Arrangement of semi-final products
doesn’t always get enough attention from production managers as they seem to be “temporary” in nature. However, careful control of semi-final products helps workers to save working space, increase productivity and ensure ...
doesn’t always get enough attention from production managers as they seem to be “temporary” in nature. However, careful control of semi-final products helps workers to save working space, increase productivity and ensure the semi-final products are not damaged during the production process.
Prospective users:
Who in the factory should do this? All workers, only line-supervisors?
This practice can be applied to all kinds of factories.
ProblemS addressed
- Defects caused by damage to semi-final products
- Lack of working space in the factories
- Dirty and disordered layout
- Workers’ productivity are affected by lack of a tidy working space
Process
To have a good arrangement of semi-final products, the efforts must come from the management as well as workers. Management of the factories must conduct a study to setup necessary tools or equipment to help workers arrange products in production in a tidy and safe way which is convenient for transportation and saves working space.
Steps in implementation
- Create trays for semi-products which come out from the production line so that they do not fall on the floor of the factory
- Create shelves or wooden pallets to place semi-final products on after they are come out of the line. The shelves or pallets should be designed to fit different types of products and appropriate for forklifts in the factories.
- The pallets or shelves should be placed so it is convenient for workers to move the product to the next stage of the production line. Product that is heavy should be arranged so it can be easily loaded onto a forklift.
- The height of the shelves or pallets should be relevant to the height of the workers so they don’t need to do too much lifting, or stretch to reach product.
- Whenever storage pallets are full of semi-final product, move them and replace with new pallets.
- Ensure all semi-final product is kept tidily in specific areas that don’t violate any other areas such as corridors or other production areas
- Train the workers on using the trays or pallets to place the semi-final products as well as placing the semi-final products in the regulated places.
- Encourage workers to use the trays or pallets
- Trays/pallets at the end of line for temporary storage of semi- final products
- Sufficient number of pallets or shelves for semi-final products
- Space to keep semi-final products
- Forklift to move semi-final products
- Additional trays/pallets requires
- Hard to change the habit of workers
- Clean and tidy working place
- Ease for workers to move and work
- Ease to move the semi-products
- Better productivity
- All equipments and tools for arranging semi-products available
- Semi-products are tidily placed and easy to move and track
- Productivity levels
Funding for the Factory Improvement Programme is provided by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs and the United States Department of Labor.
