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Ways to Maximize Manufacturing Facility Floor Space

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Did you know that for commercial buildings, the cost can be as high as 40 US dollars per square foot? That means making the best investment choices for your manufacturing facility is extremely important. You need to be able to think outside the box and find innovative solutions to maximize the efficiency of your storage facilities. You also need to maximize the returns on your investment. If you cannot wait to maximize your manufacturing facility floor space utilization, here are some useful tips that will be of great help.

Change your material-handling systems.

Material-handling systems also restrict the amount of available space on the floor of your manufacturing facility. The material-handling systems you use to move machines from one part of the building to another also need to be adjusted. While systems such as overhead cranes may take up little floor space, railcars, conveyors, and drag chains can occupy a lot of space. In addition, large material-handling systems can impede the flow of traffic and negatively impact your productivity when they are installed in the wrong location.

Examine your plant layout

Sometimes the most convenient solutions don’t necessarily guarantee the best efficiency. For example, when workers leave their equipment and inventory anywhere as a means of saving time, they may end up paying more for not storing them properly. Obstructing the efficient utilization of space in your facility can cause things to go out of place. You need to implement manufacturing techniques such as time studies, and auditing to evaluate the flow of materials in your manufacturing company. 

This is a way to discover problems with your plant layout. When you equip yourself with this knowledge, you can make intelligent adjustments to cramped facilities. In addition to that, you can design safety procedures to improve logistics. Workflow can also be enhanced throughout the facility even with little to no expansion.

Make the Most Out of Your Vertical Spaces

When you are running out of floor space, your best bet is to look up and effectively utilize your vertical space. It’s a smart decision to use elevated storage units when you are looking for more space with lower overhead expenses. The question is how do you make the most out of your vertical spaces? Well, you can leverage vertical spaces in your facility using lift trucks that can easily navigate through narrow aisles and pull things from high up storage. 

If you are looking forward to increasing your manufacturing capacity in the short or long term, consider working with Smart-Space UK. Smart-Space allows you to extend your existing space or erect new manufacturing buildings from scratch. In a matter of 7-28 working days, your manufacturing building could be up and running within that short construction timescale. 

Outsource to a reliable partner

Instead of always trying to do everything yourself, you may want to partner with a reliable supplier to free up room in your facility and focus more on other profitable ventures. The fact is that when you want to build more in your manufacturing facility, you will need a lot of floor space. However, when you outsource these functions to trusted partners through contract manufacturing, you free up more opportunities for in-house product development. 

Some companies apply these strategies to help them build their businesses for future expansion. One way to make the most out of your floor spaces in your manufacturing centre is outsourcing. But before you make such a move, you may want to weigh the advantages and disadvantages involved.

Reclaim unused shelves and storage units

Consider the last time you checked your racking and shelves. Are there wasted shelves you can reclaim? Some companies never bother to check their racking and shelves regularly after installing it. Assuming the shape and dimensions of your inventory hasn’t varied since installation, you may be good to go. But in situations where variables exist, you can re-evaluate your racking and shelves in search of unused spaces. This can save you money since you may not have to invest in expanding your facility.

Decrease the width of your aisles

Get your maths right. The volume of space in the facility partly depends on the width of the aisles. If your aisles are wider than necessary, it can decrease your operational efficiency. In that case, consider reducing the width of your aisles to boost their quantity and effectively utilize your space.

Conclusion

Are you running out of floor space in your manufacturing company? Adopt the above strategies to better use your available space. You can also invest in affordable manufacturing buildings from Smart Space to enjoy the flexibility of increasing and decreasing your production capacity as and when you want to.

Andrew Mcaffrey