DESIGNING THE FACILITY LAYOUT OF AN INDUSTRIAL VICE PRODUCTION USING

PROMODEL SOFTWARE

A Thesis

by

SHARANYA ELUKURTHI

Submitted to the College of Graduate Studies

Texas A&M University-Kingsville
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

MASTER OF SCIENCE

August 2016

Major Subject: Industrial Management

 ABSTRACT

Designing the Facility Layout of An Industrial Vice Production Using Promodel Software

(August 2016)

Sharanya Elukurthi, B.Tech., Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University; MS., Jawaharlal

Nehru Technological University

Chairman of Advisory Committee: Dr. Farzin Heidari

Facility layout always plays a prominent role for a manufacturing industry since layout is

the deciding factor for the major operations of the manufacturing unit. The thesis covers the

importance of the facility layout and designing of optimum layout of a facility for the production

of an industrial vice. The purpose of the study is to develop a layout with the best efficiency in

manufacturing of industrial vice. The machining operations performed during the manufacturing

process are identified and are arranged into a sequence of operations using the operations process

charts. After preparing the process chart, the cycle time is balanced. This time includes the time

taken for a part to be machined and also the delay time the amount of time the part has to wait to

be machined. As the cycle time is defined, the number of work stations are defined depending

upon the cycle time. Once everything is setup, the logic is made and the virtual layout is

generated. The simulation process is implemented for the designed model to understand the

efficiency of the layout and by making any further changes and improvements to the layout. This

simulation process is done through the ProModel software.

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 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to take this opportunity to express my deepest thanks and gratitude to my

advisor. Dr. Farzin Heidari, for all his encouragement, advice, and guidance during this thesis. I

thank the members of my committee, Dr. Bruce Marsh and Dr. Ulan Dakeev for all their support

in completing the thesis.

I would also like to thank my husband, parents and my family members for their support

during the course.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

ABSTRACT ……………………………………………………………………………………..iii

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS……………………………………………………………………..... iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS…………………………………………………………………............v

LIST OF FIGURES…………………………………………………………………………........vi

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………….........1

Significance of Study……………………………………………………………………...7

Purpose of Study…………………………………………………………………………..7

Definition of Terms………………………………………………………………………..8

Summary…………………………………………………………………………………..8

CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW…………………………………………………………9

CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY……………………………………………………………...15

Product Layout…………………………………………………………………………...17

Process Layout…………………………………………………………………………...30

Methodology of Process Layout…………………………………………………………32

CHAPTER IV: RESULTS……………………………………………………………………….43

CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION………………………………………………………………….56

REFERENCES…………………………………………………………………………………..59

VITA……………………………………………………………………………………………..61

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 LIST OF FIGURES

Page

Figure 1. Operation Process Chart……………………………………………………………….16

Figure 2. Window showing File Option…………………………………………………………18

Figure 3. Window with dialog box asking for details of new project……………………………19

Figure 4. Build option……………………………………………………………………………19

Figure 5. Locations Window……………………………………………………………………..20

Figure 6. Locations Window with arrival station1………………………………………………20

Figure 7. Locations window with all the workstations…………………………………………..21

Figure 8. Entity window…………………………………………………………………………22

Figure 9. Entity window after defining the raw materials…………….…………..……………..22

Figure 10. Arrivals window……………………………………………………………………...23

Figure 11. Selecting the Processing option ……………………………………………………..24

Figure 12. Processing window…………………………………………………………………..24

Figure 13. Connection of Arrival station1 to Saw station………………………………………25

Figure 14. Connection of saw station to lathe station…………………………………………...25

Figure 15. Route to Exit of lead screw………………………………………………………....26

Figure 16. Arrival station2 connected to saw station and saw station to Milling station………..27

Figure 17. Processing window with wait and move logic……..…..……………………...…….27

Figure 18. Simulation option………………………………..…………………………….…….28

Figure 19. Dialog box of simulation options……………………………………………………28

Figure 20. Defining run time in simulation option dialog box………………………………….29

Figure 21. Simulation on progress………………………………………………………………29

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Figure 22. Window with dialog box asking for details of new project………………………….30

Figure 23. Location window with all workstations……………………………………………..31

Figure 24. Entities window……………………………………………………………………...32

Figure 25. Entities window after defining raw materials………………………………………..32

Figure 26. Arrivals window……………………………………………………………………...33

Figure 27. Processing window showing the material flow from arrival station1 to saw station..34

Figure 28. Material flow of lead screw…………………………………………………………..35

Figure 29. Material flows of lead screw and vice body………………………………………….35

Figure 30. Processing window with wait logic………………………………………………….36

Figure 31. Processing window with wait logic and move logics…………..…………………...36

Figure 32. Simulation command………………………………………………………………...37

Figure 33. Dialog box with defined run time for simulation…………………………………….37

Figure 34. Simulation in progress………………………………………………………………..38

Figure 35. Complete Process Layout Model……………………………………………………..39

Figure 36. Product Layout of Industrial vice…………………………………….……...……….43

Figure 37. Process Layout of Industrial Vice……………………………………………………44

Figure 38. Lead Screw…………………………………………………………………………...47

Figure 39. Vice Body…………………………………………………………………………….48

Figure 40. Movable Jaw………………………………………………………………………….49

Figure 41. Upper Guide Plate……………………………………………………………………50

Figure 42. Lower Guide Plate……………………………………………………………………51

Figure 43. All Components of Industrial Vice Before Assembly………………………………..52

Figure 44. Assembled Industrial Vice Front View………………………………………………53

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Figure 45. Assembled Industrial Vice Back View………………………………………………54

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 CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

For an association to have a compelling and effective assembling unit, it is essential that

exceptional consideration is given to the actuality format. Facility is the actual space where the

industrial activities takes place (Phillips, 1997). Facility layout is a course of action of various

parts of assembling in a proper way as to accomplish desired creation results. Facility layout

considers accessible space and comfort of operations (Tompkins, 1996).

