This project evaluated the material flow, capacity, and layout of an existing manufacturing facility. The objective was to identify bottlenecks, reduce unnecessary handling and travel, and develop a future-state design capable of supporting additional production volume.

Challenge
The existing layout created inefficient movement between production, storage, and support areas. The facility also needed to add capacity without introducing excessive labor, forklift traffic, or operational complexity.

Approach
- Mapped the current-state process using production schedules, bills of material, inventory data, and facility drawings.
- Used Flow Planner, an AutoCAD add-on developed by Proplanner, to visualize material movement, generate flow paths, and quantify travel throughout the facility.
- Developed value-stream maps and spaghetti diagrams to identify excessive movement and handling.
- Analyzed cycle times, resource utilization, inventory levels, storage requirements, and production constraints.
- Evaluated alternative layouts and future-state material-flow concepts.
- Completed capacity and economic analyses for the recommended design.

Outcome
The recommended layout was accepted by the client and included an additional production line to support future demand.

The proposed design increased projected throughput by approximately 33%, eliminated roughly 2,000 annual forklift-operator hours, and produced an estimated two-year payback.

The project demonstrated how facility data, industrial-engineering methods, and specialized flow-analysis software can be combined to create a practical and financially justified future-state design.

Recognition
Recipient of the 2019 1st Place Capstone Design Award from the University of Louisville J.B. Speed School of Engineering.