Using simulation to solve facility layout for food industry at XYZ Company

Abstract

The systematic layout planning (SLP) procedure of designing facilities layout which is widely used by enterprises provides the framework to this study's objective of identifying weaknesses in the production process of XYZ Company, a snack food manufacturing company. The observation and evaluation of the current production process indicate the incidence of bottlenecks, especially at the cooling station which interferes with the production flow. However, the fundamental problem that could inhibit the long-run production flexibility is its suboptimum facilities layout. This leads to high travelling time and high travelling cost. The study found weaknesses from the point of facilities layout flexibility (FLF), productive area utilisation (PAU) and closeness gap (CG). With these weaknesses, it is unlikely that the company would be able to respond both in quantity and quality, as well as to provide working conditions that are conducive to the workers. Two alternative layouts are proposed using the Systematic Layout Planning, which is a systematic way of generating layout alternatives. The proposed layouts are evaluated using the current layout and ARENA simulation software. The best alternative chosen based on the performance measures which have the most significant improvement which are total travel distance, total travel time, total travel cost and output. In line with the factory's future expansion and the company' overall diversification programme, the study also recommends that it embarks on a vertical integration by going into tapioca planting. This would ensure constant supply of raw materials, both in quantity and quality.