Disadvantages of Industrial Design

Factories rely on the most cost-efficient layout design to ensure operations run smoothly to produce quality products. This layout design involves the proper placement of machinery and workers on the manufacturing floor to work with the product from design to completion. Factories run into problems with the design of operations that cost money, production time and product quality.

Factory operations rely on every worker to know his schedule and the time the worker needs in his part of the production process. Industrial designs affect work scheduling based on layout issues. These issues involve the distance of machinery and work stations in comparison to each other. If products travel unnecessary distances to each work station for completion, this has negative impacts on production time. The results are workers taking longer times in producing the product and fewer products being created.

When workers travel to different production stations to move the item along the operational process, product quality is affected due to the industrial design. If the product has to pass through many hands until reaching the finished stage, damage could result to the product. Also, design flaws may not be noticed until the product is almost completed, resulting in material waste when the product must be thrown away.

Many industries use an assembly line production design based on the type of items manufactured. This design layout can save time and money through efficient operations, cutting down on time spent with workers moving between production stations. Yet a disadvantage results in equipment down-time for repairs or installment. The whole production line stops, resulting in lost time for manufacturing products. The factory also provides higher repair costs for quick fixes to equipment so the production line can be brought back online.

An industrial design disadvantage involves the available space to manufacture and store the products. When warehouse operations and manufacturing processes are located in the same space, workers run out of room to develop products or properly stock inventory. This can cost the factory money by renting separate warehouse space and transporting the products to the additional building. The factory owner always considers the layout of the building to use every inch of space optimally.