The purpose of the facility layout is to “ensure the smooth flow of production material,

equipment, manpower at the possible minimum cost” (Phillips, 1997). However, safe and

comfortable environment plays a key role in the design of the facility layout. There are various

other objectives of facility layout like minimizing the delays, efficient use of space available

taken into consideration for an efficient and effective layout (Phillips, 1997).

In the design of any layout, the first point to be considered is the safety. The layout aims

at a comfortable work environment for the employees by organizing the equipment and facilitate

movement of goods. This is achieved by allocating the optimum space required to arrange the

things to comply the above (Phillips, 1997).

One of the many other main goals of the facility layout is to target the reduction in the

movement of the equipment, raw materials and the workers. This, in turn, increases the

efficiency and decreases the production time by increasing production output capacity

(Tompkins, 2003).

Another important aspect to be considered while designing the layout is to be able to

accommodate advanced equipment. It is also important to consider that the technology is

improving fast. In such circumstances, the design should be able to provide an appropriate space

for the advanced equipment that the organizations may buy in future.

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 The material handling, storage, and movement of material has a direct relationship with

the plant layout. The layouts that are being addressing typically involves the handling of the

discrete unit loads of material. A well’ planned and implemented plant layout is said to yield the

best results (Phillips, 1997). When designing a layout, it should always target the reduction of

human labor to move and transport materials which is possible through the ergonomics, injury

prevention perspective, and materials handling systems.

It is said that “the best materials handling system is no materials handling system at all,”

as it is fact that the materials handling adds no value to the part but it does add to the cost

(Phillips, 1997). A perfect analysis is to be performed about the type of materials handling that

will be used in the plant. In order to perform the analysis, there are various factors regarding

which all the questions should be answerable and convince everyone.

On the first note it should be clear with the operations that will be done and the type of

materials that will be moved. To reduce the movement of the material, consider combining one

operation with another if there is a possibility of doing so. Once it is clear about the operations

that are going to be performed, it should be made sure that there are no unnecessary operations

and no irrelevant moving of materials. The next step is to decide the start and end points of the

material to be moved. As the path is decided, alternative paths can be calculated to shorten the

distance and the number of trips to move the material. Next step, operations scheduling needs to

be decided where the frequency of the operations and by what time the material is to be moved is

determined. Once it is decided when to perform the operations, how to perform the operations is

to be determined. During this stage redesigning options are considered and the best one is

picked. In the next stage, analysis of the operations that need be performed on tasks is done.

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 For a smooth flow of analysis and simplification of work, four tasks are involved. They

are study, eliminate, combine, and simplify (Phillips, 1997). Work simplification is an important

factor to any proposed plant rearrangement or revised layout.

Various flow patterns for a typical manufacturing plant are taken into consideration. A

flow pattern depends upon a specific amount of space that is assigned to each work station

considering the handling and equipment factors. It is quite normal to combine operations like

shipping and receiving operations in one area, though there are certain industries that are

prohibited (as per government regulations) in combining operations during material handling.

Pharmaceutical companies are one of the examples that are prohibited in combining such

operations.

Competition has always been the deciding factor for companies to stay in business, which

means only the fittest will survive the world market. In order to keep up to the competition, the

cost and quality is to be improved continuously.

The facility layout is usually performed in five phases. They are the need analysis,

location analysis, block layout, detail layout, and installation (Phillips, 1997). As discussed

earlier, facility layout plays a key role in improving the efficiency and also reducing the cost.

The first phase of the layout is a determination of what actually is required to meet the

challenges or to solve the problems that occur. During this phase, the strategic goals and the

overall production needs are also developed. For example, the best suitable type from cellular

manufacturing and traditional manufacturing is determined during the phase of need analysis

(Phillips, 1997).

In the second phase, a complete analysis of the location where the facility is going to be

laid out is studied. Usually, the location analysis may involve a site, redesigning the current

location or rearranging various units within the present location. The analysis includes the area

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of the site, sewer, water, and railcar access requirements and various kinds of wastes that will be

generated. It is always highly recommended the layout planner be involved in the analysis of the

sites (Phillips, 1997).

The block layout phase determines the allocations of major individual areas and the basic

patterns of it. During this phase, “the general size, configuration of each area, proximity

relationships, affinities, and major material flows between these areas are specified.” Main aisles

and their patterns are also specified during this phase. Flexibility is of the major aspects to be

taken into consideration during the block layout process.

In the detail layout, machinery and equipment are determined for each location

specifically. This also includes the utilities and services. This detail layout could be done in the

form of drawings, drawing layers in Computer Aided Design (CAD) systems, or 3-D replicas

which includes the machinery, equipment, and physical features.

Once the above details are analyzed, the installation process takes place where the

installation instruction and timeline schedules are developed. During this phase, the approvals

and permits that are required for the actual installation process are acquired. This phase aims the

rearrangement or movement with the least amount of interruption to the ongoing operations

(Phillips, 1997).

To perform the analysis, the ProModel software will be used. The objective of the thesis

is to compare two facility layouts for manufacturing an industrial vice using the ProModel

software. The layouts considered are the product layout and the process layout using the

operational process chart. In a product layout, the units or the equipment is arranged in such a

way that the route in which the product flows and the sequence of the operations is given the

importance. Whereas in process layout, the operations that should be performed on the parts are

grouped together.

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 “ProModel is discrete event simulation technology that is used to plan, design, and

improve new or existing manufacturing, logistics, and other operational systems” (Promodel,

2016). It accurately represents the production layout, along with their variability and

independencies. ProModel also optimizes the production system around the required key

performance indicators.

The methodology of the ProModel is to visualize, analyze and optimize. Visualizing

represents the physical layout and create the dynamic animated model of the facility environment

in order to clearly see and understand the processes and strategies in action. Analyze means to

comprehend to identify potential issues and changes and develop situations which will

accomplish the goals of the facility. Optimization is to instantaneously test the effect of changes

of present and upcoming operations which are risk free with predictive situations and

assessments.

