Facility and Equipment Engineering is the practice of coordinating the people, required equipment, and the work of an organization into the physical work place. It is a support function that has become important in industries where short lead-times and short product life cycles are becoming increasingly common. Companies now need to expand, contract, move or rearrange their facilities faster than in the past. The need to foresee and react to changes must be accelerated as a result of this fast pace planning. To manage the changes and the impacts on space and direct/indirect costs to the facilities, are becoming critically important. Due to long lead times and intense micro planning, capturing those impacts quickly can be crucial in the decision making process. The reutilization of acquired assets is also a critical factor, and can be very cost effective. Methods for cataloging and the reallocation of assets, is a real world issue that we are dedicated to solving. Facilities management, owners, users, maintenance staff and business partners must be included in this process. Common goals that we concentrate on are:
Intelligent, ergonomic, work spaces for operators, material and equipment
Re-use applications facilitating use of current equipment in future launches; e-Asset management (data, knowledge, physical)
Identification of methods to minimize the direct costs of the facility modifications
Identification of methods to manage and minimize the indirect costs of productivity loss due to facility downtime and sub optimal facility performance
Delivering design and construction information to facility management and other business partners
Formalizing facility management knowledge for inclusion into the design process
Leveraging design, construction, and operations data for improved facility management
Facilities Engineering and the Supply Chain
There is a clear need for companies to develop early support for the development of their supply chain as it relates to the facility. Examples of success in other industries for instance, automotive components and retailing, demonstrate the potential advantages of automation and integration of supply chains while planning the new or modified facilities. Our innovative techniques can facilitate the emergence of efficient e-commerce and supply chain redesign. Attention is required to streamline the process into one that ensures that each stage adds value-not just cost.
Prerequisites for real value added for the facility owner or user
Integration of legacy and emerging supply chain management systems
E-Asset management (data, knowledge, physical)
Linking e-commerce and scheduling (availability, lead times of components)
