Plant Layout Improvement Research Based On Lean Production In F Company

With the rapid development of Chinese automobile industry, auto components market is gradually expanding. In the competitive environment of economy globalization and diversification of customer needs, every auto parts enterprise is supposed to face this real problem, i.e., how to improve self-competitiveness and market strain capacity. Following the sustainable development of economy, the increasing labor cost has become an important factor affecting the competitiveness of enterprises. To enhance labor efficiency is the only way to control labor costs effectively. As plant layout is the foundation of all production activities, reasonably applying lean thinking to plant layout will provide necessary guarantee to labor efficiency promotion, and it is one of the key means for enterprises to optimize the cost structure and enhance comprehensive competitiveness.Based on the research of lean production theory, through inducing the core ideas, employing the basic methods and theories of industrial engineering and system layout, this paper takes the world’s Top10auto parts manufacturer F Company as its prototype, addressing the bottleneck problem of labor efficiency that plant now facing, conducts observations and researches on the existing plant layout. First, through the process from the local to the aggregate sum, the paper analyzes the characteristics and problems of plant’s existing layout, focusing on the layout pattern and the overall solution scheme. Secondly, by integrated use of lean layout method and evaluation system, optimize the existing layout step by step, and track the results; meanwhile, make deep analysis on the root cause which lead to the defects of existing layout, and then comes to the conclusions of the three reasons, logistics system analysis, evaluation system and process adjustment. Finally, the paper also gives suggestions on the layout optimization accordingly to the three aspects.As per these problems, the paper extracts nine principles on lean layout, suitable for auto parts companies, and by combing the theory like fuzzy evaluation system from KPI and layout adjustment process; it demonstrates as a model for F company’s other plants worldwide a theoretical basis also. And it makes conclusions on the whole process, trying to find a layout principle, not only suitable for F Company, but also may provide a train of thoughts for other similar enterprises.