Capacity Study Using FlexSim and Layout Design for Consumer Goods Company
June 23, 2025
Capacity Study Using FlexSim and Layout Design for Consumer Goods Company
Erica Smith |
Project Summary and Scope
A leading corporation in the consumer goods industry specializing in the personal care sector approached PMC with a clear objective: to know the changes in both layout and equipment that would fit best for their current and future production volumes. The corporation was interested in identifying the constraints and utilization of their equipment and resources. Furthermore, they wanted to analyze the Work In Process (WIP) and inventory levels throughout the production process. In this client’s particular setting, equipment for similar operations was dispersed across the facility rather than organized in dedicated areas, causing excessive material handling and creating an inefficient process flow.
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Helping the client achieve their future production needs by aiding the decision-making process
Challenges
- Disorganized plant layout.
- Inefficient material flow.
- WIP in multiple locations.
- Material consumption requirements.
- Sustaining current and future production volumes.
Opportunity
Disorganized growth of facilities over time: The plant’s equipment layout became suboptimal due to the reactive expansion of facilities and the gradual addition of equipment to accommodate increasing volumes over the years. PMC evaluated the most optimal layout scenario for their production and inventory areas through the use of Discrete Event Simulation, determining the best layout for the most efficient processes.
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Inefficient Material Flow: Due to rapid expansion, departments that were within closer proximity had to be relocated, causing excessive material flow and double handling of material. PMC identified interdependent departments to reduce excessive material handling and improve flow. Partnering with PMC gave the company the ability to quantify these challenges and transform them into actionable, feasible improvements, resulting in increased ROI.
WIP and Inventory levels: With changes in the production volume, layout, and material flow, all WIP staging areas and Finished Goods storage racks were impacted. PMC optimized WIP levels between each process to sustain the current volumes and ensure future production and growth will be achieved.
Optimize resource pools for operational efficiency: Capacity results obtained by PMC’s simulation model gave PMC insights on resource and equipment utilization. With these, PMC defined the operator and material handling crews’ allocation, as well as specified all the areas where these resources could be shared.
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Sustaining current volumes and future growth: The client’s demand for products was expected to increase by an additional 40% in the long term. With PMC’s simulation, they made a clear decision on upcoming modifications, performed equipment consolidation and met the demand for the next 3 to 5 years, all this while sustaining the current production volumes, without overstock or excessive labor.
Approach
PMC determined the best tool to achieve the objectives was a comprehensive Discrete-Event-Simulation Model for the current state of the client’s layout. To accomplish this, PMC had to analyze the process and track the movement of over 10,000+ parts through the plant, along with their process times and material handling requirements.
To create the simulation model, PMC had to execute the following set of steps:
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- Laser Scanning and 3D modeling: To precisely determine the dimensions and location of equipment, WIP, storage, and inventory, PMC’s Digital Engineering division assisted with the Laser Scanning of the plant and creation of a current state 3D model.
- Collect Finished Good SKUs list: The client along with PMC was able to identify a list with 150 finished products within 5 different product families, focusing on the top 80% of the highest-running items. PMC validated this list, studied the process and filled any existing gaps to ensure having all the necessary information for each product.
- Collect Bill of Materials (BOMs): PMC collected the BOM’s of every finished product to understand all the sub-assembled, purchased, and in-house made components, and their routing details.
- Define Current and Future Volumes: PMC collaborated with the client’s internal materials and scheduling teams to get their current and future 40% volume increase.
- Map the Process Flow: PMC was able to access the routing information for every part available from the client’s ERP system. This, combined with the part numbers, families, and process times, allowed PMC to capture and validate any missing information.
- Data Gaps: PMC identified the products and processes that already had measured and documented cycle times and conducted MODAPTS for the ones that did not.
- Plan for Every Part (PFEP): Based on the information from the steps mentioned above, PMC was able to develop a PFEP and use it as a central database with product information, routing details, volumes and storage information, for all the 10,000+ parts within scope.
- Discrete Event Simulation (DES) Model: PMC’s Simulation and Industrial Engineering teams worked together to develop a DES Model using Flexsim, placing an exact behavior replica of every machine, line, rack and pool of operators for each area of the plant. This dynamic model allowed the client to get deeper insights on information and metrics for all the process steps in the current state scenario, while allowing PMC to generate solutions that would optimally fit the client’s needs.
Solutions
- Equipment allocations and amounts: PMC delivered a detailed analysis of utilization which identified opportunities for process improvements
- Layout Optimization: PMC’s simulation model enabled visual and data-driven statistics to reduce the variation in resource utilization based on the location of machines, WIP and Finished Goods storage.
- Inventory levels: PMC conducted a precise space requirement analysis for every WIP staging area, as well as the finished good storage locations, reducing the initial real estate requirements.
- Future state simulation: The simulation model allowed PMC to identify bottlenecks and constraints in their current processes. With these issues identified, the client’s team now had clear insights on what they would require for the future production volumes. PMC worked closely with the client to develop and validate respective simulation models for every new layout scenario. This allowed PMC to deliver the following metrics and information:
- Equipment utilization
- Resource utilization
- WIP levels
- Finished Good Inventory levels
- New layout validation
- Future demand validation
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Benefits
Validation of layout before moving equipment – “What-if scenarios”
With the simulation results, PMC was able to validate the client’s new layout and equipment needs without moving equipment, stations, assembly lines, or stopping production.
New and unnoticed improvement opportunities
PMC’s simulation highlighted constraints in the production process, pointing out possible improvement opportunities that would’ve been hard to identify without a simulation model, such as shared assets utilization, idle and travel time for material handling operators, varying inventory levels based on monthly demand, and space requirement for staging at the Point-Of-Use.
Look-ahead inventory data
Combining the clients production schedule and volumes with PMC’s simulation model, PMC was able to identify when the goods are actually going to be finished and stored, giving the client valuable insights on spatial and logistical needs.
3D Data
Having both a precise pointcloud (laser scan data) and a full-plant 3D model, the client is now able to move into Industry 4.0 by utilizing the simulation, pointcloud, and 3D model as a Virtual Twin. These resources can be used for planning, engineering, asset control, reduced travel costs, and even vendor planning when needed.
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Let our experts show you how our Services can support your projects!
Erica Smith
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