Production and operations Management
Question 2. Sate the important consideration for locating an automobile plant? Collect information on layout planning of an automobile plant from various services and furnish the same.
Answer: To locate an automobile company or plant many thing should be consider. For an automobile plant automated flaw lines, automated assembly lines, flexible manufacturing systems, global transition rapid prototyping. Building manufacturing flexibility things are necessity.
About the automated flow lines we can say it is a machine which is linked by a transfer system which moves the parts by using handling machines which are also automated, we have an automated flow line.
Human intervention ma is needed to verify that the operations ate taking place according to standards. When these cab be achieved with the help of automation and the processes are conducted with self regulation, we will have automated flow lines established.
In fixed automation or hard automation, where one component is manufactured using services operations and machines it is possible to achieve this condition. We assume that product life cycles are sufficiently stable to interest heavily on the automate flow lines to achieve reduces cast per unit.
Product layouts ate designed so that the assembly tasks are performed in the sequence they are designed at each station continuously. The finished item came out at the end of the line.
In automated assembly lines the moving pallets move the materials from station to station and moving arms pick up parts, place them at specified place and system them by perusing, riveting, & crewing or even welding. Sensors will keep track of there activities and move the assembles to the next stage.
The machines are arranged in a sequence to perform operations according to the technical requirements.
The tools are loaded, movements are effected, speeds controlled automatically without the need for worker’s involvement.
The flexibility leads to better utilization of the equipments. It reduces the numbers of systems and rids in reduction of investment as well as a space needed to install them. One of the major cancers of modern manufacturing systems is to be able to respond to market
Demands which have uncertainties.
Prototyping is a process by which a new product is developed in small number so as to determine the suitability of the materials, study the various methods of manufactured, type of machinery required and develop techniques to over come problems that my be encountered when full scale manufacture is undertaken.
Prototypes do meet the specification of the component that enters a product and performance can be measured on these.
It helps in con be reforming the design and any shortcomings can be rectified at low cost.
Flexibility has three dimensions in the manufacturing field. They are variety, volume and time. There demands will have to be satisfied. In that sense they become constraints which restrict the maximization of productivity. Every business will have to meet the market demands of its various products in variety volumes of different time.
Flexibility is also needed to be able to develop new products or make improvements in the products fast enough to cater to shifting marker needs.
Manufacturing systems have flexibility built into them to enable organization meet global demand. You have understood how the latest trends in manufacturing when implemented help firms to stay a head in business.
Note: all the answer has been taken by SMU book of MB 0028 for this assignment.