If you run your own manufacturing operation, you need a large warehouse and the rent on that building probably constitutes a large percentage of your monthly spending. However, if you can find ways to be more economical with your space, you may be able to move into a smaller facility and save yourself a lot of money each month. These space saving tips for manufacturing facilities will help you to do just that.
By implementing these strategies, manufacturing operations can potentially reduce their space requirements, enabling them to downsize and save on costs.
The more complicated your manufacturing process is, the more equipment you need, and that means you need a larger space. But if you can streamline your processes and reduce the number of different machines that you need, you can downsize and make yourself more productive at the same time. Often, investing in new equipment that can perform multiple tasks within a single machine is a good way to do this. You should also look into alternative manufacturing methods that are simpler and require less equipment.
So many manufacturing facilities use more floor space than they need to because they don’t make use of the vertical space. But if you put your manufacturing operation on multiple levels and use a spiral elevator to move things between levels, you can be a lot more efficient with the space that you use. Think vertical when it comes to storage as well because if you build upwards instead of outwards, you can cut the amount of floor space that you need in half.
Effective inventory management is vital if you want to save space. If you are over ordering raw materials and storing them for a long time before use, you’re wasting a lot of space. However, if you can be more accurate with your inventory management, you can reduce your storage needs in a big way. If you find that inventory management is a weakness of yours, it’s worth investing in some inventory management software to help you keep track of things. This will also help you to cut back on waste and make further savings as well.
Effective inventory management often requires the integration of advanced systems. Implementing a WMS (Warehouse Management System) can significantly enhance your ability to track, manage, and optimise inventory levels, ensuring you use space efficiently and reduce overhead costs.
Even if you improve your inventory management, you still need some storage. It’s important that you look at the storage options you are using and consider changing to high density options, like flow racks or carousels. Any empty space on your shelving is wasted space that is costing you money, so get things organised and make sure that you are using your storage spaces efficiently. When things are organised properly, you will be able to identify unnecessary storage areas that can be removed.
If you follow these steps, you may find that your space requirements are a lot lower than you first thought and you may be able to downsize your manufacturing operation.
Image by THAM YUAN YUAN from Pixabay
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