Flow Planning

Effective flow (EF) involves combination of flow patterns & adequate aisles

CHAPTER 3

EF within a facility movement of mtl, info or people bet dept

Effective flow

EF within a dept movement of mtl, info or people bet workstations EF within a workstation movement of mtl, info or people through workstation EF planning is a hierarchy process Effectiveness of flow in facility depends on how effective the flow bet dept and workstations
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between depts Effective flow within departments Effective flow within workstations Figure 3.26 Flow planning hierarchy

Flow Planning
Ef f ective flow principles:
Maximize directed flow paths Minimize flow Minimize the costs of flow 2. Minimizing multiple flows plan flow bet 2 stations as few movements as possible 3. Combine flows & operations wherever possible combine mtl, info or people into single processing step

Flow Planning

Directed f low paths an

uninterrupted flow, no intersect with other paths & no backtracking

Minimizing the cost of flow:

1. Minimize manual handling walking, manual travel distance & motions 2. Eliminate manual handling mechanize or automate the flow to allow workers spend more time on their assigned tasks

Work simplif ication approach to material f low:

1.

Eliminating flow plan the delivery of mtl, info or people directly to the point of use and eliminate intermediate step

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Measuring flow
Flows can be specified in quantitative or qualitative manner Quantitative pcs per hour, trips per day, kg per week.
From-To chart similar to mileage chart can be used to record flow bet facilities, dept or workstations Used when large volumes of mtls, info & people moving bet departments
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Measuring flow

Qualitative subjective evaluations about absolute necessity that two depts be close or not to be close each other
Relationship (REL) chart can be used to record the closeness bet facilities, dept or workstations Used when less volume of mtl, info & people movements but having significant communication & organizational interrelations bet depts

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Quantitative Flow Measurement

Example 3.4

Quantitative Flow Measurement

From-To Chart A A C B D E
2(7) = 14

A firm produces 3 parts. Parts 1 & 2 have the same size and weight and are equivalent with respect to movement. Part 3 is almost twice as large and moving two units of either part 1 or 2 is equivalent to move 1 unit of component 3. The departments in the facility are A, B,C,D & E. The overall flow path is A-C-B-D-E. Quantities to be produced & part routing are shown in the Table below:
Parts Qty/day 30 12 7 Routing A-C-B-D-E A-B-D-E A-C-D-B-E

C
30+2(7) = 44

B
12 30

2(7) = 14 30+12 = 42 2(7) = 14 30+12 = 42

Common unit of measure must be used if items moved are vary in size, weight, value, risk of damage, shape etc
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1 2 3

Any value appears below the diagonal line shows backtracking!

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Qualitative Flow Measurement

Information usually gathered from interviews with persons from each dept & summarized in REL chart REL chart uses alphabet A, E, I,O,U & X to represent closeness relationships bet departments U & X are different. Two depts cannot be placed adjacent each other with X-relationship Activity relationship can frequently be satisfied in ways other than via physical separation Info relationship computer ties, TV Noisy areas enclosed, fumes can be vented
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How many A, E, I, O, U, X pairwise combination?

No of pairwise combination = n(n-1)/2 where n is department If n = 10 departments, there 45 pairwise combination (A, E, I, O, U, X) must consider Rule of thumb: A & X < 5%, less than 12% to have either A or E, less than 25% to have either A, E or I and less than 40% to have either A, E, I or O relationship. Other source said: A or X <5%, E <10%, I <15%, O < 20% and at least 50% U Ideally, facilities planner will focus more on A & X relationship than the other combination
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Scan fig 3.34

Example: Paper flow in a clinic

The following information are obtained: 1. 10 medical records per day from Records to Marriage Licenses
2. 7 certificates per day from

Assume the clinic works 5 days/week. Prepare: a. A From-To chart to show weekly loading for each department b. A REL chart to represent relationships among the departments
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Ite m
1. Medical Record 2. Certificate 3. Blood sample 4. Blood sample report 5. Box of medical reports

Q ty/we e k
50 35 30 30 1

Equivale nt load/we e k
50 35 60 30 10

Routing
R-M P-M M-L L-M M-R

Printing to Marriage Licenses 3. 6 blood samples per day from Marriage Licenses to Lab
4. 6 blood sample reports per

day from Lab to Marriage Licenses 4. 1 box of medical records per week from Marriage Licenses to Records The following load-equivalence conversion can be used:
1 certificate 1 medical record blood sample 1 medical record 1 blood sample report 1 medical record 1/10 of a box of medical records 1 medical record

T o Re cords Marriage L Printing Lab From Records Marriage L Printing Lab 10 0 0 50 35 30 0 0 0 0 60 0 -

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Exercise
Flow between chart Activity Relationship chart
Students registration layout arrangement in a private college is described as in Figure 1. Based on the last semester registration activities, the amount of student movements between departments (A, B, C, D) is summarized in Figure 2. You are required to:
1.

A 5m

B 5m

C 5m

D 10m

4m

Prepare a distance matrix From-To chart between departments. Determine what is the total distance travel for the existing layout arrangement? Suggest an improved layout and calculate the saving from the new proposed layout.

Figure 1 Initial registration layout

A
2.

B 900

C 1110 400

D 50 0 1500

A B C D 700

3.

