REVIEW QUESTIONS

1) What is the three steps in selecting the plant site? Explain briefly.

a) Perform a pre-purchase environmental site assessment. This can save time and
money, as much more of both are needed if successive phases of environmental
investigation are required.
b) Conduct a thorough site investigation during a potential land or building
acquisition. This will help your organization efficiently and cost-effectively collect
the needed information, properly calculate and analyze data, develop and
implement appropriate plans, and comply with ever-evolving local, state and
federal regulations across a much broader spectrum of environmental areas.
c) Take the time to do the proper biological and archaeological studies. This can help
your organization avoid major setbacks. For example, in some geographic
locations, it’s important to determine whether or not there are any endangered
species residing on a piece of property prior to purchase. Prospective purchasers
should also either search archaeological repositories for information on existing
sites or conduct actual archaeological surveys to determine if important resources
are present on a potential development site. This approach can reduce the time
of processing a project and result in great cost savings and good public relations
by avoiding destruction of sites that are of concern to the public and, in
particular, Native American groups.

2) Should the raw – materials or finished goods market receive greater consideration in
plant location?

- Yes, because it depends on the places of location of the plant so the customer
can patronize the product in the market.

3) What are some newer trends in plant location?

Priority for the suburban areas
- The industrialists show their preference for the suburban area as the site for
establishment of a new unit or relocation of the existing one. The industrial
policy of the government does not permit the establishment of a new unit or
expansion of an existing one in city areas. At the same time infrastructure
facilities are developed in the suburban areas.
Industrial development in the notified backward areas
- In order to have balanced regional development, the Central Government as
well as the State Government has notified certain backward areas Different
types of incentives like cash subsidy, tax relief, financial assistance with low
interest rates, cheaper land and power supply etc are provided. So, many such
areas have been developed substantially in the recent times.

Establishment of Industrial estate

- Industrial estate is a piece of vast land sub-divided into different industrial
plots wherein factory sheds are constructed. The Government of India has
planned a national policy for the development of industrial estates. It assigned
the responsibility of the development of industrial estates to State
Governments. In each state, the State Development Corporation (SDC) has
developed many industrial estates practically in all the districts of the state.
Industrial estates have also been developed by private entrepreneurs and
Chambers of Commerce. The plots of land along with factory sheds and
infrastructure facilities are developed in the industrial estates and are sold to
the prospective promoters. The establishment of industrial estates has greatly
affected the location of industries.
Decentralization of industries
- Under the conscious industrial policy of the Government, concentration of
industrial units is prevented through licensing policy. New units are not
permitted to be started in certain industrially congested areas. Similarly,
existing units either establish their additional plants in a less developed area
or sometimes relocate the whole unit in such areas.
Increased role of the Government in the decision of location of industries
- Government through its persuasive and compulsive methods greatly
influences the location decision in recent times. It provides certain attractive
incentives to the promoters to establish their units in less developed areas, at
the same time it does not permit excessive industrialization in certain
developed areas.
Competition between Government and institutions
- As industry provides job opportunities to the local population, many local
organizations attempt to tempt the prospective promoters to establish the
 units in their areas. They provide different types of incentives like cheap land,
relief in local taxes etc. Sometimes the objective of local organizations and the
government comes in conflict on the issues of location of industries. Thus, the
whole pattern of decision about the location of industries has undergone
substantial changes in recent times.

4) In designing an industrial building, which factors deserve particular attention? Explain

 Adaptability.
 Expandability.
 Product and equipment.
 Employees facilities and services areas.
 Materials handling.
 Lighting, ventilation and air-conditioning.
 Fire protection.
 Security and services and maintenance.

5) What is the importance of air conditioning, illumination, noise control, and proper
employee facilities in the design of an industrial plant?

Air conditioning
 To protect worker’s health.
 To improve workers comfort level.
 To secure specified temperature conditions.
 To improve the quality of products.
 Product preservations.
 To reduce maintenance charges.
 To improve employer-employee relations.

