English (UK) 
简体中文 Hey, is that conveyor line in your workshop always in a temper? The material blocked with the morning rush hour underground, workers running after the parts, the end of the month to calculate the accounts - electricity maintenance costs than the cost of raw materials is higher? Do not panic! Today we will use the vernacular dismantlingWorkshop conveyor optimisation全方案, make sure your logistics are as smooth as Dev's silky smooth 🍫!
🔍First, understand: workshop why always "intestinal obstruction"?
(Uncovering the root causes of waste)
Lean manufacturing has three words at its core.Waste elimination! Eighty per cent of the waste on your shop conveyor line is of these kinds:
- Waste of handling: Material detour of 300 metres before going online?
- Waiting to waste: When the first process is finished, the next process is still waiting for material?
- Inventory waste: Piles of parts by the line that you can't actually use in three days?
- wasted effort: Workers turn around and bend over to find parts, spending an extra 2 hours a day!
📌real-life example: Jiangsu, an auto parts factory, peak season conveyor line blocked into salami - workers pulling out materials while cursing... a check found.No buffer at the bottleneck station, the beat goes over 15 seconds and crashes!
📏Second, conveyor optimisation triple axe: from where to start the most effective?
(white guy's guide to action)
Axe 1: Value Stream Analysis (VSM)
Take a piece of paper and draw the route of the material from the time it comes into the shop to the finished product! Keep an eye on it:
- How many wrong ways have materials travelled? (More than 50 metres is a wake-up call!)
- What part of the process always gets stuck? （"Queuing for more than 10 minutes is a bottleneck.)
- How many days is enough time to stock up on wire edges? (More than 4 hours is a waste)
Axe 2: Layout overhaul
Remember these two golden rules:
- "U-bend" saves space: Guangdong electronics factory pulls a straight line into a U-shape.Save 37m2 of access, put two more devices!
- "Petal" defence against silos: The equipment is enclosed in the shape of a petal, and the workers can help each other by reaching out, and the efficiency soars 30%!
The Third Axe: Distribution Model Alignment
Don't believe in "one-size-fits-all solutions"! Choose according to the characteristics of the part:
| Part Type | Recommended Delivery Methods | effect |
|---|---|---|
| screws | Kanban + two-box method | Inventory suppression 50%, less piles of material |
| Engines and other large parts | Sort Distribution | Staggered on-line without blocking the corridor |
| Rush orders in small quantities | Logistics Basket Kit | Changeover time from 4h → 10 minutes! |
⚙️Third, smart assisted black technology: is the burn worth it?
(Do the maths and you'll see.)
Hack 1: Dynamic Buffer
Installation at bottleneck stationsRetractable roller conveyorThe peak season stretches to save 50 pieces of emergency, the off-season shrink back to save space - Jiangsu factory rely on this trick, the peak season downtime from 6h → 1.1h!
Black Tech 2: Magnetic Track
Track with magnetic interface "click" a suction on the power, mobile phone APP to adjust the pitch (50mm → 200mm second switch)--Zhejiang parts factory yearsTake 180 more urgent orders!
Black Technology 3: Press Light System
Press the red light if there is a shortage of material on the line, and the warehouse receives the order to deliver the material in seconds - 8 times faster than shouting at the top of your voice! But remember.Smaller factories tackle the basic layout first, then go smart!
🛠️Fourth, avoid the pit guide: novice most often stepped on the mine
(blood and guts summary)
- "Copy the homework and turn the car over.": Other U-shaped layouts are good? Your home pillar blocking the road hard copy will crash!Measure the workshop before drawing
- "Greedy for more.": Moving to full automation? For small and medium-sized factoriesSemi-automatic + manual fill-inMore flexible (save 60% costs!)
- "Regardless of man-machine co-operation.": The height of the conveyor line should be set according to the height of the workers!
- 1m 7 staff: line body85cm from the groundminimum effort
- Precision assembly: plussloping countertopAnti-bending
💡A final word of caution.
Shopfloor transport optimisation is not a "one-off operation", it isA marathon of daily fine-tuning! Do three things a month:
- Take a pinch test.Bottleneck station beats(buffer adjusted for fluctuations exceeding 10%)
- Change whatever the workers complain about (e.g. "parts are always out of reach", move material shelves quickly).
- follow Toyota's exampleThe spirit of "Save 1 centimetre": Shortening the conveyor line by 1 metre saves enough money in annual electricity costs to pay a bonus!
Qingdao a refrigerator factory boss original words:"pre-optimisationThink the equipment doesn't work.post-optimisationFound out it's the brain that hasn't turned!" Have you turned your head now?