ProModel provides the opportunity for the decision makers to trial their concepts of

process and system design and develop them beforehand building a definite system. ProModel

also concentrates on various issues such as, “resource utilization, system capacity, process

improvement, throughput and bottleneck analysis, supply chain and logistics and customer

service levels” (Promodel, 2016). By modeling the significant parts of manufacturing and

logistics, it can be investigate with the operational approaches to attain optimal performance for

their organizations (Promodel, 2016).

The capability of the ProModel in modeling the most complex systems has particularly

pleased the users. Because of its perceptive and straightforward approach to modeling,

instructors in business and engineering programs are attracted to this software as they can teach

modeling and analysis prototypes without teaching the computer programming. The ProModel

software is so flexible that engineers who wish to code the complicated logic using programing

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languages like C, Pascal,or Basic that can be connected to the model and can be used inside the

model at runtime. ProModel allows the experts and analysts to use the tools they are at easy with

in complete flexibility (Thonupunoori, 2007).

ProModel complies with the Graphical User Interface standards, which means that it is a

user’ friendly software and users have no trouble learning the software. This approach not only

reduces the efforts of learning for beginners but also increases the effectiveness for modifying

large and complicated models.

Through the ProModel’s “integrated help system and online tutorials,” a quick and useful

online documentation is accessible. This system has the maximum flexibility allowing to look up

everything needed from a command syntax to explanations of model building handbooks. The

tutorial provided by the ProModel contains quick lessons on building models and how to run the

models also access output reports for modeling numerous applications with the ProModel

software.

ProModel provide the model merging capabilities in order to reduce the model

development time. With this feature, individuals can work individually on diverse segments of

the model and at the end all the individual models can be merged into one desired model.

Additionally, frequently used cells may be stored as templates for future use. The users can also

have specially designated parameters assigned to the templates.

Significance of Study

It is impossible to physically layout kinds of plant layouts and check which has the best

efficiency with respect to the company since it not only involves large budget but also involves

the most valuable time. Simulating the plant makes it simpler to develop various different

layouts of the plant. By comparing the layouts it is easy to choose the best suitable one for the

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facility. It also helps in understanding and analyzing the problems in the layout and benefits in

improving the layout by solving the problems.

Simulation makes it easy to present the idea to the management and get it approved. The

inputs can be taken from the management and can be discussed with the workers of departments

to generate the best layout.

Purpose of Study

The purpose of the study is to develop a layout with the best efficiency for manufacturing

of industrial vice. The machining operations performed during the manufacturing process are

identified and are arranged into a sequence of operations using the operations process charts. The

operation process charts are the graphical representation of the operations including the sequence

of operations and inspections.

After preparing the operation process chart, the cycle time is balanced. Cycle time is

defined as the total time taken from the beginning of the process to the end of the process. This

time includes the time taken for a part to be machined and also the delay time the amount of time

the part has to wait to be machined. As the cycle time is defined, define the number of work

stations depending upon the cycle time. Once everything is setup, the logic is made and the

virtual layout is generated. The simulation is implemented to understand the efficiency and learn

if any further changes and improvements in efficiency can be made.

The above method is called product layout will be compared to a simulation model

designed using process layout method. The results of the two simulation models will be

compared and the best layout is adopted.

Definition of Terms

Facility layout: “Facility layout is a course of action of various parts of assembling in a proper

way as to accomplish desired creation results” (Phillips, 1997).

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ProModel: “ProModel is discrete event simulation technology that is used to plan, design and

improve new or existing manufacturing, logistics and other operational systems” (Promodel,

2016).

Simulation: “Simulation is a process of imitating an operation of a real time system”

(Promodel, 2016).

Summary

The industrial vice constitutes of five components. They are lead screw, vise body,

movable jaw, upper guide plate, and lower guide plate. The parts are machined and assembled to

make the vice. These five parts have machining processes to be performed on them which

includes cutting, turning, drilling, milling, finishing and, various other miscellaneous operations.

The operations are defined with the machining time and it is also decided how often the

operations are going to be performed on the components.

The information is then transferred to the ProModel for simulation. Making sure the

layout is efficient and meets the requirements for manufacturing the vice. The simulation is

performed for a month on both layouts. From the results obtained by running the simulation the

layout models are analyzed, compared, and the best layout is selected.

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 CHAPTER II

LITERATURE REVIEW

A plant or facility layout is one of the most critical parts of an efficient and cost effective

businesses. It is important for a business to make few decisions in such a way that they are not to

be modified. If they have to change these decisions, the company might not be able to afford the

changes. Modifications in the facility layout is one such a change. Once a facility layout is

designed and implemented, it is highly expensive to modify the layout (Pochamarn, Suwadee, &

Chonthica, 2007).

Simulation is the concept of constructing a virtual world of things that is expected to be

constructed in real life. In simulation, a model with desired requirements is designed and run like

the real system. A number of experiments are conducted on this model to ensure the efficiency of

the designed model. A model can be anything from various fields of businesses like

manufacturing processes, construction of buildings, packaging, computer networks, and many

other streams. Once a model is build, it is tested for its efficiency, cost effectiveness and also

other alternative layouts. In this study two models are simulated and used to compare to facility

layout for production of an industrial vice (Lu, 2007).

Arena, simio, flexsim are few simulation software like the ProModel. Business processes

dwell in every type of organization regardless of size or industry. In the event they are

unmistakably characterized and upgraded, they will without a doubt add to the organizational

general achievement and benefit. Simulating or modeling a particular business process gives the

capacity to separate and settle on choices on the most ‘proficient method to enhance the

procedure. Through business process modeling software, the results can be accomplished well

before any financial effects emerge from the decisions.

