The manufacturing business is among the most flourishing sectors in the world today. This is because of the demand of the products from the manufacturing sector locally and globally. The manufacturing business involves industries such as the food & beverage, chemical industry, motor vehicle industry, etc. This means that there are so many areas to invest in the manufacturing business.
When planning to venture into the manufacturing business, there are so many things you need to consider for your business to be up and running. They include:
· A comprehensive business idea.
· The ideal location.
· Great team.
· Business model.
However, there is the most overlooked factor of them all; the factory itself. For a manufacturing business to run, there must be a factory where all the raw materials are brought and turned to the finished product that the company wants to deal with.
Having mentioned that there are so many industries in the manufacturing business, it means that each of the many sectors has its own unique way of processing their products. A motor vehicle assembling industry will function very different from a milk processing plant. This translates to the same goal of supplying the market with products but considerable differences in the architectural design of the factory.
Architectural design varies depending on the product of the manufacturing business.
What is architectural design in manufacturing?
Architectural design is simply a concept of the elements of a particular factory that are meant to satisfy the functional objectives of the factory. These are the adjustments and structural considerations that have to be made to the factory to suit its functionality.
For a company to produce or manufacture a product, they have to build a factory that holds the machinery and to shelter the needs for the processing of the product. This means that the architectural design of a meat processing factory will be very different from that of a pharmaceuticals company.
What are the manufacturing factors that affect architectural design?
1) Space requirement
For manufacturing to run smoothly, the first thing the architecture must look into is the space required. This is for the placement of the machinery needed for production and movement of the staff. For the movement of the staff, space between the pathways and machinery should be observed. For machinery, the factory should be built to suit the needs of the different machines like tools, turning systems, conveyor systems and others. An excellent example; if the company will use overhead conveyors in the processing, the factory building must be built with a high roof.
2) Plant protection
The factory building should also be designed in a way that it is protected from factors such as heat, theft, fire, etc. This means that the building must be designed in a way that it accommodates coolers, outdoor hydrants, sprinkler system, fire exits, etc.
3) Service facilities
For the manufacturing to run smoothly, there are those primary requirements needed, such as power back up, water supply, sewage treatment, etc. The building must, therefore, be designed in a way that all these facilities connect with the main plant.
4) Plant Layout
The layout of machines, service centers and offices exercise considerable influence on the design and construction of plant buildings. In fact the arrangement should be determined first and the building should be just a shell around this design. However, flexibility in amenities should also be made to meet the future needs.
5) Heating, Ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC)
It is quite common in large plants to provide separate structures for accommodating high pressure boilers. Their size will depend on heating requirements for production. Proper ventilation is necessary to provide adequate fresh air and comfortable industrial atmosphere. Some manufacturing processes require considerable ventilation or controlled temperature and humidity.
It is therefore clear that the manufacturing process and architectural design of the factory building are two inseparable units; the manufacturing process depends on how well the manufacturing space or facility is designed.