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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. |
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 & ERGONOMICSWorkplace 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. |
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. -
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. -
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.
Also see the
Flow Path Calculator...
Also see the
Layout Planner...
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