The geographical location of the plant contributes a lot to the success of any chemical business venture .

Utmost care and judgment is required for selecting the plant site, and many different factors must be considered while selecting the plant site. The plant site should be ideally located where the cost of production and distribution can be at a minimum level .Also there has to be a good scope for plant expansion and a conducive environment, safe living conditions for easy plant operation. But other factors, such as safe living conditions for plant personnel as well as the surrounding community are also important. The geographical location of the plant contributes a lot to the success of any chemical business venture .Utmost care and judgment is required for selecting the plant site, and many different factors must be considered while selecting the plant site The plant site should be ideally located where the cost of production and distribution can be at a minimum level .Also there has to be a good scope for plant expansion and a conducive environment, safe living conditions for easy plant operation. But other factors, such as safe living conditions for plant personnel as well as the surrounding community are also important The major factors in the selection of chemical plant sites are (1)raw materials,(2) markets, (3) energy supply, (4)climate, (5) transportation facilities, and(6)water supply. For a preliminary survey, the first four factors should be considered. On the basis of raw materials availability, market survey, energy supply, and climate, acceptable locations can usually be reduced to one or two general geographical regions. In the second step, the effects of transportation facilities and water supply are taken into account. This permits reduction of the possible plant location to few general target areas. These areas can be reduced further by considering all the factors that have an influence on plant location As a third step, a detailed analysis of the remaining sites can be made. Exact data on items such as freight rates, labor conditions, tax rates, price of land, and general local conditions can be obtained. The various sites can be inspected and appraised on the basis of all the factors influencing the final decision. The final decision on selecting the plant site should take into consideration all the factors that can affect the ultimate success of the overall plant operation

The choice of the final site should be based on a detailed survey of various geographical areas, and ultimately, on the advantages and disadvantages of available real estate. An initial outline regarding the plant location should be obtained before a design project reaches the detailed estimate stage, and a firm location should be established upon completion of the detailed estimate design. The factors that must be evaluated in a plant location study indicate the need for a vast amount of information.

The following factors should be considered in selecting a plant site :1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. Raw materials availability Energy availability Meteorological data Market study Transportation facilities Water supply Waste disposal Labor supply Taxation and legal restrictions Site characteristics Safety and Environmental measures Community factors

1. Raw materials availability: The source of raw materials is one of the most important factors influencing the selection of a plant site .This is particularly true if large number of raw materials source permits considerable reduction in transport and storage charges. Attention should be given to the purchased price of the raw materials, distance from the source of the supply, freight or transportation expenses, availability and reliability of supply ,purity of the raw materials, and storage requirements 2. Energy availability: Power and steam requirements are high in most of the chemical plants, and fuelis ordinarily required to supply these utilities .Power and fuel can be combined as one major factor in the choice of a plant site. If the plant requires large quantities of coal or oil, location near a source of fuel supply may be essential for economic operation. The local cost of power can help determine whether power should be purchased or self-generated.

3. Meteorological data: If the plant is located in a cold climate, costs may be increased by the necessity for construction of protective shelters around the process equipment, and special cooling towers or airconditioning equipment may be required if the prevailing temperatures are high. Excessive humidity or extremes of hot or cold weather can have serious effect on the economic operation of the plant, and these factors should be examined when selecting a site

4. Market study: The location of markets or distribution centers affects the cost of product distribution and the time required for shipping .Proximity to the major markets is an important consideration in the selection of a plant site , because the buyer usually finds it advantageous to purchase from near by sources. It should be noted that markets are needed for by products as well as for major final products.

5. Transportation facilities: Water, railroads, and highways are common means of transportation used by major industrial concerns. The kind and quantity of products and raw materials determine the most suitable type of transportation facilities. Careful attention should be given to local freight rates and existing railroad lines. The proximity to rail road centers and the possibility of canal, river, lake or ocean transport must be considered. Motor trucking facilities are widely used and can serve as a useful supplement to rail and water facilities. If possible, the plant site should have access to all three types of transportation and, certainly, at least two types should be available. There is usually a need for convenient air and rail transportation facilities between the plant and the company head quarters, and effective transportation facilities for the plant personnel are necessary.