Illumination
 Ease of seeing. /reduced eye strain,
 Improved quality of work.
 Better utilization of floor space.
 Good housekeeping.
 Fewer accidents.
 Improved employee morale/ better supervision.
 Flexible layout.
 Noise control
 Impairs the hearing of employees.
 Results in fatigue and nervousness.
 Vibration causes damage to machinery and equipment.
 Bad working environment Noise control methods
 Control by absorption
 Control at source
 Control by ear protection
 Proper employee facilities
 Supply of portable water.
 Disposal of waste and effluents.
 Provision of food which is free from contamination.
 Elimination of insects and rodents.
 Provision of personal services.
 Good housekeeping.

6) What safety measure should be included in the design of an industrial plant?

- Safety is the mainstay of any sustainable business. Ultimately, risk is managed
by identifying hazards quickly, assessing consequences and probabilities, and
implementing effective mitigation measures. As plants and other facilities
become increasingly complex, organizations can manage this risk by
successfully adopting advanced integrated safety engineering software for
more effective management and overall improved operational conditions.
- Additionally, as organizations continue to standardize integrated safety
environments, they will have the tools to conduct analyses faster and easier
for greater accessibility to users of all levels of expertise, which leads to safer
designs and reduced maintenance costs.
- By adopting easy-to-use process safety software as part of an integrated
engineering application environment, engineering teams will improve safety
performance across their operations, increase accuracy to save time and
money, and ultimately achieve the highest standards in operational
excellence.

7) What meant by “special-purpose” “general-purpose” and “building-block” machines?

- Special Purpose Machines (SPM) are those Machine which are not Available
Off the Shelf. These are not Covered in Standard Manufacturing Programs.
 There Fore they have to be Designed & Tailor Made as Per the Customers
Specific Requirements.
- General purpose machine with capabilities for business, clerical work, arts
(graphics, multimedia etc.), entertainment (games, web tv, media
distribution) and of course communications.
- Building block machine is a block of stone or other material, larger than
a brick, used in building.

8) What determines the number of machine require for production?

- The capacity of a factory is primarily expressed in terms of total machines

factory have. Secondly, how much pieces the factory produces on daily for the
specific products? In general, total numbers of machines in a factory mostly
remains same for a period. But factory may produce various types of the
product during the season. According to the product (style) category, machine
requirement may change and daily average production in each style may vary.
So to be specific during booking orders, a planner should know exactly how
much capacity he or she needed to procure the order in a given time period.

9) Distinguish between layout by process and layout by product. Where should each be
used?

- Layout by process is a design for the floor plan of a plant which aims to
improve efficiency by arranging equipment according to its function. The
production line should ideally be designed to eliminate waste in material
flows, inventory handling and management.[2] In process layout, the work
stations and machinery are not arranged according to a particular production
sequence. Instead, there is an assembly of similar operations or similar
machinery in each department (for example, a drill department, a paint
department, etc.)
- Layout by product refers to a production system where the work stations and
equipment are located along the line of production, as with assembly lines.

10) Distinguish between two – dimensional and three- dimensional plant layout techniques.
What is the difference between a process – flow chart and a process – flow diagram?

- Flow chart all the production activities occurring on the floor of the plant are
representing graphically in flow process chart. The flow process chart real
 work is to tracing the actual flow of work occurring and the time required for
the operation. It works on transportation, storage and delay. The complete
information for the analysis and improvement of plant operation is provided
by flow process chart. The result of analysis operation may be eliminated,
combined or rearranged. The work station, storage area can be rearranged to
reduce traveling distance and labor time. The flow process chart also checks
and verify the efficiency of proposed floor plan for a new layout.

- Flow diagram is used to supplement of the flow process chart. it is graphically

representing of work area, machinery, storage area, gang way etc. which path
is followed by men or materials is marked on flow diagram. All the symbols
and straight lines are joining with each other and make routes to follow by
different item are shown in flow diagram. In flow process chart will trace out
the undesirable characteristic of layout which is responsible for delay and
increasing transportation by study the process flow diagram and flow process
chart. It is also show nature of back tracking to help on improving the layout
and easy to trace and present layout attractive.

