Plan the new workflow around job families
- Topic
- Relocation decisions
- Reading time
- 3 minutes
- Last reviewed
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Group work by the route it takes through the business before deciding where departments belong. Jobs sold under similar descriptions can require different sequences. A layout based only on department names may send important work back and forth across the site.
Use completed job records and the people who know the work to describe representative routes. Keep exceptions visible when they are part of the intended future offering.
Trace the route, including returns
Use a route table to describe the business handoffs, as in this fictional example.
| Job family | Normal route | Return or waiting point to explain |
|---|---|---|
| Standard repeat part | Receive, produce, inspect, pack | Waits for inspection acceptance |
| Customer modification | Receive, assess, clarify, produce, inspect, pack | May return to technical discussion before production |
| Outside-finished part | Produce, inspect, send out, receive, inspect, pack | Returns from an external process before final acceptance |
A drawing that places all receiving beside packing may look convenient for the first family. It still needs to account for a modified item waiting for clarification and outside-finished work returning for another decision. The frequency and significance of those routes determine which questions deserve attention.
Do not redesign around one unusual job merely because it is memorable. Ask how often each route occurs and what consequence it has. Equally, a low-volume job may matter if it carries an important service commitment. Use the future product-range decision to establish which families remain in scope.
Mark the handoffs before drawing the departments
For each route, identify who passes work or information to whom. Ask what tells the receiving person that the previous stage is complete. Record where the job waits when the next stage cannot accept it.
A fictional inspection team may receive work from both production and an outside processor. If those arrivals are planned independently, the same waiting space and decision-maker may be assumed available twice. The route map exposes that conflict before the layout team allocates the area.
Include support functions, such as technical queries and repair work, in the discussion. Their location should follow how the business uses them.
Give the map to competent designers
The route table helps explain the operating requirement. It does not establish safe routes, clearances or a compliant layout. In Great Britain, HSE's room-space guidance explains that the work and room contents affect the space required. Competent designers and safety advisers need the actual site and activities to assess suitability.
Ask them to explain how their proposal deals with the identified handoffs. Then run a paper workflow trial with representative jobs. If the trial finds another return route, update the brief before calling the layout settled.
Once the accepted workflow identifies assets with no future role, discuss the surplus with UK Auction Group. Keep equipment needed for continuing support or external-process handoffs out of the confirmed surplus scope until those decisions are resolved.
Find the connected choices in Relocation decisions.
Sources
This guide is general information and education only. Legal, tax, employment and safety decisions may need a qualified adviser who knows your situation. Read the disclaimer.