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 Business process modeling provides the ability to graphically represent process flow for

most complex business processes. They help in monitor, analyze and to better understand the

workflow. They predict design or system performance, response time, and bottlenecks. They

evaluate the impact of failure rates. Test alternatives determines which are best for the business.

Modelling demonstrates business visually and quantitatively to enhance acceptance and

understanding of decisions.

“Arena business process simulation software allows to create business process models

providing with the capability to measure performance, reduce cost and to optimize the business

operations” ( Arenasimulation, 2016). Its ease of use adaptability, flexibility, and scalability will

help in modeling any aspect of the industry. active dashboard reporting tools helps in enhancing

the presentations to make best decisions without requiring additional time, resources, or capital

investment before the decision impacts the bottom line (Arenasimulation, 2016)

Flanagan industries is one of the major contract manufacturer of aerospace hardware.

They realized the need for the additional capacity for the developing operations of the industry.

For this they need to consider upgrading the machinery to keep up to the cost competitiveness of

the economy. However, the machinery and tools cannot be fixed in the existing plant and they

need to expand their plant for a smooth transition of upgradation and also no future issues. So

they have purchased land and decided to make the plant layout. The objectives of the plant were

designed. For the best efficiency of their plant, they decided to construct the plant first in

ProModel. They choose the optimum layout for their operations. When executed the model they

found that there is an increase of throughput by 28% (Promodel, 2016).

Simulation is also used for introducing new product lines by considering plant layout

models. These plant layout models help the clients to analyze the startup risk and also to ramp up

to reach plant capacity of the factory. To achieve success, the selected equipment and layout

10
must support the demand requirements. Simulating this kind of situations using software such as

ProModel helps us to reduce the risk and reach profitability quickly. The analysis includes more

than 50 parameters available to control the process time, assignment of labor, time handling and

various other parameters. The analysis predicts the throughput from the existing design and

suggest to improve the machine tools and facility layouts to meet the 100% throughput with

current plant capacity (Promodel, 2016).

The simulation can help in identifying the most cost effective course of action such that

facility could produce the required demand. It also ensures that investment will be met by the

venture objectives. The impact of repairs and remanufacture of products from the field can be

predicted through simulation. This can be used to develop the basis for supply chain analysis for

the flow of returns from remanufacturing and rebuilding fields (Promodel, 2016).

“Facility planning is concerned with the design, layout, and accommodation of people,

machines and activities of a system or enterprise within a physical spatial environment” (Garcia,

2008).

“The minimization of overall production time, maximization of operational and

arrangement flexibility, maximization of turnover of work in progress and maximization of

factory output in conformance with production schedule can be achieved by arranging locating

and distributing the equipment and support services in a manufacturing facility”(Huang, 2003).

The three main types of layouts in the manufacturing system are product, process and

group which is further subdivided into flow line, cell, and center (Askin & Standridge, 1993).

Tompkins states that, “system characteristics such as production volume and product variety” are

based on the distinction between types of layout (Tompkins, 2003).

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 According to Hessen, process layout is connected with “low volume production and high

product variety while product layout is associated with high volume production and low product

variety” (Hesen, Renders & Rooda, 2001).

In today’s aggressive fabricating commercial ventures need to fulfill more diverse

enquiries from the business sector such as enlarging the item runs, expanding quality and exact

conveyance time. The global rivalry requires a bigger assortment of sorts and variations in large

volume products (Nica, 2008). Zuhdi and Taza (2008) proposes that “manufacturing companies

should be knowledge intensive and exceptionally imaginative to develop new items. “To stay

focused, to remain competitive and adopting information technology” are the challenges faced

by medium and small industries. Decision making for either updating the particular procedure or

reconfiguring the entire frame work as a reaction to showcase interest is a basic movement which

can effect on the remaining part of the organization. Hence an appropriate analysis tool must be

used to support it” (Zuhdi & Taza, 2008). Rieth and Gerlach (1996) states that the simulation

method is favored due to the capacity in catching the elements of the complex framework. The

importance of simulation in the period of lean manufacturing is the approval of the outline or

upgrade of perplexing manufacturing system before execution (Rieth & Gerlach, 1996).

It is important to utilize methodologies that combine the qualities of conventional, useful,

cell, and streamline designs appropriate for manufacturing companies that are having high mix

low volume (HMLV) environment (Tompkins, 1996). Irani and Huang (2000) suggested a novel

approach that can be utilized for planning a layout having product flow and high flexibility,

modular layout is an example. A group of layout modules is called a modular layout. A layout

module is basically a group of machines associated by a material flow network that shows a floor

pattern characteristic for a specific type of layout such as functional, cell and flow line.

Generally, the design module grows the cells in a format and offices in a utilitarian format by

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permitting a module to have an item, process, or part family focus. Flexible layouts are those that

can effectively survive with the variations in product mix and product demand. There execution

is measured by material expenses over the possible demand scenarios (Irani & Huang, 2000).

The effectiveness of a plant layout can be expanded by updating the plant design,

utilizing the string outline, and organized design arrangement. These essential instructions when

planning a facility design are to be considered. It is a fundamental arrangement of rules to be

taken after format plan and upgrades are done. It gives fundamental insights about the stream of

material through the shop floor and the interrelation of exercises. It clarifies about the material

stream and format plan utilizing string graph (Muther, 1994). One such research by Schenk

(1988) explains the planning strategies and methodologies for various type of facility. The type

of layout designs to be embraced and executed during layout design and has additionally given

the key components to layout design (Schenk, 1988). The kind of flow of material and the

necessity of fundamental procedure of redesign is additionally clarified. Numerous industries

practice activity relationship chart (ARC) and diagrams for layout redesign and layout planning.

“The utilization of activity relationship chart diagram in designing a layout has given a

fundamental stride to layout planning” (Nehil, 1964).

