4/15/2020
Fayoum University
Faculty of Engineering
Mechanical Engineering Department
FACILITIES PLANNING
Lec_8: Flow Systems
Mohammed Abdelghany
Assistant Lecturer – Mechanical Engineering Department
E-mail/ [Link]@[Link]
Tel./ 002 – 01144876702
Flow systems
• Movement of goods, materials, energy, information, and/or
people.
• Movement of refrigerators from the manufacturer through various
levels of distribution to the ultimate customer is a product flow
process.
• Transmission of sales orders from the sales department to the
production control department is an example of an information
flow process.
• Movement of patients, staff, and visitors through a hospital are
examples of people flow process.
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Flow systems
• Discrete flow processes
• discrete items move through the flow process.
• Examples; movement of refrigerators, transmission of sales
orders, movement of patients or staff.
• Continuous flow processes
• products continuously move through successive production
states.
• Examples; flow of electric current, chemicals flowing through
a processing facility, and oil flowing through a pipeline.
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Flow systems for discrete parts processes
1. Materials management system
• The flow process being considered is the flow of materials
into a manufacturing facility.
2. Material flow system
• The flow process being considered is the flow of materials
and parts within a manufacturing facility.
3. Physical distribution system
• The flow process being considered is the flow of products
from a manufacturing facility
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Production forecasts
Production control
Materials management system Stock requisitions
Purchasing department
Purchase orders
Order payment
Vendors
Inventory records
Bill of lading
Transportation
Bill of lading Receiving
report Accounting
Receiving department
department
Move ticket
Material handling
Move ticket
Stores department
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Production schedule
Production control
Work order release
Stores
Warehouse records
Move ticket
Material handling
Material flow system
Move ticket & Route sheets
Manufacturing departments
Move ticket & Assembly chart
Assembly department
Move ticket
Warehouse
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Payment
Customer
Sales order
Sales department
Invoice
Physical distribution system
Picking list
Warehouse
Shipping release
Accounting
Material handling
Shipping department
Bill of lading report
Transportation
Bill of lading
Distributors
Bill of lading
Transportation
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Flow systems for discrete parts processes
1. Materials management system
Supply chain management System
• The flow process being considered is the flow of materials
into a manufacturing facility.
2. Material flow system
• The flow process being considered is the flow of materials
and parts within a manufacturing facility.
3. Physical distribution system
• The flow process being considered is the flow of products
from a manufacturing facility
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Material flow system
• Principle of minimizing the cost of flow:
• Eliminate unnecessary movements of material by reducing
the number of manufacturing steps.
• Minimize manual handling by minimizing travel distances.
• Eliminate manual handling by mechanizing or automating
flow.
• Minimize material handling by reducing the flow density
through containerization.
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Flow patterns within Product layout
End-to-end
Back-to-back Front-to-front
Circular Odd-angle
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Flow patterns within process department
Parallel Perpendicular Diagonal
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Flow patterns with mechanized/automated
material handling systems
• Line Flow Pattern
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Flow patterns with mechanized/automated
material handling systems
• Spine Flow Pattern unidirectional or bidirectional
material handling device
machines/workstations
The spine flow structure can be used for both within-department flows and
between-department flows
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Flow patterns with mechanized/automated
material handling systems
• Loop Flow Pattern
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Flow patterns with mechanized/automated
material handling systems
• Tree Flow Pattern
centralized material
handling device
robotic-type
material handling
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Flow between Departments
• The locations of the pickup and delivery stations for
each department.
At the same location On the same side
On adjacent sides On opposite sides
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Achieving the effective flow within a facility
Principles for effective flow:
• Maximization of directed flow paths,
• Minimization of total flow, and
• Minimization of the costs of flow.
Flow planning hierarchy
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Directed flow path
• It is an uninterrupted flow path progressing directly from origination to
destination.
• It is a flow path that does not intersect with other paths.
• It is a flow path with no backtracking
Uninterrupted flow paths
Interrupted flow paths
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Backtracking penalty
• Backtracking increases the length of the flow path.
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Backtracking penalty
• Effects of backtracking in a unidirectional loop flow
system
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