Project_Report

Analysis of buffer
zone for incoming
material
COURSE: Production development, strategy - system - technology
PROGRAMME OF STUDY: Production development
and management
AUTHORS: Elina Nilsson, Jacob Wesslén, Andrea Parisotto,
Shreyank Ramalingaiah and Anoop Prabhulan
JÖNKÖPING December 2016
Identifying wastes and improvements

i
Table of Contents
1 Introduction ........................................................................... 1
1.1 The company ........................................................................................1
1.2 The project ............................................................................................1
1.3 Delimitations..........................................................................................2
2 Theory..................................................................................... 3
2.1 Operations strategy...............................................................................3
2.2 Manufacturing strategy..........................................................................3
2.3 Production development........................................................................3
2.4 Lean Manufacturing...............................................................................3
2.4.1 5S..........................................................................................................4
2.4.2 7 forms of waste....................................................................................4
2.5 Computer Simulation.............................................................................5
3 Methodology.......................................................................... 6
3.1 Literature...............................................................................................6
3.2 Interviews..............................................................................................6
3.3 Observations .........................................................................................6
4 Empirical findings................................................................. 7
4.1 Company strategies and production development.................................7
4.2 Incoming material..................................................................................7
4.2.1 Pallet markings......................................................................................7
4.2.2 Handling process...................................................................................8
4.3 Layout ...................................................................................................8
4.3.1 Area descriptions...................................................................................9
5 Analysis and results........................................................... 11
5.1 Strategies and production development ..............................................11
5.2 7 forms of waste..................................................................................11
5.2.1 Transportation .....................................................................................11
5.2.2 Storage ...............................................................................................11
5.2.3 Unnecessary movements ....................................................................11
5.3 5S........................................................................................................11
5.3.1 Seiri (sort)............................................................................................12
5.3.2 Seiton (set in order).............................................................................12
5.3.3 Seiso (shine) .......................................................................................12
5.3.4 Seiketsu (standardize).........................................................................12
5.3.5 Shisuke (sustain).................................................................................13
5.4 Simulation ...........................................................................................13
5.5 Layout .................................................................................................14
6 Discussion ........................................................................... 16
6.1 Expansion of incoming material zone ..................................................16
6.2 Sorting documentation.........................................................................16
6.3 Suggestion for future research ............................................................16
7 Conclusion........................................................................... 18
8 References........................................................................... 19
9 Appendices.......................................................................... 20

1
1 Introduction
A company’s operations strategy (Slack & Lewis, 2011) and manufacturing strategy constitutes
the framework of how the company operates to support their business strategy and to be able to
compete on the market. A sustainable and effective production is often the goal in order to reach
high productivity and for the company to be successful and profitable (Bellgran & Säfsten,
2010). One important aspect to reach an effective production and to be competitive is to handle
the material in an appropriate way. Material handling is the movement of products inside the
company, which involves storage, protection and control of materials. It involves tools, vehicles
and storage units at any stage of manufacturing process. By having an efficient material
handling, manufacturing cycle time can be reduced, damages of the products handled can be
avoided and the workers will know where to find and store the material (Mattsson & Jonsson,
2013). In order for a company to have an efficient way to handle their material, it’s useful to
use the Lean Manufacturing concept (Harrison, et al., 2014) along with the 5s theory (Anon.,
2016) in order to find and reduce the 7 forms of waste. This is a step in the right direction
(Harrison, et al., 2014). Also, computer simulation can be made to get an overview and to
simulate possible changes (Banks, et al., 2001).
1.1 The company
Inwido is one of Europe’s largest manufacturers of windows and doors. Their windows are
made of wood and some of them are aluminium-cladded wooden windows. The windows are
often customized according to customer specifications. In Vetlanda Inwido has two plants, in
the one this report is focusing on, they paint, assembly and ship the windows.
The main problem we are focusing on at Inwido is how they handle their incoming material in
the area outside the factory. They are producing a lot of different variants and sizes of windows,
which results in a lot of variances of the incoming material that has to be handled. Inwido gets
incoming materials three times a day of aluminium and one to five times a day of glass. The
number of incoming material varies due to many variants in the products, i.e. different
quantities. Incoming aluminium is often packed in “day batch” in two different carriers, one for
frame aluminium and one for sash aluminium. Batches of incoming glass vary more due to
different sizes and different variances in the production.
Today they do not really know how much material (glass and aluminium) they have in their
buffer area, where the different variants are located and how much is necessary to keep at each
space. The material is also handled, lifted and moved to another spot in the same area, like five
or six times which can be reduced by 50 %. The labels on the incoming material are placed on
the inside of the pallets, which also can make the material handling more complicated and time
consuming. Today the incoming material area is handled with forklifts, by two workers at each
shift and at one shift per day.
1.2 The project
The main purpose of this report is to carry out an analysis over Inwido, which consists of three
tasks. The first task is a description of how Inwido works with production development and
manufacturing strategies. The second task involves an analysis of how they handle their
incoming material today, how it is organised and structured, and also suggest improvements for
more efficient material handling. The third task is to analyse the material handling with
simulation, which also will provide a visual view of the material handling process today
compared with suggested improvements for the future.
The chosen research question for this report is following:

2
 What changes can be made to achieve a more efficient handling process of the incoming
material in the buffer zone?
1.3 Delimitations
The report only focuses on the process of handling the incoming material, from incoming trucks
until it reaches the production lines, and the reverse way taking away empty pallets from the
production lines and putting them on trucks. The production itself is not included in the
analysis.

