Summary
On the grounds of the ecological advantages of timber as a construction material and its outstanding properties, in terms of the management of the material cycle and deconstruction, it is aimed for increasing the sales of prefabricated timber housing, while reducing production costs at the same time. Since this sector consists of small- and medium-sized undertakings, the main problems arising are associated with outdated organisational and logistical structures.
In consequence, this project involved the development of a comprehensive concept for products and logistics.
Results:
- A product platform has been developed for timber housing, modelled on the platform concepts used in the automobile industry;
- Organisation by product type has been logically incorporated into the system of operational logistics;
- Production in response to orders is controlled by a system in which clearance for orders is governed by available capacity;
- A software has been developed for the design of the production layout on the basis of factors associated with the management of material flows, together with an overall model for the simulation of logistics which incorporates a detailed model of the production sector.
The application of the platform concept has generated the following potential for savings in the model business considered:
- Using the same resources, it has been possible to increase production throughput by up to 15%.
- Through the production system applied, the turnaround time for orders has been reduced by up to 25%.
