Production infrastructure: definition, organization methods, types, structure

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

The pace of economic development of modern countries is increasingly dependent on the structural structure of the national economy. The progressive development of social production cannot do without highly developed logistics with the effective functioning of all its components that also affect the sphere of management. The framework of this system is based on the production infrastructure (PI) as a whole, which determines the potential with resource funds for the economic development of the country.

Basic PI concepts

To begin with, it is worth defining the concept of a typical infrastructure of a conditional enterprise, within which the production process is carried out. In general terms, this is a list of interrelated services and divisions that ensure the normal functioning of the company without stops and interruptions.

Under the object of the production infrastructure, one can understand the functional components on which the composition of the enterprise is based. It can be a variety of economic and instrumental departments responsible for energy, material supply, metrology, quality control, monitoring, personnel policy and other areas of the enterprise. The main thing is that this type of infrastructure is not limited solely to logistics and technical elements of production in various aspects of its support. As an illustration of the broad presentation of PI, one can cite the concept of logistics management, which combines quite practical tasks of organizing transport networks and marketing products with marketing tools.

Also, you should not limit the concept of PI to a well-functioning system of enterprise functioning, albeit in different manifestations of its activity. To a large extent, this infrastructure also provides for the long-term solution of strategic tasks. For such purposes, the modern production infrastructure includes a control facility with a specific list of maintenance services that have a whole range of their own functions:

• Implementation of organizational, technical and technical-economic regulation of all work processes at the enterprise.
• Creating conditions for the production of competitive products with minimal resource investment.
• Creating conditions for high level technological operationsautomation, mechanization and informatization.
• Ensure flexibility and cost-effective continuity when reconfiguring production to focus on new products.

Structure of production infrastructure

The form of the organizational structure of production is determined by the tasks facing the enterprise. As a rule, they are reflected in order to ensure the stable functioning of the main technological processes from market research and the purchase of raw materials, to the distribution of goods to points of sale. The main subdivisions of the production infrastructure, on which the technological support of these processes is based, include the following:

• Tool economy. Typically, a group of small departments, each of which is responsible for the maintenance of a specific area in the production or type of equipment. Some services of this type are involved in the responsible processes of design, manufacture and restoration, as well as in the organization and distribution of jobs, conservation of equipment, etc.
• Repair facilities. It is also a multifaceted division in terms of functionality, the main task of which is to ensure control over the condition of the equipment and accessories in use. Workers in this shop perform repairs, preventive maintenance, configuration and commissioning activities.
• Transportation. Without fail, the production infrastructure also includes transport logistics, providing channels for transportationraw materials, finished products and other materials necessary for the working cycle. A logistics model is usually worked on by several different departments, as it affects different stages of the production process, and the network is maintained by employees of the transport department. At the present stage of development of logistics, information support services are also added to this workshop, since virtual modeling with digital communication channels is increasingly becoming part of the production process system.
• Energy economy. The support of the enterprise and its work processes with the necessary sources of energy supply is also allocated as a separate structural unit, which requires the organization of its own logistics, engineering and communication services and technical capacities. The complexity of uninterrupted supply in many industries lies in the need to use several energy sources, create an electrically secure network and connect backup power sources, which, in principle, can guarantee the independence of electric power equipment from the main supply circuits.

Varieties of production infrastructure

Even within the framework of one enterprise, the infrastructure can be represented in different functional layers in terms of its goals, objectives and methods of organization. The main types of PI include the following:

• Technical PI. It is directly connected with communications, on the basis of which transport routes are laid.networks, cable lines of power supply, information support and other engineering.
• Social infrastructure. Also partly technical, but with an emphasis on the psychological aspects of the organization of modern personnel policy at enterprises. The social and production infrastructure is formed by managerial, human rights and other means of ensuring labor conditions within a particular enterprise. Compliance with labor protection measures in this case is a key factor regulating the infrastructure in its social sphere.
• Innovation infrastructure. A conditional technical and organizational model of an infrastructural device in an enterprise, the capacities of which can be used to transform the current structure. This potential is laid down at the design stages of the same logistics networks and the development of strategic development projects. In the process of modernization of the enterprise, for example, in the context of the transition from mechanical to robotic production, the presence of a buffer of prepared innovative technologies will allow to complete the transition stage at minimal cost.

Principles of creating a production and organizational structure

Efficient operation of an enterprise is possible only if a number of principles are observed to ensure its full existence in a competitive environment. Among the fundamental principles of organizing the production infrastructure are the following:

• Accessibility. The infrastructure must be able to meet the needs of a potential consumer in itssegment in a specific distribution area. This principle is expressed both in territorial proximity and in a balanced pricing policy.
• Reliability. Emergencies and unforeseen failures in the operation of the enterprise infrastructure are factors that are also calculated at the system design stage. Reliability assessment uses parameters such as the speed of service and the effectiveness of quality control.
• Conjugation. It also appears as the sufficiency of the production infrastructure, which is reflected in its compliance with the economic, social, technological and other conditions of the external environment in which the enterprise operates. For example, if the pace of development of a company does not correspond to the general level of development of the local production complex, then they speak of infrastructural insufficiency.

Now we can move on to considering the phased creation of an organizational and production model of an enterprise in various aspects of the functioning of its infrastructure.

