Project Planning: Optimal Plant Size, Location, and Layout

Posted on Dec 10, 2024 in Other subjects

1. What is Macro Location and What are its Essential Features?

Macro location study aims to determine the region or territory in which the project will have influence with the media.

Factors to consider:

  • Proximity and availability of raw materials
  • Transport: inputs and outputs
    • Maritime
    • Railway
    • Road
    • Air
  • Availability of public services
    • Water
    • Electricity
    • Natural gas
    • Telecommunications

2. Micro Location: What is it and What Factors Influence it?

Micro location is the study done for the purpose of selecting the community and its exact location to install the plant. This site would meet the objectives of achieving the highest return or produce the minimum unit cost.

  • Urban Location
    • Improved transport systems
    • Better job market
    • Near related businesses
    • Service companies
  • Rural Location
    • Increased availability of water
    • Plentiful and inexpensive land
    • Minor restrictions
  • Transportation staff
  • Cost of land
  • More factors
    • Proximity to highways and access roads
    • Airports and boarding systems
    • Provision of services
    • Topographic conditions
    • Political factors
    • Environmental factors

3. What is the Optimal Size of the Plant?

The optimal size of a project is its capacity, and is expressed in units of production per year. It is optimal when operating with lower total cost or the maximum economic return.

4. What are the Factors that Determine or Condition the Size of a Plant?

  • The size of the project and demand: This is the most important factor in conditioning the project. The size is acceptable if the demand is clearly superior.
  • The size of the project and supplies and inputs: Sufficient supply in quantity and quality of raw materials.
  • The project size, technology, and equipment: These tend to limit the size of the project to the minimum output required to apply.
  • The size of the project and financing: Without sufficient resources, the project is impossible.
  • The project size and organization: It is necessary to ensure that you have sufficient staff and appropriate for each of the positions in the company.

5. What is the Purpose of the Plant Layout and What Does it Imply?

To find the best arrangement of work areas and equipment in order to achieve maximum economy at work while ensuring greater security and worker satisfaction.

The plant layout management involves the necessary space for material movement, storage, equipment or production lines, industrial equipment, administration, personnel services, etc.

6. Engineering Project

A project is a unique cyclical activity and decision-making process, in which knowledge of the foundations of the science of engineering, mathematical ability, and experimentation are combined to transform natural resources into systems and mechanisms to meet human needs. It involves understanding the technical aspects and infrastructure to enable the process of manufacturing the product or service.

7. What is a Block Diagram?

It is a form that uses graphic symbols to represent the steps or stages of a process, the sequence of them, and their interaction. It does not represent a physical appearance or its operation. It emphasizes the role of the elements. What it seeks is the clear and objective description of the process.

8. Flow Diagram

These are diagrams using graphic symbols to represent the steps or stages of a process, as well as their sequence and iteration.

Features:

  • Ability to communicate and clarity.

9. Cursogram

It is a technique that involves making a very detailed analysis of a core process with the intention of reducing time, distance, or both parameters within a process that is already running.

10. Balance Materials

The sufficient supply in quantity and quality of raw materials is a vital aspect in the development of a project, since this depends directly on the quality of the good or service, will meet the timely delivery of the same, as well as the image consumers will have it. This involves the search for nearby suppliers and recognized prestige.

11. Detail Engineering

It is the use of software applications for the automation of functions in various fields of engineering, such as calculation, analysis, design, drawing, and digitization of maps and diagrams. This service enables the generation of computers, graphic reports, and technical documents in project development, a process fast, efficient, and high-quality products.

12. What is a Standard?

A document established by consensus, which provides rules, guidelines, or characteristics for activities or their results.

13. What is Normativity?

A set of guidelines and rules aimed at giving an order while carrying out a process of any kind. It is a document that specifies all the majority of cases in which the violation of a rule and the consequences this would breach.

14. What is Normalization and What are its Goals?

It is the drafting and adoption of standards that are established to ensure the coupling of independently constructed elements and ensure the replacement if necessary, ensure the quality of manufactured items and reliability. It is the process of developing, implementing, and improving the rules that apply to various scientific, industrial, or economic in order to manage and enhance.

