THE PROCESS FOLLOWED BY PRINT SHOP

Sampling &
Plate
coloring

Order
received

Capacity
planning &
Stock
management

Delivery

Production

Printing shop and Manpower: The printing shop has a very simple process. The shop has 3 printers of
different builds, meant for different type of printing works. One machine is used for recto-verso printing
and is longer in length than other two. There are 3 teams, each with 3 operators, which work in 3 shifts:
morning, afternoon and night. There are two forklift operators, on each in morning and afternoon shifts.
Ordering and Planning: The process starts with order being received from customer which is then
received by the Planning department where samples are printed and confirmed by client. Then the
Aluminium templates are printed and send to Printing shop.
Printing Process: The forklifts place the printing papers near the input tray of the printing machines
which are then manually fed by the operators into the machines. The finished prints are taken out from
the output tray and checked for quality. Once the quality is confirmed the finished prints are then
stacked near the output which is collected by forklifts and piled at one corner of the shop floor, before
being finally transferred for loading and delivery.

Forklifts bring
and keep the
papers to be
printed near
respective
machines

Operators feed
papers into
machines and
begin
operation

Colors are fed

into machines
through
pipelines.

Machines take
time to warm
up and give
quality prints,
first 100 prints
are rejected

Quality of
prints checked
in samples and
rejected works
printed again

Finished prints
stacked and
taken by
forklifts for
loading.

4 V ANALYSIS

Volume: PRINT SHOP receives bulk orders and caters mostly to clients who order in bulk. They have a
process which can give high volume of outputs. The volume, however, increases during certain periods,
like Christmas or elections. This allows a greater revenue at a lower cost.
Variety: The product output of PRINT SHOP i slow in variety. They mostly print posters and fliers in bulk.
This allows them to conduct the entire process in a simple manner with a smooth and sequential work
flow.
Variation: The printing process followed by PRINT SHOP has low variation. They follow the same printing
process in each machine for each order, with little room for any differentiation.
Visibility: The process followed by PRINT SHOP has a high visibility for the customer. The customer can
easily keep track of the order and the delivery deadlines are always clear and accurate.

The 4 V analysis shows us that PRINT SHOP has a high volume, low variety process and is rightly positioned
to deliver its objectives. However, further analysis shows us that there is a possibility of increasing its
volume.

CURRENT PLANT LAYOUT & ITS SHORTCOMINGS

Inefficient Utilization of Floor Space

The 3 Printing machines are located in 3 corners of the rectangular shop, with one corner being used for
storing finished works ready for loading. Further per observation shows a majority of the floor space is
occupied by inventories which are piled up on the shop floor. The shop floor is filled with 3 types of
inventories.
1. Papers ready to be fed at the input tray for printing.
2. Inventory of Ink barrels, usually received once every month.
3. Outgoing inventory in terms of finished prints ready for delivery.

Problems arising due to present layout:

1. The incoming inventory, i.e. printing papers are stored at the rear end and the forklift has to
travel a longer distance to deliver them to the input feeding tray of at least 2 printing
machines. This increases the fuel cost and also increases the time taken to transfer the
inventory to required location.
2. Since in morning and afternoon shifts only one forklift operates, and none during night shift,
and the time to shift is quite high, the required materials are placed in advance to avoid
delay. This leads to piling of inventory and wastage of floor space.
3. The same forklift which carries papers to input tray, sometimes brings back finished prints to
storage area. This takes a lot of to and from motion over longer distance again increasing
the cost due to forklift operation. Also the finished prints are piled up near output tray

4. Ink barrels are stored in the centre of the shop floor while there is no particular need to
place them their as they tend to get used over a month. This happens because this has been
the practice which still continues.

PROPOSED LAYOUT TO SOLVE THE PROBLEMS

Benefits of proposed layout:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Lesser movement of forklift

Reduced fuel costs
Decrease in throughput time
Decreased in process inventory
Increased production capacity
Increased flexibility of operation
In case of forklift breakdown manual movement is now easier

Layout description:
We propose the current layout to be changed into a more efficient one by arranging the inventory and
the printing process in the sequence of their roles. The incoming inventory needs to be placed at one end
of the printing shop and the outgoing inventory at the other. All the printing machines should be placed
in a manner that their input trays and output trays are at the same side. This would lead to a more logical
work flow and reduce the unnecessary movement of forklift hence reducing the fuel cost and making it
more efficient.
If the proposed layout is implemented, the requirement for placing inventory near printer is eliminated.
The materials can then be shifted as and when required.
Another advantage of moving the incoming inventory closer to the input tray is the greater flexibility it
provides in
The outgoing inventory should also be reduced as the forklift now gets more time to clear the finished
prints from the shop floor and the process becomes faster.
Furthermore, the ink barrels need not be placed on the shop floor when the incoming inventory storage
is placed closer to the input area of printing machines. In the proposed layout, the ink barrels can be
stored along with rest of the incoming inventory and the ink feeding area which is placed near the input
tray remains close to the inventory to facilitate ease of transportation. This also results in freeing up floor
space.

Possible increase in capacity

According to the production manager, the print shop currently operates at 70-80% of its capacity even if
there is a higher demand. They usually do not take orders beyond this limit in order to accommodate
unforeseen situations and sudden bulk orders by important customers. This implies there is a need for
increase in capacity, which can then cater to the extra demand and also allow for the buffer that the
management wants to ensure flexibility and customer satisfaction.
The proposed layout results in the freeing of floor space due to reduction on inventory piled up on shop
floor. This gives room to install at least one new printing machine. This can increase the production
capacity to satisfy customer demand.