Material Flow System in Manufacturing

Overview

• Definition: A material flow system is a transformation process in manufacturing that converts inputs to produce goods or services.
• Importance: Defines the overall flow environment for material movements within a plant.

Strategies to Minimize Total Flow

1. Eliminating Flow

   • Remove unnecessary intermediate processes between Process A and B if they are not significant.

2. Minimizing Multiple Flows

   • Plan flows carefully between consecutive points of use to reduce the number of movements required.

3. Combining Flows and Operations

   • Combine similar operations and flows to streamline processing steps.
   • Whenever possible, integrate material, information, or personnel movements with processing steps.

Principles of Minimizing Cost of Flow

• Focus areas: Quantity, Quality, Time, and Cost.
• Eliminate unnecessary movements of materials:
  • Reduce the number of manufacturing steps.
  • Minimize manual handling and travel distances.
  • Reduce multiple landings through optimization.

Material Handling Expertise

• Methodology of handling materials can vary:
  • Manual, semi-automatic, or fully automatic methods.
  • Investments are necessary for automation and optimization.

Cost Analysis in Material Flow

• Conduct a cost-benefit analysis to assess project viability.
• Important management tools include:
  • Net Present Value (NPV)
  • Internal Rate of Return (IRR)
  • Payback Period

Assessment Task

• Research a company that practices continuous improvement in manufacturing flow systems.
• Submission: Individual work to be submitted via school book by the due date.