  • Simplification: This is to reduce the models are only the most necessary.
  • Unification: To allow interchangeability internationally.
  • Specification: It is intended to avoid identification errors by creating a clear and precise language.

15. Briefly Explain Technical, Environmental, and Safety Standards

  • Technical Standards: These are documents containing technical specifications based on the results of experience and technological development should be approved by a recognized standards body. The rules are identified with a code that consists of characters that identify the type of norm (UNE, DIN, ISO, etc.), which are mostly short for normalizing entity, in addition to an identification number, year, and title.
  • Environmental Standards: The purpose of environmental quality standards is to establish limits on those elements that have some degree of danger to people or the environment. Laws which will be establishing levels of pollutants that are considered acceptable and safe for human health and the environment.
  • Safety Standards: Safety standards are measures to prevent accidents, protect worker health, and motivate the care of machinery commonly used elements, tools, and materials with which the individual develops his workday.

16. What is the Purpose of Evaluating an Investment Project?

To publish its financial and social profitability, so that addresses human needs in an efficient, safe, economical, allocating economic resources that are available, the best alternative.

17. What is an Investment?

An investment is an outlay of money or other financial resources for the purpose of obtaining benefits in the future.

18. Classify the Most Frequent Risks When Making Investment Analysis

  • Operating Risks
    • Falling prices in the future: The possibility that the product may have the investment of a significant depreciation in the future.
    • The rising cost of materials or supplies.
    • A market with lower growth than expected: This risk has to do with that our investment of the profits not planned initially.
    • External factors: In this category can enter natural disasters like earthquakes and floods, social problems (strikes, insecurity), or public health problems.
  • Financial risks:
    • Hikes interest rate of variable rate debt: If it has an investment credit interest rates will increase over time.
    • Hikes or low exchange rate: This risk is very important when investing in instruments related to international market.

19. Three Possible Scenarios for the Sensitivity Performance of an Investment

  • Optimistic: It estimates a positive return, with virtually no or minimal risk. It is the best scenario, but not always the most likely.
  • Probable: It is a realistic calculation taking into account the most frequent risks that apply to the type of investment. This should be the number in which we must build more.
  • Pessimist: This calculation should be made taking into account all the risks listed above. The yield is very low.

20. What is the Equilibrium Point?

The equilibrium point is the point of activity (sales volume) where total revenue equals total costs, i.e., the point of activity where there is no profit or loss. Striking a balance is to find the number of units to sell, so that compliance with the above (that sales are equal to those costs).

21. Steps to Find and Analyze the Equilibrium Point

  1. Define costs.
  2. Classify costs into Variable Costs (VC) and Fixed Costs (FC).
  3. Find the variable cost per unit.
  4. Apply the equilibrium point formula.
  5. Check results.
  6. Analyze the point of balance.

22. Define Fixed Costs and Variable Costs

Variable Costs: are costs that vary with changes in activity levels are related to the number of units sold, production volume, or number of services performed, for example, raw materials, fuel, hourly wage, etc.

Fixed Costs: are costs that are not affected by variations in activity levels, e.g., rent, depreciation, insurance, etc.

23. Define Gantt Chart and its Purpose

The GANTT chart is a tool that allows the user to model the planning of tasks necessary for the completion of a project. This serves to represent a project, noting the delays and advances of the project, and to calculate the resources consumed and the total project cost. It is a perfect tool for planning any type of project, comparing the theoretical planning the project started with the actual progress of the project. Basically, the diagram consists of a vertical axis which set out activities that constitute the work to be executed, and a horizontal axis on a calendar that shows the duration of each.

24. Steps to Build a Gantt Chart

  1. List the activities in column.
  2. Have the time available for the project and indicate.
  3. Calculate the time for each activity.
  4. Display these days in the form of horizontal bars.
  5. Reorder chronologically.
  6. Set time or sequence of activities.

25. Define Critical Path Method and List the 3 Methods to Calculate it

The critical path in a project is the sequence of activities leading to the maximum cumulative time. Determines the shortest time you can take to make the project if they have all the necessary resources. It is necessary to know the duration of activities.

  • Figure
  • Math
  • Multiple Choice