rate for which the production line or plant was designed. It is the maximum theoretical production.Effective capacity: this is the capacity that a company wants to achieve taking into account its current personnel and equipment limitations. It is less than the projected or designed capacity. The real capacity: is the quantity of finished product, hours worked, etc., that a production line or plant manages to carry out. This is determined at the end of production. Peak capacity: is the maximum production that can be achieved under ideal conditions.
Facilities
Industrial facilities are defined as the set of means or resources necessary to carry out the manufacturing and service processes within an organization.
The industrial installation includes:
- The industrial building Machines or capital equipment Specific facilities
- Storage and distribution facilities (gases, liquids, solids).
- Electric generation, distribution and transformation facilities.
- Water installations (process and purification).
- Industrial cold installations.
- Air conditioning installations.
- Compressed air installations.
- Fire protection facilities.
- Sanitation facilities.
- Service facilities for staff (dining rooms, changing rooms).
As regards the installation as a whole, two aspects must be considered:
- Its geographical location and the available means of communication. The plant layout of the facility.
Distribution of facilities
As we know Layout (distribution of facilities) encompasses a series of decisions previously analyzed and selected to give the organization a functional distribution for the production process and in turn employee comfort. These distribution decisions take into account the following aspects:
- Quantity of space and distances to travel between elements of the distribution Estimate of the demand for the product or service Number of operations required, magnitude of the flow between elements of the system Space requirements for the elements of the distribution Availability of space between the elements of the distribution itself.
conclusion
The productive capacity of a company is largely due to the adequate use of its scarce resources, thus minimizing waste. Taking this company to raise the degree of optimization of each and every one of the resources it uses during its production process.
Some aspects taken into account in the design and distribution of the facilities is to occupy the available space in the best way to: reduce the times, costs, routes, and transfers of materials as well as finished products. But not only that, but also giving comfort and security to the people who work within the company.
When these aspects are combined, it is easier for him to achieve his objectives and increase the productive capacity of the organization.
Bibliography
- Production and operations management for a competitive advantage. Eduardo Jorge Arnoletto. McGraw Hill. Operations Management: Strategy and Analysis. Lee J. Krajewski.
