Redesigning of manufacturing layout for performance improvements using VIP plan opt software

Plant Layout involves the spatial arrangement of equipment within the steel structure or building of a plant and considers the inter-connections through pipes and ducts as well as walks and vehicle transportation. An optimal layout has to ensure operability, adequate safety and an economic design. Industries have for many years been dealing with the problem of making batch production more efficient and responsive to changes in demand and technology. This paper presents a new and powerful concept known as Virtual Cellular Manufacturing (VCM). VCM helps in overcoming the problem of constant change in demand and part type by incorporating flexible production lines. The project ‘OPTIMIZATION OF PLANT LAYOUT’ is undergoing in PSG ROTARY MACHINE DIVISION, envisages optimize the plant area of shop floor using LEANCONCEPT.

Plant Layout is the arrangement of physical elements of facilities (or machines/equipment) which makes the products or service. Thus facilities layout is the overall arrangement of machines, men, material handling, service facilities, and passage required to facilitate efficient operation of production system.

The major goal of plant layout optimization is to maximize profit and productivity by arrangement of the total ‘manufacturing equation’ – men, materials, and money in fulfilling in this goal.

This work addresses the optimization of the shop floor area in the Rotary Machine Division, with a focus on submersible and monoblock production lines. Hence the primary objective is to evolve and test the several strategies to eliminate wastage on shop floor. In this work systematic approach is suggested to implementation of lean principles to showcase the lean could be applied to optimize the plant layout effectively.

Use the value stream mapping gives the proper results to optimize the layout and the software VIP PLANTOPT is used to optimize the plant layout.