offset plant layout

Hi!

Does anyone know where we can get sample layouts of printing facilities. We're trying to rearrange the machines to increase productivity. We just don't have the slightest clue what to do. I know there are experts who specialize in these things and they fetch a very high price.

Thanks in advance!

Hi ibler,

I cannot promise but I'll check if I still have the digital copy of some of the proposals we have received back then from different printing facility designers.

In the meantime you may want to study Lean Manufacturing to help you improve your productivity. A simple 5S in your plant can do wonders. But expect some resistance on the shop floor.

Larry

Thanks sir larry!

I've been reading up on lean manufacturing. There's this site that focuses on the principles of plant layout of a printing facility.

http://www.rbeco.com/

Regarding th 5s, I've been trying to implement it. But as you said, there are very stern resistance from the older/elder employees. It's difficult to teach these principles especially since they still have this old school mentality that "if it ain't broken then don't fix it".

Hi ibler. I understand your situation. Sometimes the old saying "You can't teach old dogs new tricks" applies. hehehe.

Initially, we had the same problems. Ayaw ng mga tao na dinidiktahan sila. So, we just taught them the different improvement methodologies (e.g. Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, TQM). General ito...walang specifics.

Tapos, we concentrated our training with the most basic method that we can begin with -- 5S. Dito, specific na ang training.

We created several teams. 1 group would meet and discuss 5S in the ink room, another sa press hall, another team sa reelstand area. And then, we let them come up with their own ideas and implement it. Finally, we displayed the photographs to compare the BEFORE and AFTER of the project. Here are some of the photos:

http://www.friendster.com/photos/36969309/1/390658395
http://www.friendster.com/photos/36969309/1/863538186
http://www.friendster.com/photos/36969309/1/977203207

I'll introduce 5s on our next meeting. Breaking them into groups seems to be logical. I think this is more acceptable to them instead of getting responses from them as a whole.

Thanks sir Larry! Will keep you updated.

p.s.

great job on the 5s. do you mind if i show these pictures to my staff (for them to be inspired)?

Thanks again!

Hi ibler. Just a thought. 5S isn't simply cleaning the workplace. There's so much more to it. The rule is: "A place for everything & everything in its place"

LABELING & CODIFICATION
Even your drawers should be labeled so people would know in an instant where items can be found. (e.g. production forms, maintenance schedule, caliper, packing sheets, etc)

Label your pipes na naka-connect sa mga machines mo so everybody would know what these pipes are for. Pang tubig ba yan....air pipe ba yan? In our case we label our pipes CP1, CP2 (coldset press unit 1, 2, ...) and HP (heatset press) so we know which pipes go to which press. Di ba mas okay ito imbes na nanghuhula ka?

Check this out:

http://www.friendster.com/photos/36969309/1/925553008

PLATE & PRESS UNIT CODIFICATION
Also, kung madaming color units ang sheetfed press mo, you can codify your Black unit as 1, Cyan unit 2, Magenta 3, Yellow 4, Spot 5, 6, 7.... The same goes with your plates. Here, you eliminate stupidity...este....ano pala....eliminate plate mounting errors. Please view:

http://www.friendster.com/photos/36969309/1/424236665

MOTION and DISTANCE
Tools which are commonly used should be located nearby. Kumbaga, ang drawer or cabinet kung nasaan ang allen key, screw drivers, caliper or densitometers ay malapit sa lugar ng press operator. Tapos naka-label ito.

MAINTENANCE & MACHINE RECORDS
Try pasting your preventive maintenance and machine breakdown forms on the machine itself. Meaning, 1 form na naka-dikit sa processor, 1 form naka-dikit sa imagesetter, 1 form sa perfect binding, saddle-stitch, folding machine,etc....

1 form for 1 month (31 days). The good thing with this form, you can see all the breakdowns and errors that a particular machine has experienced in 1 month.

Brainstorm with your operators for common errors in the machine and list all those errors down in the form. The operators have to do one thing.....to tick the specific error every single time. It looks like this:

http://www.friendster.com/photos/36969309/1/677855666
http://www.friendster.com/photos/36969309/1/714284203

GAUGES & TOLERANCE
Color code your gauges. Especially, the most important ones. Yung acceptable tolerance (ex. 4psi to 6psi) color it green. Then yung unacceptable values (ex. 1psi to 3psi....and 7psi to 10psi) color it red to indicate warning or danger. Also, show graphically the direction of the air flow. Here's a samp:

http://www.friendster.com/photos/36969309/1/193336365

Di mo kailangan ng engineer para sabihin kung yung makina mo ay sobra sa air pressure kasi kahit janitor, pag nakita niya na ang pointer ng gauge ay nasa pula....eh ibig sabihin nito delikado. So, he can report it to the production manager.

As 5S is part of Lean...and Lean is used to reduce Waste, any project you want to do has to keep the 7 wastes in mind :

The original seven deadly wastes' are:

* Overproduction (production ahead of demand)
* Transportation (moving products that is not actually required to perform the processing)
* Waiting (waiting for the next production step)
* Inventory (all components, work-in-progress and finished product not being processed)
* Motion (people or equipment moving or walking more than is required to perform the processing)
* Over Processing (due to poor tool or product design creating activity)
* Defects (the effort involved in inspecting for and fixing defects)

Our organization is well-organized because of one thing....management's support. It looks good not only from the inside, but also on the outside din.

http://www.friendster.com/photos/36670579/0/684434931

Good luck on your 5S project. Of course you can use the photos. Ikanga ni Jimmy Santos: "It's for every all."

PS: I can see you're from Cebu. I have some relatives there who live in Beverly Hills. They're from the Borromeo clan.

Sir Larry,

Thanks for the input!

I know cleaning is not the whole 5s and 5s is not just about cleaning. But this is the most tangible evidence I can show my staff of what the whole 5s principle is. You see most of our operators have very limited education. Most if not all of them learned their skills on the job. Teaching them a principle and the benefits of it will have to be reinforced with immediate results. Only a handful can see beyond cleaning and even then, they still need convincing.

It's all a matter of stepping out of our comfort zones. If they don't immediately see results, they would not bother taking that move in the first place. That's the reason why I would like to show them before and after pictures. The first two steps are the most difficult to take. But once everyone can see the effects, it will not be difficult to convince them to take the next 3 steps.

In fact we have already formed two teams composed of senior staff members and newbies to formulate new systems that will improve the existing one. Hopefully they will come up with new ideas.

Thanks again!!!

p.s. I know a few borromeos. They were schoolmates.