6. Water supply: The process industries use large quantities of water for cooling, washing, steam generation, and as a raw material in process. Hence, the plant must be located where a dependable supply of water is available. A large river or lake is preferable, although deep wells or artesian wells may be satisfactory if the amount of water required is not too great. The level of the existing water table can be checked by consulting the state geological survey ,and information on the constancy of the water table and the year round capacity of local rivers or lakes should be obtained .If the water supply shows seasonal fluctuations, it may be desirable to construct a reservoir or to drill several standby wells. The temperature, mineral content, silt or sand content, bacteriological content, and cost for supply and purification must also be considered when choosing the water supply.

7. Waste disposal: In recent years, many legal restrictions have been placed on the methods for disposing of waste materials from the process industries. The site selected for a plant should have adequate capacity and facilities for correct waste disposal. In choosing a plant site, the permissible tolerance levels for various methods of waste disposal should be considered carefully, and attention should be given to potential requirements for additional waste-treatment facilities.

8. Labor supply: The type and supply of labor available in the vicinity of a proposed plant site must be examined .Consideration should be given to prevailing pay scales, restrictions on number of hours worked per week, competing industries that can cause dissatisfaction or high turnover rates among the workers, and variations in the skill and productivity of the workers.

9. Taxation and legal restrictions: State and local tax rates on property income, unemployment insurance, and similar items vary from one location to another. Similarly , local regulations on zoning, building codes, nuisance aspects, and transportation facilities can have a major influence on the final choice of a plant site. In fact, zoning difficulties and obtaining the many required permits can often be

much more important in terms of cost and time delays than many of the factors discussed in the preceding sections.

10. Site characteristics: The characteristics of the land at a proposed plant site should be examined carefully. The topography of land and the soil structure must be considered, since either or both may have a pronounced effect on construction costs. The cost of the land is important, as well as local building costs and living conditions. Future changes may make it desirable or necessary to expand the plant facilities. Therefore, even though no immediate expansion is planned, a new plant should be constructed at a location where additional space is available.

11. Safety and Environmental measures: Many industrial plants are located along rivers or near large bodies of water, and there are risks of flood or hurricane damage. Before selecting a plant site, the regional history of natural events of this type should be examined and the consequences of such occurrences considered. Protection from losses by fire is another important factor for selecting a plant location. In case of a major fire, assistance from the fire departments should be available. Fire hazards in the surrounding area of plant site must not be overlooked.

13. Community factors: The nature and facilities of a community can have an effect on the location of the plant. If minimum number of facilities for satisfactory living of plant personnel do not exist, it becomes a burden for the plant to subsidize such facilities. Cultural facilities of the community are important to sound growth. Facilities such as religious centers, libraries, schools, civic theatres, concert associations, and other similar groups do much to make a community progressive. The efficiency, character, and history of both state and local governments should be evaluated. The existence of low taxes is not in itself a favorable situation unless the community is already well developed and relatively free of debt.

2. Recent Trends In OM

Organizations must improve their products as well as productivity to retain their market share. The longterm success of an organization requires investments in technology because new technologies can improve efficiency and productivity. In this chapter, we discussed how organizations can benefit from automation. Some of the recent technological developments in the field of operations management, which include computer-aided design (CAD), direct and in direct computer-aided manufacturing (CAM),

flexible manufacturing system (FMS), and computer integrated manufacturing (CIM) were discussed in the chapter. Computer Aided Design (CAD) is used for designing products and processes on a computer terminal. Computer systems assist in the creation, modification, analysis and optimization of a design. In Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM), computers are used either directly to control the processing equipment, or indirectly to support manufacturing operations

Automated machines usually perform a variety of operations, depending on the instructions received from the computer with respect to the sequence and operational specifications of a process. FMS is a form of flexible automation in which several machine tools are linked to the materials-handling system.

A central computer controls all aspects of the system. CIM refers to a computer application that connects various computerized systems into a single multi-functional system. Another development in the field of technology is artificial intelligence (AI).AI enables computers to exhibit some of the characteristics of human intelligence, like the capacity for learning, understanding language, reasoning and problem solving.

