Workplace Planning
Unlike manual workstation analyses with paper and pen, Workplace Planner makes quick and easy work of generating accurate walk path diagrams. With Workplace Planner, you can keep drawings up to date with simple modification of your previous work.
Incorporating process times (predetermined or observed), walk times, LEAN, and ergonomic assessments into one calculator eliminates guessing and enables engineers to analyze cycle times, value-added work percentages, and ergonomic issues for the proposed workplace.
Workplace Planner can evaluate simultaneous operations in linked work stations to see how changes in process times will impact downstream operations. With Workplace Planner you can set up each workstation for the best line-side presentation of parts to reduce the time spent walking and improve efficiency of manual operations!
Drawing Output: The Workplace Planner outputs to the drawing by placing walk path lines, direction arrows, and distance labels all on the drawing. These can be clarified with an operator walk path legend that assigns the operators to their representive color line. Additionally, the drawings and operations can be animated right within AutoCAD. |
Evaluate savings and large overhead reductions fast.
Animate workers walking to see and calculate
non value-added work.
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The Workplace Planner allows the user to save a plethora of output to report, MS Excel, and drawing files. All data within the program can be input or exported via cut, copy, and pasting to and from the program. Full versions will enjoy unlimited station, operator, and task input abilities. Along with the full version comes product updates, phone and email support, training, and an available AutoCAD engine to substitute if a full version of AutoCAD is not at the customer's disposal.
AutoCAD Engine: For users who do not have their own copy of AutoCAD 2002 or higher, Proplanner offers a version of the program with a build in AutoCAD 2005 Engine for a small additional fee. The engine itself supports all 2D authoring tools with only a few peripheral functionalities disabled.
Operator Analysis
Loaded/Unloaded Operator Speeds: Speeds can be assigned to both loaded and unloaded operators walking. This allows for more accurate simulation of operator walk times. This also integrates into the ergonomics application when looking at NIOSH lift and carry evaluation.
Man/Machine and Man/Man Delay: This program can calculate when operators have to wait for other operators or machines to complete work. This delay is tracked numerically as well as displayed graphically in the animation. This can also be evaluated in a Gannt chart showing the timeline of parallel activities.
Line Balance Integration: Workplace Planner can take data from a balanced line created in Proplanner Line Balance and evaluate the operator times based on different model and option mixes for multiple operators and stations. After this import and calculation are done, they can be further balanced by returning these new walk times to Line Balance.
Combine Layout with Process with this Simple Interface
Creating new workplace studies or modifying existing ones can be done in just a few minutes. The Workplace Planner uses your existing workstation layout drawing and imports process steps and routings from a Microsoft Excel text file.
The simple comma-separated data file can also be created from within Proplanner or generated from other labor time estimation applications. Since the Workplace Planner reads and writes text files, users can quickly modify the spreadsheet and immediately calculate the impacts of process changes on cycle time and percent of value-added work.
Newer versions of the Workplace Planner have the ability to copy and paste data directly into the application in mass amounts, just as you would in MS Excel spreadsheets. This eliminates any middle-man operating between the data source and input to the workplace evaluation.
Link to MTM and MODAPTS
The Workplace Planner is the first workstation analysis tool that combines pre-determined labor times from organizations such as MTM and MODAPTS with AutoCAD-based workstation layout drawings to create walk-path diagrams. Workplace Planner can interpret standard work codes from work measurement systems to calculate processing and walk times. The Workplace Planner will also automatically create Action and Walk parameter values for predetermined walk activities to improve your study accuracy; effortlessly. |
Use time standards such as MTM and Modapts to
define work content.
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Stationary and Moving Parts
The Workplace Planner can model both stationary layouts and workplaces where parts are moving on a conveyor or moving line.
Stationary Part Analysis: As in most cell production, this analysis calculates walking with a part and stopping at stations to perform work. A walk speed can be set for both loaded and unloaded walking. Additionally, users can define walk paths to better evaluate real times where operators may walk around tables and avoid safety hazards within the cell.
Moving Part Analysis: The moving part capability helps you quickly compute and diagram operators walking to and from moving parts on straight or multi-segmented paths. A built-in animation feature allows you to see operators moving in the workplace and performing tasks at locations. This quick-animation feature greatly improves the evaluation, understanding and communication of the workstation-based process for managers and line personnel.
Analyze Multiple Workers' LEAN & ERGONOMICS
Workplace Planner can diagram walk-paths, compute and chart value-added (LEAN) work content percentages and evaluate Lift and Carry ergonomic requirements for up to 10 workers simultaneously. It can also synchronize up to 3 workers at a time when work is performed that requires workers to collaborate.
Lean: Value Added versus Non-Value Added and Non-Value Added but Necessary percentages are calculated for each activity. After calculation they are charted for each operator and can be copied and pasted for reporting purposes. |
Chart depicts value added work content for each worker.
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Ergonomics: Using NIOSH lift and carry and GARG energy expenditure tables, Workplace Planner calculates the ergonomic factors associated with each task and evaluates risk for each operator. These outputs greatly reduce risk and enable for the reduction of labor injuries.
Features
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Automatically create flow paths and manually create user-defined paths
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Analyze up to 1000 flow paths and up to 25 operators concurrently
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Automatically scale path segment thickness according to walk intensity, and create variable-sized flow path arrows and distance labels
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Evaluate MODAPTS, MTM-1/UAS/B and user defined process time codes, or interface with Proplanner, Microsoft Excel and other standard work measurement systems to evaluate additional labor time standards
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Automatically compute LEAN value-added %
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Import and Export from / to Excel CSV files
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Analyze walk flow paths from and to moving parts on multi-segment part paths
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Evaluate Lift and Carry of weight according to the OSHA approved “SNOOK” method
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Animate operator walk flows in 2D or 3D for stationary or moving parts (2D only in standalone)
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Synchronize up to 3 workers concurrently and diagram operator walk paths with unique colors per operator
Benefits
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2D or 3D outputs are easy to understand and suggest improvement possibilities. They look professional and are good to show anybody who is not familiar with the setup, how the system works.
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Excel data input and output makes the program simple to use and more versatile at dealing with data. This also adds to the numbers of ways that data can be inputted, adding to the user-friendliness of the program.
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Time needed is greatly reduced by automatically generated workpaths and calculation of variables.
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Use of MTM and MODAPTS codes speed process and walk time calculation and add recognizability to the data.
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Stationary and moving parts along with multiple operator integration makes accurately representing the real world more manageable.
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LEAN analysis is a must in today's work place and this feature can save your company large amounts of money by helping reduce and prevent worker injuries.
Contact us:
For more information, please phone us at 313.441.4460 x1180.
Or send us an email by clicking here:
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