3
2 Theory
2.1 Operations strategy
Operation strategy is the development of a long-term plan for the operation function so it can
make the best use of resources to achieve the long term corporate strategy (Slack & Lewis,
2011). Slack et al. (2004, p. 67) describes that an “operation strategy concerns the pattern of
strategic decisions and actions which set the objectives, and activities of operations”.
Operation strategy is developed once the business strategy is developed. It helps to plan
management and the design of the operation function that will support the business strategy.
The operation strategy focuses on specific capabilities that give at the company competitive
edge. The competitive edge includes, cost, flexibility, quality and time. (Slack & Lewis, 2011).
2.2 Manufacturing strategy
Manufacturing strategy can be viewed as the set of objectives and programmes that are applied
to a firm’s manufacturing function. The main aim is to secure a sustainable advantage over that
firm’s competitors in the medium and long term. (Singh, 2010).
Manufacturing strategies is really important and it can be the difference between success and
failure for many corporations. Companies should develop a good manufacturing strategy in
order to play up their strengths and pits them competitively in their market. Developing a good
manufacturing strategy is essential not only to maintain the supply chain to customers, but also
to ensure that the company remains competitive within its market. (Singh, 2010)
2.3 Production development
Production development refers mainly to production systems. As Bellgran and Säfsten (2010,
pp. 1-2) say “Production development […] is about the creation of effective production
processes and about the development of production ability.” The important questions are: how
to improve already existing systems and how to develop new production systems. (Bellgran &
Säfsten, 2010).
Production development is strictly connected to system improvement. It’s very important to
build successful production systems with a long-term perspective and using a holistic
perspective. Both technology and humans should be involved. With global competition in mind,
to develop a proper production system is a more important issue than ever for every
manufacturing company. (Bellgran & Säfsten, 2010).
2.4 Lean Manufacturing
Lean manufacturing, also known as just-in-time manufacturing, aims to make the manufacturing
process as efficient as possible by eliminating inventories and streamlining the manufacturing
process to reduce wasted labour and materials. By maximizing efficiency, companies who use
lean manufacturing are able to reduce costs and make themselves more competitive in the
market. (Schnotz, 2014).
In “The machine that changed the world”, James Womack used for the first time the term “lean
production” to describe the revolution in manufacturing initiated by Toyota. Lean production
primary goal is to eliminate wastes in processes (for example work-in-progress or inventories).
Lean is about expanding capacity reducing costs and shortening cycle time between customer
order and ship date. But Lean is much more than techniques. It is a way of thinking in which
everyone is continuously improving the processes. The Japanese companies who adopted lean
manufacturing twenty years ago, are now world leaders in their industries. (Liker, 2004).

4
2.4.1 5S
5S is a methodology of creation and maintenance of the well-organized, clean, high effective
and high quality workplace intended to eliminate defects, accidents, losses and failures of
equipment to improve the performance of employees. Basically, the origin of 5S concept is
originated from Toyota Production System in order to have a total productive maintenance
within the firm. The concept involved here is to organize your workplace and the working
practices in an efficient way by utilizing the 5 phases. “5s” is the acronym for five Japanese
words with the following meanings. (Anon., 2016).
1. Seiri (sort): Three important objectives of Seiri are sorting, clearing and classifying of
objects. Sorting is nothing but having needed objects at the right place where as clearing
is eliminating wastes and classifying is categorization of tools, equipment and machines
as per the methodology. A dedicated team is required to remove the items which are not
at all necessary in the working area and the same team is responsible to have the
required objects in the working area.
2. Seiton (set in order): The required items are arranged in an efficient manner and it’s
ensured that every item ‘has got a place and each item is at its place’ by using
ergonomic principles. By doing this, simplification and configuration of the required
items become hassle-free.
3. Seiso (shine): Maintaining a nearly new status of used areas, machines, tools and other
equipment is done through cleaning and moto of this phase is to ensure that any non-
conformity is clearly visible. Also, through this we can have a safer environment, which
in turn avoids the possible accidents.
4. Seiketsu (standardize): The main idea is to standardize the above mentioned first three
stages of 5S. It is a must needed approach in lean manufacturing, where common
standards and ways of working are established. Standardization helps in having a
stabilized production system.
5. Shitsuke (sustain): This is the final stage which is a management task that expects the
company to incorporate continue improvements using the earlier stages of 5S. Shitsuke
also involves housekeeping maintenance and auditing in a timely manner.
(Anon., 2016)
2.4.2 7 forms of waste
7 forms of waste are nothing but “Something that adds no value”. Any customer will be
unhappy to pay for unwanted actions taken in the manufacturing process of that product. A
company can have more profit only by reducing the costs of production. Customer expects
products in time, high quality and cheap prices. All this can be achieved by a company reducing
7 forms of waste. (Anon., 2016). The different 7 forms of waste are:
1. Overproduction: This is one of the major problems in 7 forms of waste.
Overproduction is nothing but producing too much products or too early. This problem
occurs mainly because of poor or lack of production planning and schedule. Some of
the reasons like oversize batches and not maintain proper relationship with the
suppliers. This problem can be tackled by just in time (JIT).
2. Waiting: This problem occurs when lacking communication or understanding with the
other departments. The different types are: deliveries from the suppliers, flow of
materials from the previous work station or maintenance problems.
3. Transporting: It is the movement or displace of materials from one place to another.
Due to poor layout and material handling technique, unwanted transportations increase
the costs of material, which customers don’t want to pay. By decreasing the distance
between workstations and planning the batch size properly, internal transportations can
be reduced.