Another research concentrates on the issues occur during the design of flexible plant

layouts for manufacturing facilities where product requested are liable to variability. “A flexible

layout is one that keeps up low material handling cost despite of changes in the demand level”

(Benjafaar & Hillier, 1963). A research led in an industry clarifies about the warehouse redesign

of a manufacturing plant layout, furthermore the issues confronted amid the update of the layout.

“A contextual investigation clarifies a detailed redesign of an existing facility. The design of

production facility differs from that of manufacturing layout” (Tobiah & Francis, 1992). “The

examination of the limit of the hardware is done, then by utilizing this investigation a group

13
technology is utilized to make distinctive kinds of parts in a layout and identification of material

handling solution for a material flow” (Thomas, 2010).

The above layout can benefit from designing a simulation model. Alternatives can be

designed and a simulation can be run for a set time. The analysis showing the efficiency of each

model can be created. Comparing the results of each model the best layout can be selected.

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 CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

In this project two facility layouts for the production of industrial vice are compared. As

discussed earlier, the two layouts are the product and process layouts. A product layout is a

layout designed with respect to the design of the product. Whereas the process layout is the

manufacturing process oriented layout.

The tool used for the designing the facility layout is the ProModel software. Using the

software, the two layouts were designed and the simulation process was run. The results are

compared for the best layout. To design a layout on ProModel, there are a sequence of steps that

are to be followed. Before going to the modeling of layout, the operation process chart is needed

to be prepared. From the operation process chart (Figure 1) number of work stations and the type

of manufacturing processes are defined. Depending upon the type of layout whether it is a

product layout or a process layout, the manufacturing operations are grouped together.

To create a model using ProModel software, following steps are followed. First define

the location, entities, arrivals and processing of the part. In locations, define the type of

machinery, number of work stations including the raw material arrival stations and the buffer

stations, the capacity of the stations and the machinery and number of workers. Once the

locations are defined, move on to define the entities of the layout. The raw materials or in

general the inputs are defined. The entities vary depending on the number of parts the finished

product has.

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Figure 1. Operation Process Chart

In the arrivals section the inputs are given a starting point, in this case it would be an

arrival station, and also define their pattern of arrival. The pattern can be one at a time or in a

group. The frequency at which the input is arrived at its starting point should be defined in this

section. Once the arrivals are defined comes the important part of the modeling which is the

processing. The path in which the input is traveled is defined. The important part of the whole
16
modeling is the logic of the model. That is comprised of the wait and move times of the inputs.

For every workstation, the wait time and the moves should be defined. Wait time is defined as

the time it stays at the workstation for the machining process to be performed on it. Move time is

the time the material takes to move from one station to another. Thus once the logic is ready the

simulation can be run.

Product Layout

A product layout can be defined as the one in which the workstations are aligned in a line

so that the product is manufactured in a sequence of operations (Phillips, 1997). As a layout for

the production of an industrial vice is being designed, the operation process chart needs to be

constructed. The parts of the industrial vice are the lead screw, vice body, movable jaw, upper

guide plate, and the lower guide plate. The manufacturing operations that are to be carried out to

form the respective parts of the industrial vice are define in the form of an operational process

chart. Consider modeling the first 10 operations of the operations process chart which include the

eight machining operations to form the lead screw and first two operations of the vice body.

As we enter the ProModel software, go to the file option (Figure 2) which is located on

the upper left corner, click on New and a dialog box pops up (Figure 3) asking the details of the

new project. Give the project the name, which is a product layout. Then click on the build option

(Figure 4) and see the categories of the build option where the steps that are required to build a

model including location, entities, arrivals, and processing can be found.

17
Figure 2. Window showing File Option

The first step is to define the locations (Figure 5) of the model. The first location is the arrival

station for the raw material with a capacity of 100 units (Figure 6). Define the sawing station for

the saw operations and lathe station for the facing, center drill, and turning operations of the lead

screw. A buffer station with the capacity of 100 units is defined for the parts coming from

sawing and lathe stations for a smooth flow of the parts so that the next stations are neither idle

nor overloaded. Define another lathe station for the process of threading and knurling. From this

station the part move to another buffer station of 100-unit capacity and next another lathe station

is placed for the operations of chamfering and cutting groove (Figure 7).

18
Figure 3. Window with dialog box asking for details of new project.

Figure 4. Build option

19
 Place another arrival station of capacity of 100 units for the second raw material for the

vice body. Define a saw station to cut the raw material to size and a milling station for roughly

cutting the top surface (Figure 7).

Figure 5. Locations Window

Figure 6. Locations Window with arrival station1

20
Figure 7. Locations window with all the workstations

The next section is to define the entities of the layout (Figure 8). Click on the build option

and select entities. Define the raw materials required to build the product (Figure 9). In the next

step the arrival stations which is the starting point of the raw material are defined. One part at a

time comes to the arrival station in the project and at a frequency of 7 min for lead screw and at a

frequency of 5 min for vice body (Figure 10).

21
Figure 8. Entity window

Figure 9. Entity window after defining the raw materials

22
Figure 10. Arrivals window

Click on the build option and select the processing (Figure 11).The logic of the model is

defined. If the logic is not correct or the syntax is not followed the simulation does not run.

Before the logic, connect the workstations in a line as the sequence of the processes which are

represented by arrow lines. Select the lead screw raw material (Figure12) and then connect the

arrival station1 to the second workstation which is saw station (Figure13). Saw station to third

station, the lathe station (Figure14) and lathe station to the fourth station, buffer station 1. Then

the buffer station 1 is connected to the lathe station 2 which is in turn connected to the buffer

station 2 and from buffer station 2 to the lathe station 3 from which the completed part of lead

screw exits (Figure 15).

23
Figure 11. Selecting the Processing option

Figure 12. Processing window

24
Figure 13. Connection of arrival station1 to saw station.

Figure 14. Connection of saw station to lathe station.

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Figure 15. Route to Exit of lead screw.

