It might at first seem daunting to set up a brand new production line. And in many ways, that feeling is justified: at the end of the process, you’ll have several different machines under your control, working hard and fast to produce thousands of products. But getting there needn’t be a stressful experience. So long as you’re aware of the steps you’ll need to take to build your facility, you can go through them sequentially until you’ve constructed your production line. In this article, we’ll examine how you can do that.
Location
You’re first going to need to choose where you’ll locate your production line. Unless you happen to have a huge warehouse in your back garden, you’ll probably end up looking in the industrial areas in your locality – where cheap land has enabled businesses to build warehouses and facilities that help them produce products. When you’re searching for your location, consider the costs you’ll save if you inherit an older warehouse, instead of building a new one. Just make sure that those “brownfield sites”, as they’re called, have been checked over by a surveyor for health and safety and risk. Additionally, an industrial space can be beneficial as it often comes with pre-existing infrastructure and comforts, which can reduce the cost and time to set up your production line. They also tend to have better access to transportation networks, making logistics more efficient.
Machinery
Next up, you’ll want to start installing your machinery. This can be a long process if you’re trying to squeeze many machines into a small space in an optimal fashion. But often, as you start out, you’ll find that you have ample space to construct your first line. Some of the key ingredients that most manufacturers will be keen to look into are conveyor belts, available on Fluent Conveyors, and packaging machines, which help you quickly wrap your products on a line. Make sure you’re not buying anything you don’t need – or machinery that’s too large to fit into your facility.
Storage
Alongside making sure that you install the best equipment for your production line, you also need to think about storage. As anyone that has ever worked for a production line will know, you will need to find a sufficient place to store any of the smaller items that can help you to speed up the process. If they are left in the middle of the work floor, the likelihood of accidents occurring is increased. But if you take the time to incorporate these material handling bins, accessibility to such items will be much better, as well as guaranteeing the safety of those around you at all times too. This can be vital to the success of your production line.
Connecting
The most important part of your production line creation process is how you connect the dots. For every machine you buy, there needs to be a plan for how the next machine will interact with the one it connects to. There may be some sections of your line that you’d prefer to be managed by humans rather than machines, and these can often be at sections at which it is far too difficult to install machines at present. But you shouldn’t be over-reliant on human labor, seeing as the end goal of every manufacturer is to automate their entire production process.
Pressing “On”
With your facility purchased, your machinery bought, and your line connected, it’ll be time to switch your production line on for the first time. Make sure you make this a red-ribbon affair, with your staff, friends, and family in attendance for when your machines first start producing in earnest. But if you do make an event of the big switch-on, it’s advised that you do give the whole run a test to make sure that everything’s running smoothly and reliably when you do eventually hit that on button.
Your production line needn’t stress you out or confuse you. By getting it right, selecting the right machines, location, and personnel for your line, you’ll be able to enjoy the switch-on process when the elements do finally come together.