5
4. Unnecessary processes: Unnecessary processes is a concept about choosing of
irrelevant technic, tools, places for manufacturing of that material. Sometime it reduces
the quality, increases the costs and consumes more time for manufacturing.
Unnecessary processes can be controlled by improving the knowledge of operators and
providing specific tools.
5. Storage: Any material, work in progress or finished material which has no longer value
in the company must not be stored. These no value-added materials consume the space
in storage areas which directly affect the incoming raw materials as well as finished
product storages.
6. Unnecessary movements: It directly relates to workers making unnecessary motion in
operations. It’s a waste of time and effort due to lack of standard procedures and
practices. Poor design of processes or work areas is the cause.
7. Defects: Defects cause more losses to the company because they consist of rework,
replacement or lose of customers. Rework costs money, time, effort and material.
Quality of a company is determined by its minimum defect materials production.
(Anon., n.d.; Anon., 2016)
2.5 Computer Simulation
A computer simulation is a way of modelling a real-life or hypothetical situation on a computer
so that it can be studied and analysed to see how the system works. By changing variables in the
simulation process, predictions may be made about the behaviour of the system. It is a tool to
virtually investigate the behaviour of the system under study. (Banks, et al., 2001).
Features
Computer simulation is an easy way of modelling many natural systems in physics, chemistry,
biology, and human system as well as in engineering. Computer simulation has been developed
over past years and new tools have been added. Using simulation, we can solve wide range of
problems and we can check the flexibility of the work stations. (Banks, et al., 2001).

6
3 Methodology
3.1 Literature
To formulate the theory part of the report and to gain knowledge on how we would analyse the
tasks for the project, the group searched and gathered literature regarding research methods,
production development, operations and manufacturing strategy, lean and simulations. The
literature was in the form of books, websites and articles.
3.2 Interviews
For the project two interviews were conducted, one with Alexander, our supervisor at the
company, and one with Markus, the incoming materials supervisor.
For the first interview, the project group conducted a meeting and discussed what questions we
wanted to ask to the company. The questions asked intended to both give us information to
answer the questions for the first task of the project and to give us data regarding the task at the
company. The group sent these questions by email to Alexander, our company supervisor. The
group sent multiple emails during the extent of the project with new questions to help us collect
data for the project.
The second interview occurred during the second visit to the company. The interview was an
unstructured interview with Markus, a forklift driver in the incoming material zone, with
questions regarding the incoming material zone which the group came up with during the
observations the same day. Williamson, Kirsty (2002), provided the interview techniques used
from the book research methods for students, academics and professionals.
3.3 Observations
The project group conducted two visits at the company. The first one was to introduce us to the
company and the project task and the second visit was for data collection.
Since we did not know the task from the company until the end of the first visit, there was no
clear objective during the visit rather than listening to the introduction and ask follow up
questions. The visit also served as an observation opportunity as we were taking for a tour
through the facility to observe the incoming materials zone where our project task was located.
For the second visit to the company, the objective was data collection. Before the visit, the
project group conducted a meeting to establish observation tasks at the visit. The observation
tasks for the visit were:
 Interview worker
 Document work processes
 Photograph area
 Map area
 Document area
At the visit, all members took part of most tasks, except the interview with a worker, which the
two Swedish-speaking group members led, in order to make the interview process easier.
Observations is a form of data collecting used to gain understanding of people’s behaviour and
to collect necessary data in the area of interest at the company (Williamson, 2002, pp. 274-275).