EDI is a system, wherein standardized forms of electronic documents are transferred between two computer systems. Customers and suppliers or departments within the same organization can share and transmit information electronically in real time using EDI.

3. Benchmarking :- Benchmarking is the process of determining who is the very best, who sets the standard, and what that standard is. In baseball, you could argue that seven consecutive World Series Championships made the New York Yankees the benchmark. If we were to benchmark "world conquest", what objective measure would we use to compare Julius Caesar to Adolph Hitler; Gengis Khan to Napoleon? Which of them was the epitome, and why? We do the same thing in business. Who is the best sales organization? The most responsive customer service department? The leanest manufacturing operation? And how do we quantify that standard?

Why Should I Benchmark

If you don't know what the standard is you cannot compare yourself against it. If a customer asks "What is the MTBF on your widget?" it is not enough to know that your Mean Time Between Failures is 120 hours on your standard widget and 150 for your deluxe widget.

You also have to know where your competitors stand. If the company against whom you are competing for this order has a MTBF of 100 hours you are probably okay. However, if their MTBF is 10,000 hours who do you think will get the order? Its SAFE Fleet program has been in place for over 10 years and provides a worldwide standard framework for subsidiary companies to work to based on six key objectives Senior management support, to ensure safe driving is part of the work culture in the organization, through leadership, monitoring and improvement, training and ongoing engagement. Field management support and involvement. Motivation, recognition and awareness for safe driving. Team performance. Local Safe Fleet teams are responsible for implementing measures like training new drivers, reducing cases of high-risk driving and hiring field safety coordinators. Driver development including orientation, home study and behind the wheel training. Health and safety

Despite different cultures, languages, barriers and challenges across the world, SAFE Fleet has reduced injuries, accidents per million miles (APMM) and percentage of vehicles involved in incidents. The company attributes its success to the many practical actions thatemerged from its objectives and policies, including Detailed quantification of value of employee road safety in direct and indirect costs of human and asset damage. Development of global standards, policies, procedures and processes. Strong involvement by executive and senior management and tireless work byoperating company Champions. Setting clear targets for road safety performance, supported by standardised globalKPI reporting and monitoring of APMM and other indicators. In the EMEA region atarget has been set to reduce the APMM figure to 6.00 by 2010. Regular communications to help drivers avoid or minimise the impact of riskysituations. A high-risk driver early detection system to identify drivers with the potential to driveunsafely. Sharing its best practices, including collision and incident reporting guidelines anddefinitions, which have been adopted by many other organisations. Leadership of pan-European fleet safety benchmark initiative and involvement in www.fleetsafety.net , to exchange cross-company best practices and experiences. Actively taking a leading role in external initiatives such as the European Road SafetyCharter, WHO / UN fleet safety program and industry conferences. Constantly exploring innovative tools and technologies, including Virtual RiskManager, to identify risks in a proactive way and contribute to further decreases inAPMM.

Engaging drivers to take the road safety message home to their families and friends.

4.

A Flexible Manufacturing System (FMS) is a production system consisting of a set of identical and/or complementary numerically controlled machine whic h are connected through an automated transportation system
Competitive business environment offers new pressures to be confronted by the manufacturing systems, such as tailored product (increasing variety) with delivery on time along with emphasize conventional requirements of quality and competitive cost. Therefore, to sustain in the global scenario, the focus is to develop a manufacturing system that can fulfil all the demanded requirements within due dates at a reasonable cost. The introduction of Flexible manufacturing System (FMS) facilitates manufacturing industries to improve their performance along with the flexibility to make the customized product with medium volume. A Flexible manufacturing System (FMS) can be defined as a computer-controlled configuration of semi-dependent workstations and material-handling systems designed to efficiently manufacture various part types with low to medium volume. It combines high levels of flexibility with high productivity and low level of work- in-process inventory (Jang & Park, 1996). The exquisiteness of FMS is that it gleaned the ideas both from the flow shop and batch shop manufacturing system and is designed to imitate the flexibility of job shops while maintaining the effectiveness of dedicated production systems. Such FMS should be designed to improve productivity while fulfilling the demand with decreasing makespan time. A generic FMS is able to handle a variety of products in small to medium sized batches simultaneously. The flexibility of a flexible manufacturing system (FMS) has enabled it to become one of the most suitable manufacturing systems in the current manufacturing scenario of customized and varied products with shorter life cycles.