Inventory Organization

One of the most capacious and responsible infrastructure nodes, thanks to which the production is provided with a raw material base, technical means and energy resources. In particular, a logistics system can be developed to organize the supply of components, polymer raw materials, fuel cells, etc. In this part, the production infrastructure includes transport equipment, loading and unloading machines,pipelines, warehouses and other facilities for temporary storage of materials. In some processing industries, already in the material and technical infrastructure, the possibilities of initial preparation of raw materials or blanks for the main technological stages of processing are laid.

Unlike most of the further stages of building an infrastructure complex, at this stage, the tasks of meeting the needs of the enterprise are being implemented. And do not forget that the production infrastructure includes not only the capacity of a conditional conveyor, but also auxiliary functional blocks, due to the work of which, in principle, the activity of the enterprise is supported. For example, depending on the industry, the logistics department can keep backup power supplies, ventilation and sewage systems, repair facilities, etc.

Organization of transport and storage support

Warehouse infrastructure acts as a link in the overall chain of the production cycle from the receipt of raw materials to the storage of finished products. In organizing the production infrastructure at this stage, it is important to adhere to the following conditions:

• High speed of movement of resources, raw materials and finished products.
• Efficient use of vehicles and service personnel.
• Providing a high degree of mechanization or automation in typical work activities.
• Reducing the cost of technological processes.
• Consistency of production andtransport operations.

The work of transport and storage facilities is mainly based on the functions of vehicles, which usually include trucks, wagons, loaders, etc. The choice of one or another way of implementing the logistics system depends on the production and economic infrastructure, which is designed on the basis of preliminary marketing calculations. In some conditions, the standard option for arranging garages with repair shops and ordinary roads is acceptable, while in others, the use of special rail tracks with full-fledged depots is required. One way or another, the characteristics of intra-factory transport have a direct impact on the efficiency of product distribution, and on the course of the production process as a whole.

Energy management

Practically all functional components of a production system require energy sources. The difference in approaches to the nutrition of different consumers lies in the types of fuel, methods of its delivery and energy volume. At large enterprises, the energy economy is a whole complex of departments and maintenance technical means, thanks to which the processes of delivery, transformation, accumulation and consumption of energy are ensured. For example, for the production and transport infrastructure, traditional types of liquid fuels such as gasoline, diesel and diesel fuel are mainly used. But energy resources may also be required for technologicalprocesses that form the basis of energy consumption. In this case, an infrastructure is created aimed at servicing thermal, steam and gas energy, which can be converted into mechanical energy required to maintain the function of power plants. Target consumers of this type can be hydraulic machines, compressor stations, boiler houses, processing machines, as well as material handling equipment on conveyors.

Organization of tool economy

Maintenance of tools and equipment is also a mandatory part of the overall production process in the enterprise. Accordingly, certain capacities should be prepared for such tasks. The maintenance of the technical production infrastructure is provided by tool departments and workshops, in which the operations of setting up, repairing, repairing and restoring working tools and technological equipment are performed. At large enterprises, full-fledged production lines of their own tools with individual sets of design and operational characteristics can also be organized. Typical operations performed by the tool shop include sharpening cutting attachments and fixtures - cutters, drills, chisels, knives, etc.

The main tasks of the tool economy as a whole include providing jobs with functional equipment of proper quality. In an expanded form, the workshops of the production infrastructure also deal with accounting,inventory, conservation and disposal of technical means. The execution of these operations is interfaced with other logistics and quality control processes. For example, the need to replenish the nomenclature of the tool base is determined in the process of a comprehensive audit with the participation of representatives of the warehouse supply department, who determine the efficiency of using capacities at the current moment. There is also a special concept of the norm of the stock of tools and working equipment, the parameters of which are determined at the stage of developing a production flow chart. The range of technical means used is determined in different ways - for example, on the basis of data on the applicability of specific tools. In small-scale and single-piece production, such calculations are guided by the equipment of workplaces.

Features of PI in Russia

At every turn of the rise of the Russian economy, experts note the pronounced problems of the poor development of the production complex, specifically in terms of its infrastructure. Even under favorable conditions with creative trends in the market, the implementation of promising projects is hindered by a number of problems in the energy supply and logistics arrangement of the regions.

The most acute problems in the development of industrial infrastructure in Russia include moral obsolescence and non-compliance with modern standards of roads and railways, communication communications and public utilities. Depreciation of production assets, one way or another connected with theseindustries, is 50-70%. For example, the gas transportation industry still operates more than half of the networks that have expired or require replacement of components.

This state of the infrastructure is associated with the following set of systemic problems of the production complex:

• Lack of clear proportions in the allocation of material resources for infrastructure development.
• Lack of well-established mechanisms for the development of production and technological infrastructure, which is reflected in the inconsistency of regional and economic policies when stimulating funds aimed at maintaining and modernizing the operated funds.
• Differences in the standards and regulations under which infrastructure is operated in different industries and regions.
• Different approaches to the operation of infrastructure by various departments and customers, which is also due to the ambiguity of the picture of the future development of the country's manufacturing sector.

In closing

The company's own infrastructure determines the efficiency of its work in almost all aspects of logistics, sales and interaction with counterparties. The basis of the infrastructure of the production process is formed by a technical framework, which includes tooling, a fleet of equipment and a range of directly working machines and assemblies, not to mention auxiliary devices. But even this set is not enough to form a full-fledged infrastructure. Especially in our time, much alsodepends on communication networks, controls and management in a broad sense, the tools of which also affect the nature of the design of the production system.