7
4 Empirical findings
4.1 Company strategies and production development
Inwido’s manufacturing strategy is concerning investments and focus on quality. They split
resources between their two factories in Vetlanda and they are working with Lean and Wow!;
Wow! means clean and tidy factories. The manufacturing strategy is formal and is shared and
agreed on all levels in the company. Inwido does not have a separate operations strategy; it is
the same as the manufacturing strategy described above. Lead time and costs are Inwido’s main
competitive factors.
The role of production at Inwido is to in a safe way produce windows with the right quality, on
time and to the lowest possible cost. In order to fulfil this, they work with Lean on all levels in
the company, to do continuous improvements on all levels in the company. Also, when
developing new production systems, Inwido is working with Lean. During the development,
workers and tier-one level managers are used as focus-groups, and they are engaged by
management.
Inwido Produktion is using four different key performance indicators (KPI:s) in their
production. They measure amount of health and safety alerts, claims against delivered volume,
on time in full (OTIF) and man hour/wing. On time in full represents if a product is delivered in
the right time and if it is complete. Man hour/wing represents the time it takes to produce one
wing (window) counted in hours per worker.
The demand of windows at Inwido changes during a year according to low and high season. The
changes are handled by changing the capacity of the factories, also stock articles of some
products are produced during the low season (November to February).
4.2 Incoming material
There are two zones for incoming material. The zones contain different materials used for
production, the two main types of incoming material focused on in this project are aluminum
and glass. Other materials in the zone are wood pallets, isolation rubber, and on occasions wood
frame pieces. The main zone contains most glass and all aluminum while the secondary zone
only contains a small amount of glass. Aluminum comes in three times a day to the facility and
glass one to five times per day. Glass has many variants due to different sizes while aluminum
has two (2) different material carriers: one carrier for frame aluminum and one carrier for sash
aluminum. The quantity of the incoming material is random and varies because of the variances
in products.
4.2.1 Pallet markings
The incoming material pallets have specific markings for the material handlers to be able to sort
the different pallets. There are three types of markings for the two different incoming materials.
Aluminum has one type of marking and glass has two.
The marking on the aluminum pallets consists of three different number codes:
 Assembly line number. Which can be either 21, 22, or 23.
 Cue number. Consisting of two or three digits. Digit one to two represent week
therefore it can vary from one to two numbers, the last digit represents which day of the
week the pallet is supposed to be used in the assembly. Example is 453, meaning week
45 day 3 Wednesday.
 Dose number. The dose number represents which aluminum pieces of the batch are on
the pallet and usually it consists of two pieces of numbers with a dash between them,
for instance 1-10.

8
The glass has two types of markings, the first one is the same kind of marking as on the
aluminum. The second type consists of two different number codes:
 Assembly line number. Which can be either 21, 22, or 23.
 Pallet number/number of pallets. The number is actually two different numbers
representing which pallet it is and of how many. Example is 2/13, meaning pallet
number two out of thirteen.
4.2.2 Handling process
The handling of the materials has different processes depending on the objective and material.
There are two different processes for unloading incoming pallets of glass depending on the zone
in which it’s delivered to, main zone or secondary zone, and one process of unloading
aluminium which is in the main zone. There are also three different processes of retrieving
material, linked to what material it is and in which zone it is in. All processes are presented in
three tables, each table contains the unloading of a material in a specific zone and the retrieval
of said material in the same zone (see appendix 1).
4.3 Layout
The incoming material zone has been divided in 12 (twelve) different areas of interest. Most
areas were detained within the main incoming material zone but also the backside secondary
zone for incoming materials. Pictures of each area can be found in appendix 3.
Figure 1: Layout of the incoming material zone

9
Figure 2: Layout of backside zone
4.3.1 Area descriptions
Area 1: Empty pallet area
The area is filled with empty EUR-pallets with and without collars. They are spread around and
stacked on top of each other. Some pallets stick out from the area to the road way.
Area 2: Recycling area/ Glass unloading area
The area is used for recycling containers and as a temporary area for incoming pallets of glass to
be sorted. The area also contains white IBC-containers which gets shipped out when it reaches
thirty containers in the area.
Area 3: Random objects and wooden pallets
The area is filled with multiple objects including a machine, pallet tops, pallets and other debris.
Area 4: Smoking area/break area
The area is for workers taking breaks as it contains tables and a cubical for smokers. The area
also contains machines, other tables and multiple random objects and debris.
Area 5: Wood pallet area
The area is used for different wooden pallets to be used for outgoing windows. The area is
partially sorted and overstocked as the factory inherited the pallets from a factory in Norrland
they had to shut down.
Area 6: Main storage area for incoming glass
The area, which is located under a roof, is where the majority of the incoming pallets of glass
are placed and sorted in rows. The different rows of glass are semi-sorted as each row contains a
number of pallets marked to a specific assembly line inside the factory but rows are mixed.

10
Area 7: Incoming aluminum area
The area is under roof and contains all incoming pallets of aluminum. The pallets are arranged
in rows but they are for the most parts unsorted and they are mixed according to which
assembly line they are marked for. There is a second area for aluminum inside the factory where
the aluminum to be shipped next to the assembly lines is placed.
Area 8: Random objects corner
The area contains random unsorted objects and is also used as a temporary area for storage for
objects to be shipped out, such as finished windows and garbage bins.
Area 9: Second storage are for incoming glass
The area is used for pallets of glass coming from a small manufacturer. During the second visit
to the company the area was also used for garbage bins containing cardboard waste.
Area 10: Backside area
The area is located on the side of the storage warehouse and contains some wooden pallets and
empty glass pallets. There are some parked cars in the area as well. Most of the area is empty.
Area 11: Third storage area for incoming glass
The area is located in the warehouse for packaging windows. The area is used for other
incoming pallets of glass. They are put in rows but they are unsorted/bad sorted.
Area 12: Second area for incoming glass
The area is located on the backside in front of the port going in to the warehouse for packaging
windows. The area is used as a secondary zone for incoming glass to be unloaded from trucks,
usually smaller batches, and stored inside the warehouse (area 11). It also contains empty glass
pallets.