20

Scale = (90-0)/4 = 22.5

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U = 0, O = 1 22, I = 23 -44, E = 45 66, A = 67 - 90

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Figure 2: Movement of students between departments

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Departmental Planning
Consideration of flow, space and activity relationships depend on the way of each department is planned Planning departments may be determined by combining workstations to perform required operations It also depends on product volume-variety which later classified as product, fixed material location, product family (GT) and process planning departments Each type of department has specific characteristics Most facilities consist of a mixture of these types of planning departments
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Departmental Planning

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Manufacturing Cells
Compromise between product layout and process layout (medium volumevariety parts) Product layouts for product families cells (cellular layout) Use Group Technology concept to group parts into families based
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Cellular Layout - Group Technology (Work Cells)

Special case of process-oriented layout Consists of different machines brought together to make a product Similar parts are grouped into part families to take adv of their similarities in design and production Group Technology Benefits:
Promotes standardization of tooling, fixturing and setups material handling is reduced simplified process planning and prod scheduling Setup times & WIP reduced Worker satisf action improved
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Work Cell Floor Plan

Saws Drills Office
L L L L

Flows in a functional layout/job shop

Lathing L L L L Milling M M M M M Grinding M G G G G G G D D Drilling D D

Tool Room

Work Cell
Receiv ing and shipping

Assembly A A A A

Source: Mikell P. Groover. Automation, Production Systems, and Computer-Aided Manufacturing. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1980, pp. 540-541.
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Group Technology/Cellular Layout

L L Cell 1 Receiving L Cell 3 L M D Shipping M M Cell 2 G G D G Assembly area A A

Activity relationships
The primary relationships related to the facilities planning decision process are:
1. Organizational relationships reporting relationship 2. Flow relationships f low of matl, people, equipment, info and

money
3. Control relationships centralized vs decentralized matl control,

real time vs batch inv control, shop floor control and level of automation and integration
4. Environmental relationships safety, temp, noise, fumes, humidity

and dust
Source: Mikell P. Groover. Automation, Production Systems, and Computer-Aided Manufacturing. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1980, pp. 540-541.
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5. Process relationships other than above such as floor loading,

water treatment, chemical processing & special services

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Activity relationships
Ways of expressing activity relationships sometimes can be in quantitative or qualitative: Organizational relationship by organization chart Flow relationship no of moves per hour, qty of goods moved per shift, turnover rate for inventory etc. Flow process can be in the form:
1. Material management system 2. Material flow systems when

describing materials flow within a manufacturing facility (Fig. 3.18 & 3.19)
3. Physical distribution system

when describing flow of products from a manufacturing facility (Fig. 3.20) When material management, material flow and physical distribution system combined into one overall flow system, it is called logistic system(Fig 3.21)

when describing materials flow into a manufacturing facility (fig 3.17)

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Flow patterns
Patterns of flow may be viewed f rom the perspective of flow within workstations, within departments and between departments Flow within workstations use motion studies and ergonomic considerations such as the f low should be simultaneous, symmetrical, natural, rhythmical and habitual to reduce mental, eye and muscle f atigue and strain
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Flow within Departments Depends on the type of department Product and/or product f amily department, work f low f ollows the product f low like end-to-end, back to back, f ront-to-front as shown in Fig 3.22. Process department, little f low occurs between w/stations. Flow occurs between w/station and aisles (Fig 3.23)

W/station and aisles arrangement depend on the interactions among w/station areas, space & size of material handled

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Flow patterns
Flow between departments often used as a criterion to evaluate overall flow within a facility Figure 3.24 shows general flow pattern Figure 3.25 shows other patterns to conform restriction to entrance and exit in a facility
Facilities planning is considered as long term planning. Design year typically 5 to 10 years Uncertainty generally exists due to impact of technology, changing product mix & demand level Parkinsons law complicated matters available capacity used up sooner than it is expected! Bottom-up approach to plan space requirements:
Warehousing: consider inv level, storage unit, equipment, building constraints & personnel requirements

Space Requirements
Manuf & office environment: consider individual workstations, next, departmental requirements

Modern manufacturing reduces space requirements because:

Products delivered to the points of use in smaller lot & unit load sizes Decentralized storage areas to the points of use Less carried inventories (pull Kanban system) More efficient layout arrangement (cellular layout) Company downsizing (decentralized functions, multifunctional employees etc) Shared offices & telecommuting

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Workstation Specification
Area needs to take into account: Machine area includes movements of table (lef t & right, back & f orward) Maintenance area space f or carry out maintenance (allowance f rom wall), cabinet door Operator area to carry out inspection table, chair Tool cabinet, receiving, storing Bins or rack f or raw material, W.I.P and f inish good Aisle half of the actual size f or each machine
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Department specification
Department specification can be established once space requirements for individual workstations have been determined Need to add the following requirements:
Maintenance Plant services Housekeeping items Storage areas Aisle allowance & arrangement
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Table 3.3 Aisle allowance estimates

If the large st load is > 6 ft2 6-12 ft2 12- 18 ft2 > 18 ft2 Aisle allowance % 5 -10 10 - 20 20 -30 30 -40

Aisle arrangement
Function of aisle to promote effective flow Classified in two types departmental aisles and main aisles Need to be careful when planning aisles
Too narrow may result in congested facilities, create safety problems and high level damage Too wide, may result in wasted space & poor housekeeping

Aisle size must consider type & volume flow people and type of equipments using the aisle See Table 3.4 the recommended aisle width for various types of flow
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Visual management and space requirements

Facilities design has direct impact to manufacturing management, especially the use of proper visual management system :
Identification, housekeeping and organization identification of department, activities, resources Visual documentation tolerance, work instruction, SOP for machinery, floor plan Visual production, maintenance, inventory & quality control wall size schedule chart, andon lights for maintenance, pass-failed reading gages, SPC charts

Figure 3.37 shows a typical visual factory scenario

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Visual management and space requirements

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