Every project starts and is based on a very important document that we call “User Requirements”. Let us consider here that the main “users” are responsible for the operation of the plant to be dimensioned, who define and elaborate the project requirements.
For the sizing of a factory, the first question received from the engineers responsible for the project is about the issue of the production volume that it must meet. Then. the responsible team must be prepared and know about the following topics:
Ability to produce quality products.
That the factory has the flexibility to produce with the best possible level of service.
That such production can be carried out with as few resources as possible.
Which technologies are involved will be defined at the outset as well. Here, the idea is to explore what is not normally explored and which in the future will be the main pillar of success or not of this venture.
To build a factory or modify an existing one, seeking to optimize productivity and impacts on product costs, we must prepare and design a project that studies the issues of technology, layout, production flows (materials and people), reconciling with the routes of production of each product, understanding how this factory should operate in terms of balancing the various production rooms and their volumes, also understanding the resources needed for general infrastructure.
And how do we see it happening very often in projects?
In general, sizing is done looking at a capacity analysis, once a portfolio of products and their volumes have been defined, and definition, for example, of how many shifts we want to work.
What do we propose?
We propose that the factory be visualized as a whole, with all the variables and their impacts (as mentioned above) and that this factory be placed in a virtual environment, including an expense plan, so that with this type of resource we can simulate variables, changes , discuss numerous concepts and their impacts, defining the best alternative before final approval and implementation.
In a virtual environment, we will be able to focus on the different resources that we put inside the factory, make changes and assume different scenarios and their implications on the costs of the products, as, citing some hypothetical examples:
Which compressor would be more suitable considering the cost of transforming each tablet, taking into account the depreciation of the purchased machine?
Sometimes, we can have the best technology machine on the market, paying a huge depreciation and using this technology at a low occupancy level, since the product may not allow the level of speed that this technology offers us.
We could also have a semi-automatic packaging machine, since we have products with enough volumes that the labor consumed alone would justify a more automated line.
In the proposal of working in a virtual environment, we can simulate the exchange of one machine for another, change speeds, change times and resources, include or exclude depreciation costs and verify their impacts on costs and on the time of return of capital that justifies this investment.
Productivity, competitiveness and efficiency have to be strategic themes within the organization and in all projects.
We are in the age of Industry 4.0, in the age of digital transformation. When first thought and discussed in Hanover in 2011, it came with the aim of increasing the competitiveness of German industry. The essence of this process is the integration of systems and a better use of all the information generated in the business. One of the pillars is simulation.
We propose this approach to sizing new factories and to do what we call sizing management of plants that are constantly changing.
Consult Simula Farma, our productivity management system, simulation of changes and impacts on results, among other things this system can help a lot in understanding and identifying opportunities that your factory has and that you may not be exploiting properly, missing improvement of performance or cost reduction that can be achieved due to the lack of the appropriate tool.
PGI Farma has tools and know-how to implement projects to improve productivity and reduce unit costs in several large companies and offers implementation services to companies that want to improve their performance and optimize their stages of the production process, as well as implement projects strategies with better results.
Contact us for a technical conversation and to see if we can help with your needs and opportunities.
By Izidoro Vignola and Roberto Darienzo
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Co-Founder PGIFarma and Visus Integrate Formação Acadêmica: Conselheiro de administração pelo Instituto Brasileiro de Governança Corporativa MBA (fechado para Rhone Poulenc) em gestão estratégica, na Cranfield University (Inglaterra) Especialização em Administração Industrial (Vanzolini) Engenheiro Mecânico pela FEI Experiencias (33 anos de experiencia na área industrial): Co- Fundador do Portal de Gestão Industrial Farma Co- Fundador Visus Integrate Consultor há 10 anos Diretor de estratégia e tecnologia industrial na AVENTIS FARMA Diretor de projeto de transferência de fabricas Diretor industrial Gerente de produção Gerente de manutenção Gerente de projetos
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