11
5 Analysis and results
5.1 Strategies and production development
In the theory Slack and Lewis (2011), Slack, et al. (2004) and Singh (2010) have different
definitions and descriptions of the content in operations strategy and manufacturing strategy.
According to the empirical findings, Inwido does not make any difference between operations
strategy and manufacturing strategy. These are the same; concerning investments and focus on
quality.
Lean is the permeating concept both in production and during development of production
system at Inwido. As describes by Bellgran and Säfsten (2010), successful production
development is achieved by having a holistic and long-term perspective. This is met by Inwido
through continuous improvement and focus-groups involving both managers and workers, in
order for Inwido to reach high quality, deliveries on time and to the lowest possible cost.
5.2 7 forms of waste
As per our observations at Inwido Vetlanda manufacturing plant, elimination of the 7 forms of
waste inside the factory is necessary to improving the performance of the company. According
to Anon (2016) there are 7 types of wastes to be eliminated but in our project, we are dealing
with buffering zone issues only, so we are considering three types of waste suitable for our
analysis. They are analysed below.
5.2.1 Transportation
In Inwido Vetlanda plant, due to lack of designated place for empty pallets inside the company,
workers place the empty pallets in random order, blocking paths for forklift vehicles and
wasting time for clearing the path by placing empty pallets in their desired position. Even trash
bins are placed in random position and again forklift drivers must transport them to the desired
position. Due to lack of space in buffering area of glass, forklift drivers must unload the pallets
from the truck to any empty space bit away from the buffering zone of glass. Later he must sort
it back to glass buffering area. This type of unwanted transportation of pallets must be reduce to
control materials handling time and for smooth production flow.
5.2.2 Storage
In Inwido, as we observed in glass and aluminium storage areas, some of the pallets are not
sorted in a proper way. Due to zig zag arrangements of pallets in storage areas, there is a lack of
space for new up-coming materials. As we observed in aluminium buffering zone, some waste
materials like trash bins, empty pallets, old machines, spare parts and non-used racks are kept in
the area. The removal of these materials will provide more space for storage as well as place for
sorting. Even some of the pallets, which have to be delivered to customer, are still holding their
place in storage area. Maximum use of storage area can be done only when clearing of
unwanted materials and sorting the pallets in pre-planned structure.
5.2.3 Unnecessary movements
There are unnecessary movements of aluminium and glass pallets in the buffer zone because of
some unsorted pallets line. Due to unsorting, forklift drivers pick the wrong pallet for its desired
work station and waste time in getting correct pallets. This unwanted moves of pallets consume
extra time as well as increase the cost of material. This agenda can be solved by proper plan of
sorting pallets and utilization of buffer zone in efficient way.
5.3 5S
From our findings, we have identified that the implementation of the 5s principle, presented by
Anon (2016), is important in the Inwido Vetlanda factory for solving potential problems and to