With the aim of combining production flexibility and productivity, the design of flexible manufacturing system (FMS) is subject of high investments. Deterministic models based on discrete-event simulation can be utilized to design production systems such as FMSs. Distinctively these are used to design and size the hardware requirements of a FMS (buffer capacity, layout design, material handling layout design, and number of workstations with respect to the projected production) with an objective to raise the utilization of resources. However these decisions of FMS.

design are strategic and to be taken in initial phase with extreme care ensuring that the designed FMS will successfully fulfill the demands of fluctuating market. The design decisions of FMS must be based on the justification of performance improvement. In recent environment where a manager can make use of easily available computing power along with the various commercial tools and techniques,it is quite reasonable to estimate some performance issues of existing and proposed FMS and subsequently suggest the design decisions. The employment of above mentioned tools and models to judge the FMS performance could be very useful to evaluate the system parameters like production rate, resource utilization, make span time etc. at a beginning stage of design decision making. The company selected for the case was under pressure from the market and was ready with the funds to introduce some major modifications in their existing system to improve the productivity along with the flexibility to survive in the competitive working domain.
This paper presents a study performed for performance evaluation of an existing system with the objective to improve the performance by designing a new FMS. The case company is located in National Capital Region of India and was striving to improve the performance of existing flexible system and setting up to make some investment decisions for up-gradation. The remainder of this paper is described as following: Section 2 gives an overview of the literature surveyed to conduct the research; subsequently section 3 delineates the problem definition along with the objectives of the case and the data collection. Section 4 includes the design and simulation of new FMS while section 5 analyses and compares the results of the study. In section 6, the paper has been concluded with some issues and future intensions of the research.

How does it help in improving the manufacturing process?

If you have implemented lean manufacturing into your company, you have most likely adopted flexible system manufacturing. Flexible system manufacturing helps you to get more use out of your equipment. You no longer need to have one machine for one job as each machine will serve multiple purposes within the organization. The equipment can be changed by hand to make one part and then changed to make a completely.

different part. By doing this, you are using flexible system manufacturing. Most companies have a complete automated system as computers control the entire thing, making it easier and more efficient for your company. Flexible system manufacturing is to be used quickly as you need to change the speed of your manufacturing lines in a hurry if you are to adjust for an influx of sales or changing market conditions. Some companies alter their equipment in order to get it to make more than one product where others will simply take the time to buy the right type of equipment in the first place in order to provide a better output for your manufacturing plant in the first place. If you need to go out and buy new equipment, doesn't negate the purpose of lean manufacturing, which is to save money? While you need to spend money to make money, buying equipment that serves multiple purposes is ideal for your company because it will help to reduce expenses. You will reduce expenses because you only have one machine that is doing multiple jobs. In the past, you probably needed 2-3 machines to make the products that one machine can easily pump out in half that time. The start-up costs initially will be higher but they will pay themselves off in a timely manner. Companies that produce automobiles commonly use flexible manufacturing because with a small adjustment they can easily create products for 2-3 different vehicles that they are producing. The switchover is simple to do and it will take just a few moments for the machine to make the change and start producing a completely different product. Still don't see the value in flexible system manufacturing? Here's an impressive statistic for you to dwell on, in 2004 Ford Motor Company released a report pertaining to flexible system manufacturing and how it has aided their company to produce better products and services. How much money did Ford Motor Company save? They added up the costs and found that they saved over $2.5 billion once they implemented flexible system manufacturing at about 5 different facilities. Smaller organizations aren't just saving thousands of dollars, many of them are saving millions of dollars. Like any system you will have some initial adjustments to make but with the right type of equipment and employees that are willing to make adjustments, it will be

easy for your company to forge ahead with the new manufacturing system. The only problem you will face is when you get customers that want custom orders. You need to set a limit on how many custom orders you are willing to take on in order to get the right response from your customers and to actually make a profit on the custom orders. Improving efficiency is the main aspect of using flexible system manufacturing. When you make the switchover you do need to take a look at your products in order to make sure they don't have any defects. This can be common in the beginning as you are getting used to the new system and the manufacturing equipment is learning the changes and understands what it needs to change. Overall flexible system manufacturing is one of the best systems to implement, especially if your overhead costs are incredibly high.

