Since you are a small manufacturer you need to make the best use of your facility space to maximize the manufacturing capability of your facility. When you are in the process of deciding how to layout your production operations, you will need to realize that there is a 
very permanent aspect to a final design of your workspace. It can be very expense to finalize a production layout, then decide to change it. Pulling up and re-positioning equipment that is already bolted to the floor is a very expense proposition and will not improve your bottom line in the year that you have to do it. So when you planning for the layout of the production operation area is started, you need to know that there cannot be too much study and scrutiny while this phase of your history is being played out. You should approach folks who have good ideas into how a manufacturing operation should be laid out in the most efficient way.
Depending on your type of operation there are some well-defined types of manufacturing layouts that are best suited for and implemented effectively in certain types of manufacturing operations. If you have a small job shop that produces customized products in low volume numbers then you are probably in need of a layout that is sometimes called a functional layout. In this configuration all the tasks of a similar type are performed in the same area of the plant floor. A good example of such an operation is the machine or job shop. In this operation all the milling functions are done in one area, all the boring operations are done in another, all the riveting is done in another, so that all like equipment is placed together to perform similar operations. When raw materials are routed through the machine shop they are passed from one functional area to another until completed. Advantages of the process layout include flexibility. It is easy to vary the route that products take through the shop for completion. In fact the number of routes through the shop are unlimited. Usually the cost of general purpose equipment that is used in a process environment is less than specialized equipment that may be required in a different type operation. The variation of tasks that employees are required to do in the process layout makes it easier to keep motivation up in comparison to some very repetitive tasks that would be done in other environments. It is also easy for an employer to design effective offer incentives for employees in a process configuration. The fact that several similar devices are available in a process grouping makes it less likely for equipment failure to limit product completion.
It is felt by some parties that the process layout has limited automation capabilities in comparison to other layouts. This layout is said to limit the proximity of devices in such a way that material handling cannot be efficient from one work area to another. I feel that this argument against this layout, however, can be overcome by imaginative plant layout, especially if your manufacturing is best done in the batch mode. Positioning of work areas in combination with conveyor systems can turn a batch manufacturing operation into an efficient automated facility. Another argument against process layout is the limited utilization of equipment. Device usage in this configuration is low and can be dependent on various factors. Usually this type of layout will create an increase in the amount of in-process inventory, thus increasing overall inventory costs. Partially completed products are stock piled before or after being processed in a given work area. Batch processing of products is typical in an operation that uses the process type of layout. This drives up the cost per unit completed. Maintaining a consistent, uncomplicated schedule can be a challenge with the process layout. Switching from one product batch to another can create scheduling confusion and make production more difficult.
One of the best ways to get the maximum efficiency out of any layout that has been automated is to concentrate on the material handling that has to be applied for the movement of products from one work area to another. Knowing that automation will be used for movement should also require that positioning of work areas should be laid out for the minimum amount of movement during the manufacturing process. If a metal part is created by moving from the cutting area to grinding then to brazing, then the layout of work areas should position the areas so that the minimum of movement is required to get parts from one to the other of these work areas.
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