12
create a quality environment. Currently the implementation of 5s could help to avoid potential
problems such as the search for window frames and unnecessary movements. But it also could
prevent the use of wrong window frames, produce more space on the buffer zone, increase
efficiency and effectiveness, improve worker moral, clean buffer zone. Thereby, human
capabilities and productivity of the manufacturing unit can be improved as well.
5.3.1 Seiri (sort)
Currently the buffer areas are filled with wanted and unwanted things. The things like waste bin,
misplaced wooden frames, old machines, unused empty pallets are in the list of unwanted items
in the buffer zone area. There is no fixed position for these unwanted things also. Since there is
no fixed position, workers place them wherever they find place. When new materials arrive, the
unwanted items reduce the space in the buffer area. This leads to improper arrangement of the
incoming materials. In this case the forklift driver needs to spend more time in the buffer area to
find the required pallet. This can be avoided by removing unwanted items. It not only helps to
get more space in the buffer area, but also time spent for searching can be reduced. Therefore, it
is necessary to find a proper position for the unwanted items. If there is a proper position, the
worker can easily put them in the fixed position. Otherwise this problem will arise again.
In the buffer zone the aluminum frames are placed without any order. The worker places the
incoming aluminum frames where they find space. This makes the old aluminum frame sit back
to the new frames. However, the older aluminum frames have to go first to the assembly lines.
So, the forklift operator is now spending more time to find the aluminum frames since the old
frames are in the back and aluminum frames are randomly arranged. This problem can be solved
by sorting the aluminum frames. If the incoming aluminum frames are sorted according to their
flow to assembly lines the unnecessary time wasted by the forklift operator can be avoided.
5.3.2 Seiton (set in order)
The main idea of seiton is a fixed position for everything. The main problem in the buffer zone
is that there is no fixed position for empty pallets, waste bin, etc. Currently the worker places
them where they find space. This leads to unnecessary movement of the materials for many
times. For example, the forklift worker collects the waste bin from the assembly line and since
there is no fixed place he doesn’t know where to place the waste bin. He usually finds some
space in the aluminum frame area and he places the waste bin there. Now the forklift driver
wants to take the aluminum frame but he can’t, because he has to move the waste bin first, since
it is in front of aluminum frames. Now he moves waste bin to another place where he finds
space. The idea of fixed position for everything is very important in this case because if there is
a fixed position for the waste bin, the forklift driver can easily put it on the fixed position and
unnecessary time spent can be saved. And effective handling of material is also possible.
5.3.3 Seiso (shine)
In our findings, we noticed many wastes (such as wooden frames, broken empty wooden pallet
etc.) lying on aluminum buffer area, on glass area, and on other places as well. This wastes
make it difficult for the workers to move around in the buffer area. Sometimes these wastes
block the easy movements of the forklift. Some aluminum pallets are placed over the waste card
boards and many wooden frames are lying under the aluminum pallet. The untidy workplace is
also a risk for the safety of the worker. These wastes also block the easy handling of the
materials. Removing this kind of waste will help to create a clean workplace which will
improve the safety and moral of the workers and, in the same time, it will improve the effective
handling of the wastes.
5.3.4 Seiketsu (standardize)
It is very important that the above mentioned 3s should be properly documented and
standardized. For example, documentation like fixed position for everything, how sorting of

13
aluminum frames should be done etc. and everything must be regularly evaluated as well. If any
sort of improvement is required, it’s useful to communicate with employees.
5.3.5 Shisuke (sustain)
For the effective long term implementation of the above principles the active participation of the
employees is necessary. Make sure the employees are committed to follow the above principle.
5.4 Simulation
According to Banks et al. (2001) simulation is a way to study and analyse how a system works
and will work when changing variables in the system. By using simulation of the handling
process of aluminum in the incoming material zone, we can visually show the difference in how
the material is handled today and how it can be handled more efficiently. According to section
4.2.2 Handling process and appendix 1 in the report, the process to handle aluminum consists of
nine (9) steps, the process is also shown in figure 3.
By identifying and eliminating the different types of waste, using the method 5s, a more smooth
and strait forward handling of aluminum can be achieved. When sorting the aluminum direct
when placing it in buffer area 7 or in the inside buffer area, the process steps of moving
unwanted pallets can be eliminated. This will reduce unnecessary movement due to reduced
number of steps and also the time workers spend by searching for the desired pallet/moving
unwanted pallets will be reduced (see simulation results in appendix 2). The suggested process
is shown in figure 4.
Figure 3: Simulation overview of the handling process of aluminum
Figure 4: Simulation overview of suggested handling process of aluminum

14
5.5 Layout
With the existing layout, we have found many problems. But almost all the problems are the
results of a more general problem in the buffer zone: the chaotic way how everything is
handled. Practically the aluminium is not sorted properly and often the pallets are put in the
buffer in a random way. Furthermore, in some areas there are useless things like debris, old
machines and waste pallets. We think that cleaning and rearranging the areas will be a good way
for improving the system.
In the new layout, which we propose, there are some rearrangements based on two main
concepts: cleaning and improve sorting. Somehow for the glass there was already a form of
sorting in the area 2, but about the aluminium there is practically no sorting in the area 7.
Our suggested rearrangements: (the areas are described in 4.3 Layout figure 1 and figure 2)
Area 1: clean the area removing all empty pallets and collars in order to acquire some space.
After that, it would be a good idea to put here the three garbage containers actually laying in
area 2.
Area 2: thank to the new location of the garbage containers now in the area there is more space
for the incoming glass and for the sorting process.
Area 3: move the wood pallets to area 5.
Area 4: clean the area (it’s full of debris, tables, old machines…) in order to obtain more space
for the wood pallets in area 5.
Area 5: this area should be the designed area for all the wood pallets. We suggest to try sorting
the pallets according to the size.
Area 6: remove/sell the old windows and the barrels.
Area 7: we suggest to add an area for the sorting of aluminium (between the truck and the
rows). This can be seen as more space involved and more work to do for the sorting, but it
allows to sort properly the aluminium and we think this will improve the material handling,
reducing the time for workers to take the right pallet when they go in the area with the forklift.
Area 8: this area is full of random objects. We suggest to clean it and then make the area the
designed area for empty aluminium pallets. During our visit, we saw empty pallets almost
everywhere. It seems that the workers don’t know where to put them. Creating an area for them
should make the whole factory more tidy. So, try to figure out what to do with the objects
actually laying in the area.
Area 9: when we were in the factory we saw “Well Papp” bins in the front of the glass pallets.
Obviously, they block the access to the pallets. We suggest to put them near the aluminium
empty pallet area (area 8) or in the area 1 near the garbage containers.
Area 10: as we said for the aluminium, the empty pallets are everywhere. For what concerns
empty glass pallets there is the same problem. So, we suggest that this area can be used as the
designed area for empty glass pallets. Actually, in the area there are some wood pallets which
should be placed in area 5.
Area 11: in this area, there are many glass pallets, but they are not sorted properly and often the
forklift driver has to move many pieces in order to get the desired pallet. So, we suggest to sort
them before. A possible solution could be to sort them in area 12.
Area 12: actually, here there are empty glass pallets. We suggest to put them in area 10. Then,
this area could be used as the area for the sorting process of the glass in the area 11.

