POM Case3-Process and Layout-Morton Salt-S271

Company Overview: Morton Salt is a subsidiary of Morton International.
- Manufactures specialty chemicals, air bags, and salt products.
Facility Location: Silver Springs, New York, between Buffalo and Rochester.
- One of six Morton salt-processing facilities in the U.S.
Employment: Approximately 200 employees ranging from unskilled to skilled.
Product Markets: Supplies salt products for water conditioning, grocery, industrial, and agricultural sectors.
- Grocery business, which consists of 26 oz. round cans of iodized salt, accounts for about 15% of total production but is the most profitable.

Raw Material Acquisition: Salt is obtained by injecting water into salt caverns 2,400 feet underground.
- Salt deposits dissolve in the water, creating brine.
Production Process:
- Brine is pumped to the surface and converted into salt crystals.
- Process involves boiling to evaporate liquid and remove moisture.
- Continuous operation lasts about six weeks, starting at 45 tons/hour, decreasing to 75% output by week six due to scale build-up.
Maintenance: Production halts to maintain equipment and remove scale before resuming.
Storage and Shipping: Salt is stored in silos or shipped in bulk to industrial customers.

Production Volume: Approximately 3.8 million round cans annually.
- 70% for Morton label, 30% for private label.
Production Lines:
- Two high-speed production lines, each producing 9,600 cans/hour (160 cans/minute).
- Operated by a minimal workforce (18 workers for both lines).
Cans Manufacturing:
- Made of cardboard with a plastic pour spout.
- Cardboard sheets are glued, rolled into tubes, and cut into can-size pieces.
- Equipment setup is standardized; production rates are fixed.

Can Assembly Process:
- Separate components are moved via conveyor belts for assembly and gluing.
- Cans are filled with salt, the spout is added, and they are palletized for inventory.
Quality Assurance Efforts:
- Salt purity is checked upon arrival; iodine and anti-caking compounds are analyzed.
- Crystal size regulated by scraping screens while magnets remove fine metal pieces.
- Contaminated salt is redirected to nonfood products.
- Can quality is ensured through visual inspections of assembly, weights, and label alignment.
- Equipment sensitive to defective cans, leading to production slowdowns but preventing defects.
- High quality costs due to scrapped product, the need for inspectors, and extensive lab testing.

Sales Capacity: The plant can sell all produced salt.
Scheduling Responsibilities: Production scheduler ensures proper salt distribution based on inventory levels and production capacities.
Storage Management: Ensures sufficient silo capacity for incoming production from brine production.

Equipment Age: Most machinery is from the 1950s, requiring considerable maintenance.
Breakdowns: Regular wear and tear lead to breakdowns, necessitating repairs.
- Skilled workers in the plant's tool shop repair or fabricate parts due to unavailable replacements for the old equipment.

Describe Salt Production: Steps from brine production to finished round cans.
Quality Assurance: Brief overview of quality checks in round can production.
Reasons for Old Equipment: Discuss why the company might retain old processing equipment.
Product-Process Spectrum: Where to place salt production within this spectrum.
Annual Production Estimate: Calculate approximate tons of salt produced annually based on provided hints.
Improvement Suggestions: Recommendations for operational enhancements in the plant.