Q5 Name and explain the different types of plant layouts by providing examples for each.
Ans:-

The following are some important factors, which influence the planning of effective layout to a significant degree. 1. Nature of the product: The nature of the product to be manufactured will significantly affect the layout of the plant. Stationary layout will be most suitable for heavy products while line layout will be best for the manufacture for the light products because small and light products can be moved from one machine to another very easily and, therefore, more attention can be paid to machine locations can be paid to machine locations and handling of materials. 2. Volume of production: Volume of production and the standardization of the product also affect the type of layout. If standardized commodities are to be manufactured on large scale, line type of layout may be adopted. 3. Basic managerial policies and decisions: The type of layout depends very much on the decisions and policies of the management to be followed in producing the commodity with regard to the size of plant, kind and quality of the product, scope for expansion to be provided for, the extent to which the plant is to be integrated, amount of stocks to be carried at anytime, the kind of employee facilities to be provided etc.

4. Nature of plant location: The size shape and topography of the site at which the plant is located will naturally affect the type of layout to be followed in view of the maximum utilization of the space available .For e.g., if a site is near the railway line the arrangement of general layout for receiving and shipping and for the best flow of production in and out the plant may be made by the side of the railway lines .If space is narrow and the production process is lengthy, the layout of plant may be arranged on the land surface in the following manner:

5. Type of industry process: This is one of the most important factors influencing the choice of type of plant layout. Generally the types of layout particularly the arrangement of machines and work centers and the location of workmen vary according to the nature of the industry to which the plant belongs. For the purpose of lay out, industry may be classified into two broad categories: (i) Intermittent and (ii) continuous. Intermittent type of industries is those, which manufacture different component or different machines. Such industries may manufacture the parts, when required according to the market needs. Examples of such industries are shipbuilding plants. In this type of industry functional layout may be the best. The second type of industry in continuous industry. in this type of industry raw material are fed at one end and the finished goods are received at another end. A continuous industry may either be analytical or synthetic . A analytical industry breaks up the raw material into several parts during the course of production process or changes its form, e.g. oil and sugar refineries. A synthetic industry on the other hand mixes the two or more materials to manufacture one product along with the process of production or assembles several parts to get finished product. Cement and automobiles industries are the examples of such industry. Line layout is more suitable in continuous process industries. 6. Types of methods of production: Layout plans may be different according to the method of production proposed to be adopted. Any of the following three methods may be adopted for production- (1) Job order

production, (2) batch production, and (3) mass production. Under job production goods are produced according to the orders of the customers and therefore, specification vary from customer to customer and the production cannot be standardized. The machines and equipment can be arranged in a manner to suit the need of all types of customers. Batch production carries the production of goods in batches or group at intervals. In this type of manufacturing the product is standardized and production is made generally in anticipation of sales. In such cases functional or process layout may be adopted. In case of mass production of standardized goods, line layout is most suitable form of plant layout. 7. Nature of machines: Nature of machines and equipment also affects the layout of plants. If machines are heavy in weight or create noisy atmosphere, stationery layout may reasonably be adopted. Heavy machines are generally fixed on the ground floor. Ample space should be provided for complicated machines to avoid accidents. 8. Climate: Sometimes, temperature, illumination and air are the deciding factors in the location of machines and their establishments. For example, in lantern manufacturing industry, the spray-painting room is built along the factory wall to ensure the required temperature control and air expulsion and the process of spray painting may be undertaken. 9.Nature of material: Design and specification of materials, quantity and quality of materials and combination of materials are probably the most important factors to be considered in planning a layout. So, materials storage, space, volume and weight of raw materials, floor load capacity, ceiling height ,method of storing etc. should be given special consideration. This will affect the space and the efficiency of the production process in the plant. It will facilitate economic production of goods and prompt materials flow and soundly conceived materials handling system. 10. Type of machine: Machines and equipment may be either general purpose or special purpose. In addition certain tools are used. The requirements of each machine and equipment are quite different in terms of their space; speed and material handling process and these factors should be given proper consideration while choosing out a particular type of layout. This should also be considered that each machine and equipment is used to its fullest capacity because machines involve a huge investment. For instance, under product layout, certain machines may not be used to their full capacity so care should be taken to make full use of the capacity of the machines and equipment.

