The challenge

An aviation maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) provider was experiencing persistent capacity constraints despite stable demand, capable equipment, and an experienced workforce. Leadership believed the facility had reached its physical limits and began evaluating capital expansion to support future growth.

Over time, the production layout had evolved incrementally. As demand increased, new equipment was added, workflows were adjusted reactively, and departments optimized locally rather than across the full value stream. This created excessive material handling, congestion between work centers, imbalanced flow, and idle time, ultimately reducing effective manufacturing capacity despite available floor space.

Leadership needed to determine whether production layout optimization could increase output without expanding the facility.

The production layout optimization approach

Adonis Partners conducted a structured production layout optimization effort, applying proven manufacturing and continuous improvement principles rather than treating layout as a purely spatial exercise.

The engagement included value stream mapping of current-state material and information flow, time and motion analysis across key product families, and detailed assessment of travel distance and material handling. Physical bottlenecks, queue points, and rehandling loops were identified, and a future-state layout was designed to improve flow, adjacency, and takt alignment.

Scenario modeling was used to test throughput, labor utilization, and congestion impacts. All recommendations were developed to increase manufacturing capacity within the existing footprint, avoiding unnecessary capital expansion.

The impact

The optimized production layout delivered meaningful operational improvements. Manufacturing capacity increased without adding square footage, material handling time and labor waste were reduced, and flow visibility improved, enabling faster issue identification and response.

Throughput became more consistent across shifts and product mixes, allowing the organization to defer capital expansion and redirect investment toward growth and broader operational excellence initiatives.