Facilities Planning and Warehouse Operations

INDU 6251 – Fall 2023

Flow, Space and Activity Relationships

Makbule Kandakoglu, PhD

Some of the slides are adapted from the course textbook and the lecture notes provided by Prof. Andrea Schiffauerova and Prof. Ali Akgunduz
Outline
• Flow, Space and Activity Relationships
• Flow Patterns
• Signs of a good general flow pattern
• Graphical tools for analysis and design of material flow system
• Workstations and departments requirements
• Activity relationships
• Space requirements

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Flow, Space and Activity Relationships
• In determining the requirements of a facility, three important considerations are the
flow systems, activity relationships, and space requirements.

• Flow depends on production and transfer lot sizes, unit load sizes, material handling
systems, layout arrangement, and building configuration.

• Measuring flow involves the calculation of activity relationships between machines

and departments.

• Space is a function of lot sizes, storage systems, production equipment type and
size, layout arrangement, building configuration, housekeeping and organization
policies, material handling equipment, office design, cafeteria design, and restroom
design

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Flow, Space and Activity Relationships
• Activity relationships
• Activity relationships are the key input in facilities design
• Flow, organizational, environmental, control and process relationships

• Flow
• Flow of materials, people, equipment, information, money, etc.
• Flow patterns, flow measuring and graphical analysis of the flows

• Space
• The amount of space required in the facility
• Workstation specification, department specification and other space requirements

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Logistics System

Flow into a manufacturing facility

Flow within a manufacturing facility

Flow from a manufacturing facility

Source: Facilities Planning, 4th edition, Tompkins et al., 2010

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Materials Management System
• Flow into a manufacturing facility
• Vendor to store

• The production control and

purchasing functions
• The vendors
• The transportation and material
handling equipment required to move
the materials, parts and supplies
• The receiving, storage, and
accounting functions

Source: Facilities Planning, 4th edition, Tompkins et al., 2010

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Material Flow System
• Flow within a manufacturing facility
• Store to warehouse

• The production control and quality

control departments
• The manufacturing, assembly and
storage departments
• Material handling equipment required
to move the material inside of the
organization
• The factory warehouse

Source: Facilities Planning, 4th edition, Tompkins et al., 2010

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Physical Distribution System
• Flow from a manufacturing facility
• Warehouse to customer

• The customer
• The sale and accounting department
• The material handling and
transportation equipment required to
move the finished product
• The distributors of the finished
product

Source: Facilities Planning, 4th edition, Tompkins et al., 2010

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Segments of Flow
Materials Management System Material Flow System Physical Distribution System

Source: Facilities Planning, 4th edition, Tompkins et al., 2010

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Objective of Material Flow Systems
• Minimizing the total flow (total material movement) in the facility

• How do we achieve that

• Work simplification Approach
• Enable flow directly to the point of ultimate use. Eliminate unnecessary intermediate
steps
• Reduce the movement steps to minimum level between two consecutive stations
• Combine flows, whenever it is possible

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Principles of Material Flow
• Minimize waste: Reduce the number of manufacturing steps
• Minimize manual handling
• Use mechanization or automation in handling
• Reduce the flow density by containerization

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Flow Patterns
• The way in which material move through a facility
• Within the overall flow environment, a critical consideration is the pattern of flow.

• Flow within workstations

• Motion studies and ergonomics considerations
• Flow should be simultaneous, coordinated, symmetrical, natural, rhythmical, and habitual

• Flow within departments

• Is dependent on the type of department (product vs. process dept.)

• Flow between departments

• Used to evaluate overall flow within facility

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Flow Patterns: Flow within Departments
A. Within product departments
• In a product and/or product family department
• Sequential with minimal or no backtracking
1 machine/operator 2 machines/operator
1 machine/operator

END-TO-END

BACK-TO-BACK FRONT-TO-FRONT
More than 2 1 machine/operator
machines/operator

ODD-ANGLE
CIRCULAR

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Flow Patterns: Flow within Departments
B. Within process departments
• In a process department
• Little flow between workstations
• Flow occurs between workstations and aisles

More space/flexible More space/flexible Less space/less flexible

PARALLEL FLOW PERPENDICULAR FLOW DIAGONAL FLOW

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Flow Patterns: Flow within Departments
Flow within departments with material handling considerations
• Line flow patterns

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Flow Patterns: Flow within Departments
Flow within departments with material handling considerations
• Spine, tree and loop flow patterns

Spine flow pattern

Loop flow patterns

Tree flow pattern

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Flow Patterns: Flow between Departments
Flow within a facility considering the locations of entrance and exit

At the same location

On adjacent sides

On the same side

On opposite sides

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Flow Patterns: Flow between Departments
Flow within a facility – pattern categories

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Flow Planning
• The effective flow within a facility depends on effective flow between departments.
• Such flow depends on effective flow within departments, which depends on effective
flow within workstations.

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Signs of a Good General Flow Pattern
• A flow starts at receiving and terminates at shipping
• Straight and short lines of flow
• Minimum backtracking
• Material is moved directly to point of use
• Minimum WIP
• Flow pattern is easily expandable, new processes can easily be merged in

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Principles of Effective Flow
• Maximize directed (uninterrupted) flow paths

Uninterrupted flow paths

Interrupted flow paths

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Principles of Effective Flow
• Minimize backtracking: Backtracking increases the length of the flow path

Effects of backtracking in a unidirectional loop flow system

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Principles of Effective Flow
• Minimize flow
• Deliver materials, information, or people directly to the point of ultimate use
• Plan for flow between two consecutive points of use to take place in a few
moments as possible
• Combine flows and operations
• Maximize directed flow path
• Minimize the cost of the flow
• Minimize manual handling (automate or mechanize the flow)
• Minimize trips of empty carriers

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Next Lecture

• Manufacturing cells
• Clustering algorithms for cell formation

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