Managing a production line can be challenging, especially if you do not understand how to position the machines to control the flow of goods. Companies deploy various production line alignment strategies, including the sloping production line. Like the name, the critical machines in the production process are inclined to slope downwards to allow the flow of goods at a certain angle.
Sloping the production line alone will not be enough to boost the production process. Therefore, there is a need for new management practices to facilitate and streamline the entire process to maximize efficiency at all points. This involves modifying the inclining conveyors and lifts and creating an ideal load buffer system that can help at various production levels. With all these measures in place, the production line should perform at full capacity, meet production goals and boost efficiency.
1. Impact on Costs
When running the production line, the greatest concern should be the costs like utility costsThe most significant expense in the production line is related to utility and labor; this includes the cost of moving goods either by machines, factory floor vehicles, or the human labor involved in the coordination.
First, the costs include operating the conveyor belts and lifts carrying goods on the factory floor. When sloped, lifts and conveyors can take advantage of additional gravitational effects to support the movement of goods, thereby reducing electrical costs. This will support faster movement of goods, increasing production and reducing costs.
Equally, human labor will have limited effort in monitoring the movement of goods since all the goods are collected at a particular point on the production floor. Another benefit is the reduced need for special systems and modifications, which can lead to additional costs in the production process. Due to the sloping structures, you can use any conveyors with minimal human monitoring and supervision to allow the flow of goods on the factory floor.
Due to reduced production expenses, you will likely increase the profit margin as the production costs reduce at all stages. The organization strategy is critical for lowering production costs per unit, and you can use the benefits to boost the pricing strategy. As production costs reduce, you can focus on competitive pricing strategy, increasing revenue more than other competitors. Additionally, the company can increase production strategies to increase the units produced for the market.
2. Space Minimization Benefits
On a production floor, machines tend to occupy the most significant spaces, limiting space for moving people and goods. Therefore, you need to align the factory floor to create space for additional machines. Due to the crowded machines, you will need extra space; hence, you need more extensive factory floors, which increase rent costs and inhibit movement from one place to another. Eventually, you need more human labor to operate and ruin the floor.
With production sloping, your one advantage is positioning machines in smaller spaces, and you eliminate round, long, and twisted production lines. Therefore, you need a limited space to align and set up the conveyors and other machines. In this setup, the machines and conveyors are not located on the upper levels; hence in case of any errors, the team can move in quickly and fix the problem.
Once you minimize space on the factory and production floor, you can create additional space for other needs, such as storage. The storage function is critical for other functions, such as supply and demand processes. For seasonal and peak demands, you can produce in bulk, store them, wait for the peak season, and release the goods.
Creating additional storage space will help you maintain production and effectively meet market demand. With a sloping production line, you can effectively streamline sales and marketing and demand and supply management.
The reduced spaces also enable the company to put the other spaces for other active production to increase the volumes produced. For companies involved in bulk production, sloping production lines enable more production on limited floor space.
3. Reduced Accidents and Disruptions
Production lines are likely to have specific disruptions caused by various issues. Some of these issues may arise when the load limit is surpassed or due to breakdowns. These factors can lead to disruptions and eventually affect the entire production line.
In a sloping production line, the next process is located below the first and subsequent processes. Therefore, goods can flow through the power of gravity while the team fixes the disruptions. The sloping advantage can help solve any troubles caused by mechanical issues.
In case of any accidents or disruptions, engineers can also identify and understand the source and fix the problem faster. Unlike other vertical production, line engineers can easily get to the systems, fix the problem and diagnose the entire system faster and more effectively. This will minimize the costs of disruptions and boost faster problem-fixing to ensure production lines operate optimally.
It is also much easier to automate a sloping production line. Automating production lines requires various strategies and machines to ensure all systems operate efficiently. To automate the process, you must also monitor it effectively, which can be challenging for long and rounding conveyor systems.
In a sloping production process, the processes are organized vertically, with the floor of goods to the next production process sloping. This makes monitoring the system and installing critical machines at various points easier, fast, and cost-friendly.
Due to the alignment strategy, you can easily scale up the production process. Adding a new machine or extending the existing belts will be much easier since the belts are not directly interconnected. Change at a certain point in a sloping conveyor system will hardly affect the entire system.
4. Impact on Production Speeds
Production speeds depend on how machines are organized on production lines and how the goods flow from one system to another. To speed up the production process, one of the processes involves reducing the length of conveyor belts involved in the movement of goods. For a continuous operation system, i.e., where goods move from one machine to another, aligning conveyor belts can be challenging, leading to longer lines.
Instead, you can use shorter sloping systems to allow faster movement of goods into the next system, boosting production speed. You can use a sloping system for all types of goods and conveyor belts. It is also much easier to connect the system through the conveyors since you can locate subsequent systems closer to one another, reducing the movement of goods.
Conclusion
A sloping production line has various advantages for the company; the greatest is the cost reduction benefits. It helps reduce production, labor, and problem-solving costs. Additionally, it is ideal for proper factory alignment to create additional space for other activities, such as storage. A proper alignment helps boost production time and volumes to meet market demand effectively.