The arrival station 2 is where the raw material for the vice body enters. It is connected to

a saw station and then to a lathe station (Figure 16). Once the connections are defined, write the

logic for the operation column and the move logic. At the arrival station 1 the move logic is

move for 1 min which means it moves to the next station after a minute. At the saw station the

operation logic would be wait 1 min, because it takes one minute for the saw operation to finish.

Here the saw operation is done to cut the raw material to the required size. Likewise, the logic is

written for all the operations at the workstations (Figure 17). Once the logic is defined, click on

the simulation option (Figure 18) which is right next to the build option from the top pane. From

the options under the simulation, select options and a dialog box appears with number of

specifications (Figure 19). The important thing to define in the window is the run time (Figure

19). Once defined the specifications run the simulation using the play button which is located on

the top pane (Figure 20,21).

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Figure 16. Arrival station 2 connected to saw station and saw station to Milling station.

Figure 17. Processing window with wait and move logic.

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Figure 18. Simulation option.

Figure 19. Dialog box of simulation options.

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Figure 20. Defining run time in simulation option dialog box.

Figure 21. Simulation on progress.

Process Layout

Similar to the product layout, define the parts of the industrial vice. In process layout

29
group the machining operations into workstations based upon the type of machining operation

and the machine that is used to perform it. Consider the first ten steps of manufacturing industrial

vice. The machines required for this layout are the sawing operation, lathe, and milling

operations. The next step is to model for the process layout. For this new model, give the title

name on the dialog window (Figure 22).

Figure 22. Window with dialog box asking for details of new project.

Click build option and select the locations. Define the workstations. Since there are two

parts used in the first 10 steps considered, two arrival stations are needed. The capacities of the

arrival stations are also defined with 100 units each. Define the sawing workstation where the

sawing operations are done for the required parts. The lathe station where the operation for lead

screw are performed and a milling station for the vice body (Figure 23).

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Figure 23. Location window with workstations.

After the locations are defined, the entities are defined. Click on the build option and

select entities (Figure 24). Since there are two parts, the two input raw materials for lead screw

and vice body are defined (Figure 25). Again click on the build options to select the arrivals. The

starting point of the raw material is defined. The frequency of the arrival of raw material and the

quantity of each also defined. For the lead screw, the raw material arrives one at a time at

frequency of 7 min. Whereas for the vice body, the raw material enters one at a time with a

frequency of 5 min.

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Figure 24. Entities window

Methodology of Process Layout

Figure 25. Entities window after defining raw materials.

Next step is to define the arrivals, that is the starting point of the raw material flow (Figure 26).

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Figure 26. Arrivals window.

The next step is to define the path of the raw materials. To define the path, select the raw

material from the left pane. Select the raw material of lead screw first and click on the arrival

station 1 and an arrow line starts (Figure 27). Click on the next station which is the sawing

station. The line between the arrival station 1 and the sawing workstation with an arrow pointing

the direction of the flow can be seen. Sawing station to the lathe station. From the lathe station

the completed part of lead screw is exited (Figure 28). Coming to the arrival station 2, the raw

material for the manufacturing of vice body enters here and moves to the sawing station. Click

on arrival station 2 and then on sawing station to represent this flow. Connect the sawing station

to the milling station where the next set of operations are carried on. Since the first 10 operations

are only considered from the operation process chart, in the model the part exits after the milling

station (Figure 29). But in real time it moves to the next station.

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Figure 27. Processing window showing the material flow from arrival station1 to saw station.

34
Figure 28. Material flow of lead screw.

Figure 29. Material flows of lead screw and vice body.

The logic for the model is constructed. The wait logics and the move logics for the flow

are defined similar to the product layout (Figure 30,31). After the logic is done, it is time to test

35
the logic by running the simulation. From the simulation command located on the top pane,

options is selected (Figure 32). The run time is defined (Figure 33) and the simulation is run (Fig

34) and the data has been collected.

Figure 30. Processing window with wait logic.

Figure 31. Processing window with wait logic and move logics.

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Figure 32. Simulation command

Figure 33. Dialog box with defined run time for simulation.

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Figure 34. Simulation in progress.

38
 Once the simulation is run for the models, data has been collected, analyzed, and

compared. The results have been analyzed and discusses in the following chapter.

Process Layout - The complete layout

After the first 10 steps, the complete design of the process layout is modeled. The first

step is to define the locations. There are 11 stations where the raw material travels through

including the arrival station and assembly station. The first station is the arrival station where the

raw material goes to the respective work station. The next station is the lathe station with two

lathe machines and a mill station with three milling machines. There is drilling station with two

drill presses and next one is the tapping station. The final station is the assembly station where all

the parts are assembled to make the industrial vice.

Figure 35. Complete Process Layout Model

The next process is to define the entities which is the raw material. The raw material for

all the five parts of the vice are defined. The next procedure is to define the arrivals of the layout.

The arrival station for the raw material is defined and next process id to define the processing. In
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processing the routes of raw material travel are defined and then the wait and move logics are

defined for the machining operations. The raw material for lead screw enters the sawing station

from arrival station and this operation continues for one min. From saw station it enters the lathe

station. After the machining is done on first lathe for nine min it moves to the next lathe station

where it waits for ten mins for machining. The lead screw exits from the lathe to the assembly

station.

Meanwhile, the raw material for vice body enters the saw station (after sawing the raw

material for lead screw) from arrival station. From saw station it moves to the milling station.

From milling station, it travels to the drill press and to tapping station. After tapping is done the

vice body reaches the assembly station where lead screw and the vice body are assembled. It

takes two min for this assembly.

At milling station, vice body, movable jaw, upper guide plate, and lower guide plate are

machined with respect to the product specifications. The vice body is milled for ten min on one

milling machine and seven min on the second machine. The movable jaw is milled for two min

on second machine and two min on third station. The upper and lower guide plates are milled for

four min each on the third milling machine.

The next station is the drilling workstation where there are two drilling machines. Vice

body is drilled for two min and movable jaw for seven min on first drilling machine. The drilling

operation is performed on the upper guide plate for two min and two more min on the second

drilling machine. The lower guide plate is also subjected to drilling operation for eight min.

