A 200% improvement in productivity, 100% reduction in production throughput times – Sounds too good to be true? We can deliver these results through Lean Facility Design^© exercise. Faber Infinite is glad to announce the issuance to it of a copyright that covers the unique methodology for Lean Facility Design.

Lean Facility Design^© (LFD) is a unique toolkit (methodology) devised by Faber Infinite Consulting, which supports organizations to build ‘Best in Class’ facility layout. This methodology assures that the new facility becomes most efficient since inception or day zero.

This methodology is applicable for organizations that are coming up with new facilities, revising layouts, shifting or expanding current setup. The team Faber Infinite follows a process called LFD that systematically applies Operational Excellence (OE)/ Lean principles and concurrently integrates the expertise of all stakeholders—to achieve breakthrough improvements when compared to traditional design.

During the LFD process, the team Faber Infinite applies its deep expertise in Operational Excellence and Industrial Engineering principles by focusing on following aspects:

• Guiding principle development aligns all stakeholders to OE principles such as line-of-sight, continuous flow, work cells, point-of-use, and others.
• Value Stream Mapping / Workflow analysis for Muda, Mura and Muri elimination/ reduction.
• Cycle time and takt time analysis determining the optimal capacity, reducing costs compared to typical design estimates.
• Five S (workplace organization) and Safety aspects determining the optimal layout
• Standardized work establishing optimal work sequences and timing, so value adders can make the most efficient use of the new layout once the facility opens.
• Visual management principles defining locations and content for the essential elements for practicing Operational Excellence once the new facility opens.

Typical Coverage

• Streamlining the manufacturing flow (from Raw material receipt to finished goods delivery)
• Capacity analysis & Ramp up plans
• Manpower planning
• Inventory design for Raw Material, WIP & Finished Goods
• Warehouse (stores) space Optimization
• Design of material handling systems within factory
• Design for material storage using FIFO (First In First Out) racks
• Guidelines for storage location for each part (using golden rules of storage)
• Visual management of information/ data
• Early Equipment Management, if applicable

 Typical Benefits and Deliverables

• Best in class flow design that includes the right space and right location, which is not over-built to accommodate ineffective processes
• Reduced capital investments (in certain areas)
• Reduced Throughput time (time taken from Raw material receipt to finished goods delivery)
• Best in Class Manpower productivity
• Right-sized logistics equipment planning
• Prevents inefficiencies from entering into new facility
• Optimum space utilization / reduced floor space
• Optimum inventory levels (ensuring no overstocking as well as zero shortages)
• Staff and design team’s involvement to assure the design decisions support improved workflow
• Real-time OE orientation and application for team members
• Documentation of the current state using Value Stream Maps & Identification of opportunities for improvement
• Development of ‘Future State Maps’ for the facility to guide evaluations of design
• Action plan for process improvement of key issues
• Identification of additional critical points for further decision

Approach
Based on the background and objectives, team Faber Infinite along with the client team moves through the LFD process from organization’s goals and principles down to smallest of the nut & bolts through following approach and tentative implementation plan:

It covers project planning, conceptual design at the systems level, functional design at the value stream level, and detailed design at the operational level, standard work development for operating in the new design. It is achieved by rolling out following steps:

One might think that this LEAN Facility design is just like any other design framework and what unique agenda it offers to the customers. Well, the answer to this lies in the processes in which this copyrighted LEAN Facility Design of Faber Infinite is implemented.

Any facility design usually starts on a paper and is worked over for creating an efficient framework. Although, Faber’s LEAN Facility Design is a framework that is highly efficient and has been proven in projects that were carried out at our client sites in India, Middle-East and in African countries like Zambia and Kenya. Furthermore, to make it extremely effective, instead of focusing on the design in the initial stages, the process starts with detailed planning and analysis, while approaching the layout in step 11 and 12. Moreover, LFD is not focused only on manufacturing units but has also proven to be highly effective in Hospitals, Hotels, Service Industry and many more domains.

For further details about Lean Facility Design^© get in touch with our team at consulting@faberinfinite.com / publishing@faberinfinite.com

Written By Faber Mayuri Pandya