Designing an optimal plant layout: a case of the plastic moulding company

The generation of viable layout alternatives is a critical step in production planning since the chosen layout affects the efficiency of utilising the firm's key resources such as space, equipment, materials, utility and workers. As such, it can dictate the firm's productivity and the subsequent profitability. In addition, it can influence the safety and security of plants. Considering the important role of a plant layout in production planning, a small-to-medium enterprise (SME) that produces customised plastic moulding products begins to explore the better layout alternatives than the existing one that has become the sources of production bottlenecks, shipping delays, cycle counting errors and space crunches. Such alternatives include an L-shape, a straight line and a U-shape. To determine the optimal layout among three layout alternatives, we propose systematic decision-aid tools comprised of a mathematical model, computer-aided design (CAD), an activity relationship chart and a from-to-chart. We validated the usefulness and practicality of these hybrid tools for the plant layout by applying them to the real world problem encountering the plastic moulding company in the USA. Based on our proven success through the case study, other manufacturing firms can replicate the proposed tools for other layout challenges.