After drilling, the next station is the tapping station. The overall process time of tapping

station is seven min which constitutes of two-min tap on vice body, four-minute tap on movable

jaw and one-min tap on the upper guide plate.

40
 After the operations are performed on the individual parts, they travel to the assembly

station. The lead screw and vice body are assembled for two min, and adding the movable jaw

takes two min. Assembling the upper and lower guide plates takes one min each. After this

assembly, it takes four min to set the machine screws to the end product.

Once the routes and the processing logics are defined, it is time to run the simulation.

Before running the simulation, the run time must be defined in the simulation options. After the

simulation is run for 40 hrs., the results are compared and analyzed.

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 CHAPTER IV

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

In the Chapter iii, it is discussed how the layout modeling is done and built two models.

One is the product layout and the other is the process layout. The two models are simulated for a

certain period of time, in this case 40hrs, and the results are compared. Based on the results it is

observed that the process layout is more efficient than the product layout.

Figure 36: Product Layout of Industrial vice

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Figure 37: Process Layout of Industrial Vice

Considering the number of workstations, the product layout has 10 work stations where

as the process layout has only six workstations.

In the layouts the total number of workers required is 10. But the arrangement is quite

different. In the product layout there is worker for every work station. Whereas in the process

layout, the saw station has one worker, lathe station with two workers, milling station with three

workers, drilling station with two workers and the tapping and assembly stations with one

worker each.

Coming to the facility area, the product layout needs more facility that the process layout.

Because, the product layout has 10 work stations with five saw machines, three lathe machines,

six milling machines, six drilling machines, three tapping machines ,and four assembly stations.

The overall number of machines is 23 and four assembly stations. But whereas in process layout,

there is only one saw machine, two lathe machines, three milling machines, two drilling

43
machines, one tapping machine, and an assembly station. This makes the overall number of

machines in the process layout to be nine and one assembly station.

It takes a lot of space for 23 machines than for 9 machines. So, process layout is more

efficient when the facility area is considered. Process layout is more economical when compared

to the product layout as it needs nine machines whereas the product layout requires 23 machines.

Process layout is cost effective in terms of facility are and number of machines.

The next factor is the ideal capacity. Consider the saw machine in both the layouts. The

product layout has 5 saw machines at workstations: 1, 3, 6, 7, and 9 (Figure 36). The saw

machines work for 1 min only but at various frequencies. The frequencies depend on the capacity

of the next station. For example, the first saw station is operated for every 7 min because the

lathe is free only after every 8 min. And remaining 1 min is covered in moving of the part from

saw to the lathe. Likewise, the second saw station located at third workstation is operated for

every 4 min, third and fourth saw stations work at a frequency of 3 min and the fifth one is also

operated every 3 min. The rest of the time the machine is idle. Whereas process layout has 1 saw

and works for 5 min at a frequency of 10 min on an average. The saw here is also idle for most

of the time but important point is there is only 1 saw in the process layout and is used to the best

as per requirements. Whereas in the product layout has 5 saw machines and they are kept idle for

most of the time which is a waste of money and time.

Similarly, 3 lathe machines are in product layout and 2 in the process layout. The raw

material first goes through the machining operations for 8 min on first lathe machine and moves

on to the second one and waits for 9 min for the machining operations and moves to the third

lathe where it is machined for 2 min. The third lathe is idle for most of the time, since it does not

have other operations to do except the 2 min operation for every ten min.

44
 Coming to the milling station, there are 6 milling machines in product layout and only 3

milling machines in process layout. Out of the 6 machines, 3 of them are used for operations

performed on the vice body, one each for movable jaw, upper guide plate, and lower guide plate.

On one part, the first milling station is operated for 5 min and the second mill for 8 min. The

third and fourth milling station works for 4 min each. The fifth and sixth milling machines are

also operated for 4 min each to get one part done. However, in the process layout, first and

second milling machines are operated for 10 min each and the third machine for 9 min. Though

the overall operation times are same, the number of machines used in the product layout is more

than the machines used in process layout which is again a poor use of money and time.

Likewise, in the drilling section, there are 6 drilling machines in product layout and two

drilling machines in process layout. There is 1 drilling machine allotted to vice body, 2 for

movable jaw 1 for upper guide plate and two for lower guide plate. The first drilling machine

which is located in workstation four is operated for 2 min. The second drill press is in operation

for 4 min and the third one for 3 min. The fourth, fifth, and sixth drilling machines are operated

for 4 min each. In the process layout, first and second mills are operated for 10 min each and the

third one for 9 min. A lot of idle time is noticed on the milling machines in product layout than

process layout.

After drilling station there is tapping station. Three tapping machines are arranged in

product layout one for vice body, one for movable jaw and the other for upper guide plate. One

tapping machine is arranged in process layout which performs the tapping operations on the parts

which requires this operation. The overall process time for a tapping machine to complete one

industrial vice is 7 minutes. In product layout, the first machine is operated for 2 min, second one

for 4 min and third one for 1 min. In process layout, one tapping machine is arranged which

takes care of the tap operations of the parts. In product layout, even though the machines are

45
capable of manufacturing more number of parts, they are starved because of the prior operations

that are to be performed on the parts.

A product layout is a best choice for repetitive type of jobs. The flow time is also less

with a continuous smooth flow with stoppages in between. The time required for inspection is

less with lower work in process inventories and material handling costs. In process layout there

is a high possibility for variety in the products due to its high flexibility and adaptability. This

variety in products is not possible with the product layout. In a product layout, if a machine stops

the whole production line is stopped whereas in a process layout machine breakdown does not

affect the production line (Tompkins, 2010). The investment requires in setting up a product

layout is much higher whereas process layout requires comparatively less investment (Freemba,

2016). The equipment utilization is not to full capacity in product layout when compared to

process layout (Freemba, 2016).

