Every inch of a factory facility matters in terms of maximising safety, storage and the overall productivity of the site.
In terms of the floor space, this is a key area where personnel, machinery and goods will need to manoeuvre through. Trying to cater to each of these aspects can be a challenge, which is all the more reason why your floor plan requires careful attention.
Whether you are creating a floor plan for a new factory, or are wanting to redesign an existing floor plan to improve safety or productivity, these are some of the top things to consider.
As always, we recommend consulting with a health and safety professional to receive tailored advice on your floor plan.
Ease Of Movement
Every factory requires ease of movement through the facility, and the floor plan is really integral to this aim. The flow of movement needs to consider people, machinery and materials. Beyond meeting health and safety requirements (i.e. reducing accidents and factoring in fire escapes), the ease of movement also directly impacts productivity. Therefore, any inefficient journeys need to be eliminated so that potential obstacles can be avoided and the flow of movement increased.
Functional Use Of The Available Space
Factories require highly efficient floor plans that seek to maximise every inch of available space. In contrast, unused and therefore lost pockets of space can also amount to lost productivity. Therefore, when designing the floor plan it’s essential to highlight areas of unused space, especially if there could be a better use for that space.
Did you know?: Metreel supplies various types of products that can make best use of your overhead space to free up floor space, such as our track systems.
Where Will Your Material Handling Products Go?
Material handling products such as workstation cranes, monorails, gantries, hoists and track systems often form an integral part of any task involving the lifting, lowering or repositioning of goods throughout a factory. Therefore, the floor plan also needs to account for the best place to position the machinery, bearing in mind ease of access both in terms of everyday operations as well as maintenance.
As UK material handling specialists here at Metreel, we can guide any decisions regarding equipment positioning at your facility when you work with us. Contact our team to find out more.
Safety And Security
When designing a floor plan, all of the required safety and security measures need to be taken into account. This includes ensuring there are enough sprinklers in place as well as other types of emergency equipment. Also consider if the floor plan reveals any vulnerabilities in terms of the security of the building, as these will need to be removed or mitigated against.
Flexibility
At some stage, all floor plans need to be revisited based on new legislation, or even changing technologies with automation being a prime example. Approaching a floor plan design with future-proofing in mind can allow for changes to the workflow or production, as well as overall efficiency improvements to be made more easily.
Metreel – Material Handling Products For Factories UK
Do you own or work on behalf of a UK factory? When designing a new floor plan for your facility, your business could benefit from Metreel material handling products.
Boasting improved productivity and safety, there are various material handling products that could speed up your operations.
Discover our full range of products by visiting our site or downloading our product brochure.
Or contact our team to discuss your factory requirements with us by calling us on 0115 932 7010 or emailing us at [email protected].