Facility layout improvement in sewing department with Systematic Layout planning and ergonomics approach

Abstract

The design of facility layout is an influential factor in a company’s performance to support the streamlined process of production. PT. PMJ is one of the garment industries that produce women’s underwear. The total processing time in the sewing department often exceeds the standard time set by the company. The composition of the machine and facilities at the sewing department is considered to be not optimal. The order of machines in the production line has not been arranged appropriately which causes the excessive distance in the material transfer. In addition, the uses of straight material flow cause the workers to rotate their posture of the body when taking the materials. Based on the results of the assessment of the condition of workers in the initial facility layout using the Quick Exposure Check (QEC) method, the highest total exposure score is on the back. This study aims to redesign the facility layout of PT. PMJ using Systematic Layout Planning (SLP) and ergonomics approach to minimize total material handling cost. Two design alternatives are proposed and the performance of each design is evaluated using ARENA simulation software. Based on the calculation of total material handling cost and simulation, the second proposed facility layout was chosen since it was able to reduce the total material handling cost by 22.92% and material transfer time by 34.01%.