11) What is meant by “automation”? what are the two forms of automation?

- Automation is the use of control systems such as numerical control,

programmable logic control, and other industrial control systems and
information technology including computer-aided technologies, to control
industrial machinery and processes, reducing the need for human
intervention.
Two forms of automation
 Fixed system
 Flexible system

12) What are the advantages and limitation of automation system?

Advantages
 Reduction in production time – having a machine that is automated definitely
speeds up the production time since no thinking is needed by the machine, there
is better repeatability, and less human error.
 Increase in accuracy and repeatability – when an automated machine is
programmed to perform a task over and over again, the accuracy and
repeatability compared to an employee is far greater.
  Less human error – no one is perfect, and we are all prone to making mistakes.
Which is why a machine that performs repeated tasks is less likely to make
mistakes than an employee.
 Less employee costs – by adding automated machines to an operation, means
less employees are needed to get the job done. It also indicates less safety issues,
which leads to financial savings. With having less employees, there are numerous
costs that are diminished or reduced such as payroll, benefits, sick days, etcetera.
 Increased safety – having automated machines means having less employees who
perform tasks that can be dangerous and prone to injury, which can make the
work environment safer.
 Higher volume production – investing in automated equipment creates a valuable
resource for large production volumes, which in turn, will increase profitability.

Limitations of automation system

 Less versatility – by having a machine that can perform a certain task limits to the
flexibility and variety of tasks that an employee could do.
 More pollution – different types of machines operate using motor which may
require gases or chemicals in order to operate. This can cause an increase in
pollution in the workplace.
 Large initial investment – automated machines can be one of the most costly
operating costs for a company. With automated machines running anywhere
between thousands and millions of dollars depending on the type and degree of
automation.
 Increase in unemployment – by increasing the amount of automation, there are
less employees required causing high unemployment rates.
 Unpredictable costs – there can be several unpredictable costs that may exceed
the actual cost saved by the automation itself. Some of these costs could include
research and development costs of automating a process, preventative
maintenance costs, and the cost of training employees to operate automated
machines.
TOPIC FOR DISCUSSION

1) Factory magazine reported on replies received from a number of professional industrial

development experts in various sections of the country to questions on industrial site
section. One of the questions was: what are the two important factors in making site
section? Replies received included the following?

 Geographic and economic factors site characteristics

 Highways; people
 Transportations (given as most important)
 Labor; markets
 Reliable data on proposed sites; community attitude
 Business climate; good living conditions
 Markets; people; raw materials
why do experts in this field differ so widely on the relative importance of location
factors?
- It can affect their product if they cannot follow the factors to considering in
making a product. And depend on the product what climate they can preserve
and good transportation.

2) An important manufactures of fuel-control system and accessories for aircraft and

missiles occupies a plant originally constructed for processes which did not involve
frequent rearrangement of machine and equipment. Aircraft accessory items, however,
are continually being phased in or out are require frequent relocation and revamping of
facilities and flexibility for rapidly changing processes. What building services and
equipment features should now be provided in this plant to supply the desired flexibility?
 - An equipment that will be fit in the production process and easily to use by
the workers and a cheap cost but high quality when using this machine and
also having a good quality of product.

3) Is has been said that in office work, where the rate of production is not standardized and
where no minimum requirements must be met consistently, the increase in productivity
from air conditioning is more than enough to pay for its cost. What cost and savings
factors would you explore in an effort to disprove the accuracy of this flexibility?

- Are used to help maintain good indoor air quality through adequate
ventilation with filtration and provide thermal comfort. The choice and design
of the HVAC system can also affect many other high performance goals,
including water consumption (water cooled air conditioning equipment) and
acoustics Maximize the use of air conditioning to prevent high cost or must
maintained the cold inside the company so the workers can work comfortably.