The first component manufactured during the process is lead screw (Figure 38). Major portion of

the lead screw is threaded which converts the circular motion to linear motion. There is a groove

cut at one end so that the movable jaw is pinned to the lead screw. The other end of lead screw is

knurled and used for the purpose of tightening or loosening the screw. After cutting the raw

material to required size, the operations to make lead screw are performed on lathe machines.

46
Figure 38: Lead Screw.

The next component is the vice body (Figure 39). The vice body is a rectangular shaped

component which is the support system of the whole product. There is a hole drilled on one end

of the body and threaded inside for the assembly of lead screw. The movable jaw is fixed to the

same end from where the lead screw enters. The other end of vice bod acts as the stationary jaw.

After cutting the raw material to size, it undergoes four operations on milling machine, one

operation each on drilling and tapping machines.

47
Figure 39: Vice Body.

After vice body, the next part is the movable jaw (Figure 40). The movable jaw is

attached to the lead screw with a pin after assembling the lead screw to vice body. After cutting

the raw material to required size, it is moved to milling station where two milling operations are

carried on. Then a hole is drilled for the assembly of lead screw. There are five more holes

drilled for the final assembly. There is a tapping operation which is performed on four holes.

48
Figure 40: Movable Jaw

The next part is the upper guide plate (Figure 41). The upper guide plate is assembled to

vice body with five screws. A drilling operation is performed to drill five holes. Before drilling,

the work piece is roughly cut and then finishing operation is done for desired cut on milling

machine. Then tapping operation is performed for one hole.

49
Figure 41: Upper Guide Plate.

The lower guide plate (Figure 42) is assembled in between the vice body and upper guide

plate. The work piece is first cut to size and undergoes two milling operations of cutting for

desired specifications of the part. There is a drilling operation performed to drill five holes. For

lower guide plate, a counter boring operation is also performed for the five holes. The five holes

of lower guide plate align with holes of upper guide plate.

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Figure 42: Lower Guide Plate.

Figure 43 shows all the components of the industrial vice that are manufactured and also

the screws that are used to assemble them together. Figures 44 and 45 show the front and back

view of the assembled industrial vice, respectively.

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Figure 43: Components of Industrial Vice Before Assembly.

52
Figure 44: Assembled Industrial Vice Front View.

53
Figure 45: Assembled Industrial Vice Back View.

54
 CHAPTER V

CONCLUSION

Facility layout always plays a prominent role for a manufacturing industry since this layout is the

deciding factor for the major operations of the manufacturing unit. This research discusses the

importance of the facility layout and selecting an optimum layout of a facility for the production

of an industrial vice by designing two layout models. The layouts selected are product layout and

process layout. The purpose of the study is to develop a layout with the best efficiency in

manufacturing of industrial vice.

Facility layout is a process which is time consuming as major factors like amount of area

in which the facility is built, number of workstations and the number of machines in each

workstation are required. It is immensely expensive to install a layout and once laid it is not

possible to redo it. So it is important to make sure that the layout selected has the best efficiency.

Any method that has a scientific approach to make smart decisions about facility layout

will help a lot by making the process more efficient. ProModel is one such scientific approaches

of modeling the layouts as per the requirements. Modeling of facility layout gives an opportunity

to examine types of layouts compares them in aspects and finally pick the one that suits us the

best.

Using ProModel, after designing the product and process layouts of industrial vice

manufacturing plant the differences between the two models are clearly visible when compared.

The pros and cons of each model is easily understood from the outputs. The visual view of how

the process takes place and how the raw material moves from one station to other is represented

by visual model, which makes the whole process presented to the user. It is easy to tabulate the

results using the software. The simulation can be run for various cycle times and compare them

55
for best outputs. ProModel generated graphs and charts are an effective tool for presenting the

layout to the management or employees.

It definitely takes some time to understand the software but once understood, it takes a

short time to model a layout, of course modeling time also depends upon the complexity of the

product manufactured. It becomes easy to change the process to a higher volume or lower

volume during the modeling stage before building the real layout. Again compare the results to

select the one that fits the industry.

Modeling helps making smart decisions regarding the block layout, detail layout, and

installation. Once a model is designed, it is possible to come up with the required number of

equipment that is needed also the number of workstations and number of machines required in

each workstation. This information helps defining the block layout, that is the area required for

the facility to build in. it also provide information to estimate the cost for the installation and

equipment to be purchased.

The important factor to be considered while modeling or building a layout is the material

handling. Material handling is waste of time and space. No value added to the part by material

handling. With the help of this software, it can clearly be seen how the material moves from one

place to another place. The unnecessary movement of the material handling can be eliminated by

changing the model accordingly. Thus modeling helps in reducing or even eliminating the

material handling.

Modeling is not only useful during the facility layout of a new plant, but also assists

greatly during redesigning of a plant. The existing plant can be remodeled on ProModel and

make the necessary changes and upgrades that are required. The most efficient redesigned model

can be simulated and the best output can be selected.

56
 The philosophies like just-in-time, total quality management and constraint management

provide various approaches to the system efficiency and productivity. During modeling, it is

possible to implement these philosophies depending upon the specifications of the facility by

arranging the processes accordingly.

From this research, the process layout turned out to be best choice over product layout for

the industrial vice manufacturing plant. The process layout is more cost effective than product

layout as it requires less area for the facility whereas the later requires larger area to be used. The

process layout works the best with less number of workstations and machines when compared to

the product layout. There are six workstations with nine machines and one assembly station in

process layout. In the product layout there are 10 workstations with 23 machines and four

assembly stations.

57
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 VITA

Sharanya Elukurthi was born in Warangal, India. She completed her master of technology degree

in Advanced Manufacturing System in 2015 and bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering in

2012 from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, India. She joined Texas A&M University

‘Kingsville in fall 2015 to obtain a master’s degree in industrial management and will be

graduating August 2016.

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