12.Human factor and working conditions: Men are the most important factor of production and therefore special consideration for their safety and comforts should be given while planning a layout, specific safety items like obstruction-free floor, workers not exposed to hazards, exit etc. should be provided for. The layout should also provide for the comforts to the workers such as provision of rest rooms, drinking water and other services etc. sufficient space is also to be provided for free movement of workers. 13. Characteristics of the building: Shape of building, covered and open area, number of storeys, facilities of elevators, parking area and so on also influence the layout plan. In most of the cases where building is hired, layout is to be adjusted within the spaces available in the building. Although minor modification may be done to suit the needs of the plants and equipment. But if any building is to be constructed, proper care should be given to construct it according to the layout plan drawn by experts. Special type of construction is needed to accommodate huge or technical or complex or sophisticated machines and equipment.

6. Explain the ingredients of a Business Process.

Ans:-

Some people believe that only business start-ups need funding and that only large companies need business plans. But the truth is that every business needs a 'blueprint' - not just for the benefit of potential investors, but so that the people who work in the business can have a clear idea of its direction, and can commit to a plan. A good business plan serves various functions, but it must have a practical structure. Here are five essential ingredients: 1. A business description and mission statement. Every business needs a clear declaration of why it exists, and a basic description of how it intends to meet its primary objective. If you look at a good company website, it will often include elements of the mission statement in an 'About Us' section. It need only be a few sentences, and might be

something like "Our company aims to provide outstanding solutions and service to the x industry in and around the area of y". Think of your mission statement as the heart of your business plan. All your goals and activities should flow from it. Having prepared your mission statement, you next need to comprehensively describe your company. Provide a brief history and then explain what it does, identify the marketplace niche it fills and assert why you and the business will succeed. You may also wish to reveal why your business chose its location and how you will benefit the local community. 2. A management profile In business, as in any walk of life, people matter. Potential investors, lenders and even employees are not interested in a faceless, soulless corporate entity. They need to know that competent, experienced people are steering the ship. Provide an outline of your organizational structure and management team, giving solid reasons why your staff are competent to succeed. A chart illustrating the roles and relationships of key employees can work particularly well, and if you are a small company you may even be able to include every single employee.

3. A financial portrait and strategy Prospective investors and lenders need a good idea of the financial aspects of your business. Include basic data such as current and projected balance sheet, a profit and loss account and an analysis of cash flow. If you are a start-up, project this information as accurately as possible. It is important not to cut corners with these calculations and do ask for our assistance with this. Above all, make sure your numbers demonstrate that you and your management team have considered the key 'drivers' that will determine your success or failure. Don't fill the business plan with overly optimistic financial projections that could ultimately depict your company in a bad light. 4. Sales and marketing objectives Expertise and past success mean little without an up-to-date strategy for bringing your products or services to market. Describe your intended market, giving specific details on its size and how much of it you intend to serve. What is your market's growth potential? What specific geographic and economic factors play a role? Competitor intelligence is another crucial factor. Name your five largest competitors and explain why you can serve your market better than these rivals. Do not conceal

your weaknesses: recognising the challenges you must overcome shows that you are realistic. 5. An executive summary The likelihood is that many potential lenders will initially only read an executive summary. That's not to say they'll never read your entire business plan - but it does mean that a concise, readable executive summary may be necessary to get your 'foot in the door'. An executive summary should show the highlights of each section of the business plan, providing a clear synopsis of who you are, what you do and where you're heading. An Ongoing Process Like keeping a 'To Do' list, writing a business plan is an ongoing process. Yours must adapt to changes in your company, its market and the economy - and that means regular reviewing and updating.