15
Figure 5: Suggested layout of the material handling zone

16
6 Discussion
6.1 Expansion of incoming material zone
From the observations and analysis of the whole incoming material zone we noticed a certain
lack of space. Especially for the incoming aluminum and glass. In the interview with the worker
Markus we found out that, while the facilities production increased, the work area did not,
which results in more material coming in to an already crowded space. The company also wants
to have the incoming glass and aluminum under roof which results in more issues with lack of
space when the amount of incoming material is too much since they don’t have enough space
under roof. A future suggestion for the company is to consider an expansion of the area the
facilities hold. This would help the company’s ability to store and sort the incoming material but
would also aid the cargo truck drivers when driving in and out to the facility since they for the
moment have a very narrow driveway. The expansion would also make it possible to have a
specific entrance only for incoming material, and a specific exit for outgoing products, instead
of both coming in and out through the same gates.
6.2 Sorting documentation
A suggestion for improvement of the sorting system is
documentation of the sorted pallets. After sorting, or when new
pallets are delivered, the rows are documented according to a
suggested documentation system. A general example of how the
documentation could look like is shown in table 1. This could help
forklift drivers when searching for the correct row of pallets. Instead
of driving around looking for the pallet, now the driver knows where
to go from the start. The documentation of rows should match the
sorting of the rows, with the highest pallet number in the back and
lowest in front.
Another suggestion, similar to the documentation of pallets, is a
visible whiteboard in each area of material, where each row is
written the same as it would for the documentation. When pallets are removed or new pallets are
placed in the rows the whiteboard is updated with the pallets removed/placed in each row.
6.3 Suggestion for future research
One suggestion for future research is to develop an improved layout for area 7 where the
incoming aluminum is located. Right now the space is inefficiently utilized, a more efficient
arrangement of the aluminum pallets in the buffer area can bring more space for the storage.
We have come up with two possible solutions. The first is to arrange the aluminum pallets in a
diogonaly (shown in figure 6 to the left) which helps to save more space than the previous
layout. Previously the bottom right corner could not be effectively used because of the slope.In
this diogonal way of arrangement of the pallets helps effective use the bottom right corner space
than pervious layout. We also would like to suggest that the top right corner (free space)
of area 7 can be used for placing empty pallects. That would make it easier to load them
on the trucks and they could also be placed in a fixed position.
The second possible solution could be to aggenge the pallets vertically and horizontaly as show
in figure 6 to the right. With shorter lines it can be easier to sort and place the pallets in the area.
The vertical arrangement makes the lines shorter and number of lines increases. This can be a
solution to reduce sorting time. Unlike long aluminum pallet lines, short lines for aluminum
pallet can make it easier to sort and move the aluminum pallets from the line. It can be a good
Main zone, glass
Row 1 Row 2 Row 3
L23
3/3
L21
2/2
L22
5/5
L23
2/3
L21
1/2
L22
5/5
L23
1/3
L22
3/5
Table 1: Document example

17
suggestion that in future to make aluminum pallet lines shorter by placing them in different
locations.
Figure 6: Suggested layouts of area 7
For future reserach our suggestion is to evaluate our two possible solutions, together with other
possible layouts, in order to come up with the solution resulting in most space, or most efficient
usage of the space.

18
7 Conclusion
In the incoming material handling zone, our conclusion is that, in order for Inwido to achieve a
more efficient material handling, there are some changes that they need to make. This
conclusion is also the answer to the question set up in the report:
 What changes can be made to achieve a more efficient handling process of the incoming
material in the buffer zone?
The first is to, by using the method 5s, clean up the incoming material zone, get rid of waste and
then sort both the glass and aluminum in a proper way according to when and where it will be
used in production. The second is to have a standardized way of working, and finally to sustain
and keep the new sorted layout to achieve a more efficient material handling of the incoming
material in the buffer zone.

