This master thesis was conducted at Motala Wire Works Ltd (MWW) in Motala during the autumn and winter of 2007-2008. The thesis named “Future layout of Motala Wire Works” focuses on making a better planed layout for the factory, which also take in to consideration future changes.Motala Wire Work produces wire mesh products of varying sorts for the white goods industry. The factory was started by Electrolux during the 1950’s. The factory was bought by Motalaverken and got it’s present form in 2004. The factories machine park has changed quite a bit during the course of time and so has the products produced which has made for a very unstructured layout. Because of this the management feels it has to update and re-plan the layout in order to get a better working factory layout for the future.The purpose of this master thesis was to construct a future layout for Motala Wire Works which shows how machines should be placed in order to get a better materials flow and free space for expansion of the present production or if they decide to take in other types of production.To solve the task at hand the theories and methods of Systematic plant layout was used and to a certain degree Lean Production. Interviews/conversations with employees, direct observations, and measurements was used to gauge the various parameters. During the course of work ideas and proposals have been analyzed thoroughly and discussed with management to insure that the ideas have support from the company. When analyzing the final layout proposals a SWOT- analyzes has been conducted and the layouts have been compared to the criteria list for a good layout presented in the theory section.The analyzes shows that product flow in the factory is very messy, with intersecting and against each other going flows. A majority of the production is not automated which makes for a lot of manual work. Several of the machines have been in service for a long time which means that the ergonomics and operational safety of the machines isn’t always the best. Throughout the analyzes there is a discussion about what should be done to improve the flow and how the problems could be solved . The analyzes has also shown that a common employee space is desirable in order to improve internal communications and strengthen the group feeling.The result of the thesis are two layouts, worked out together with the company, that have great potential of being implemented. The difference between the two layout lays in whether the wire is cut and straightened at the factory or by the supplier. The layouts result in more organized flows, shorter transports, planed spaces for expansion and new machines, and an overall improved working environment. The number o...