19
8 References
Anon., 2016. lean manufacturing tools. [Online]
Available at: http://leanmanufacturingtools.org/192/what-is-5s-seiri-seiton-seiso-seiketsu-
shitsuke/
Anon., n.d. The 7 Wastes (Seven forms of Muda). [Online]
Available at: http://www.beyondlean.com/7-wastes.html
[Accessed 08 12 2016].
Banks, J., Nelson, D., Carson, J. & Nicol, D., 2001. Discrete-Event System Simulation.
s.l.:Prentice Hall.
Bellgran, M. & Säfsten, E. K., 2010. In: Production Development, Design and Operation of
Production Systems. London: Springer, pp. 1-2.
Harrison, A., Hoek, R. v. & Skipworth, H., 2014. Logistics management and strategy -
competing through the supply chain. 5:e upplagan ed. Edinburgh Gate: Pearson.
Liker, J. K., 2004. Becoming Lean: inside stories of U.S. manufacturers. New York: Liker
editor.
Mattsson, S.-A. & Jonsson, P., 2013. Logistik - Läran om effektiva materialflöden. Lund:
Studentlitteratur.
Schnotz, W., 2014. Examples of Manufacturing Strategy Development. [Online]
Available at: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/examples-manufacturing-strategy-development-
14117.html
Singh, K., 2010. Explain the concept of Manufacturing Strategy. [Online]
Available at: http://www.mbaofficial.com/mba-courses/operations-management/explain-the-
concept-of-manufacturing-strategy/
Slack, N., Chambers, S. & Johnston, R., 2004. Operations management. 4th Edition ed. Harlow:
Pearson Education.
Slack, N. & Lewis, M., 2011. Operations strategy. Harlow: Pearson Education.

20
9 Appendices
Appendix 1: Unloading and retrieval of material
Unloading pallets of glass in main incoming materials zone
# Task Description
1 Cargo truck arrives Truck arrives and park in the main incoming materials
zone
2 Unload pallets Pallets are loaded off the cargo truck with forklift
3 Place to side Pallets are placed to the side outside, all pallets are
unsorted
4 Cargo truck leaves
5 Sort pallets to glass area Pallets are sorted in to rows under roof
Retrieving pallets of glass from main incoming materials zone
1 Notice empty line Forklift Driver notices an assembly line running low on
glass
2 Checks order list Driver checks order list to know what order of glass to
be retrieved
3 Search for correct row Driver searches among the rows of glass for the
correct row
4 Retrieves pallets Driver retrieves the pallets in the front of the correct
row with forklift
5 Transport pallets Driver transports pallets to assembly line
6 Driver goes back to the row to retrieve more pallets if the line needs
Unloading pallets of glass in secondary incoming materials zone
# Task Description
1 Cargo truck arrives Truck arrives and park in the secondary incoming
materials zone
2 Unload pallets Pallets are loaded of the cargo truck with forklift
3 Place pallets in warehouse Pallets are directly placed in unsorted/bad sorted rows
inside the warehouse
Retrieving glass from secondary incoming materials zone
1 Notice empty line Forklift Driver notices an assembly line running low on
glass
2 Checks order list Driver checks order list to know what batch of glass to
be retrieved
3 Search for pallet Driver searches for the correct pallet among unsorted
rows of pallets
4 Move other pallets Driver needs to move other pallets blocking wanted
pallet
5 Places other to side Driver places other pallets to the side
6 Retrieves correct pallet
7 Places pallet to the side Driver places correct pallet to the side
8 Move back other pallet Driver moves other pallets back to row
9 Transport correct pallet Driver transports correct pallet to assembly line

21
Unloading pallets of aluminum in main incoming materials zone
# Task Description
1 Cargo truck arrives Truck arrives and park in the main incoming materials
zone
2 Unload pallets Pallets are loaded off the truck with forklift
3 Place pallets in aluminum area Pallets are directly placed in unsorted rows in the
area for pallets of aluminum
4 Place empty pallets in truck Empty pallets for aluminum are loaded on to the
cargo truck
Retrieve pallets of aluminum for assembly lines
1 Get order Driver gets order from an assembly line supervisor to
fill the smaller buffer zone with a number of pallets
2 Search for pallet The forklift driver searches among all aluminum
pallets for the right one
3 Move other pallets Driver needs to move other pallets blocking wanted
pallet
4 Places other to side Driver places other pallets to the side
5 Retrieves correct pallet
6 Places pallet to the side Driver places correct pallet to the side
7 Move back other pallet Driver moves other pallets back to row
8 Transport pallet to buffer Pallet is transported to smaller buffer zone
9 Driver repeats steps 2 to 4 until smaller buffer is full, after that the assembly line supervisor
transports pallets to assembly lines with a smaller forklift

22
Appendix 2: Simulation of the handling process of aluminum,
current and suggested
The simulation is made in the same way both for the current handling process of aluminum and
for the suggested handling process of aluminum. The simulation is run with produced parts of
30, simulating an incoming truck with 30 pallets of aluminum. The number of runs in the
simulation is 100 to get a more reliable mean value.
The first table shows the results for the current handling process and the second the suggested
handling process. By improving the handling process, lead time and the time it takes to handle
the material can be reduced.

Appendix 3 – Area pictures;
Area 1 Area 2 Area 3

Project_Report

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Viewers also liked

Viewers also liked (7)

Similar to Project_Report

Similar to Project_Report (20)

Project_Report