Logistics system planning steps and key elements

1. Smart factory logistics demand combing

The methods of demand combing mainly include on-site surveys, personnel interviews, questionnaire surveys, data collection, meeting discussions, and review of existing documents. The survey is not only for the logistics department, but also for the entire factory’s operating system. Different departments have different understandings of the status quo. At the same time, design corresponding forms to collect data. These forms need to have a certain logic and interrelationship. The amount of data collected, coverage period, and coverage area need to be clearly defined to ensure the effectiveness of data collection.

Requirement combing is the beginning of planning. To obtain reasonable, effective and accurate planning requirements, in addition to effective data support and an understanding of the status quo of operations, the planning team also needs to be hypothesis-oriented and describe the scenarios and scenarios of future smart factories to business departments. Form to ensure that a wide range of recommendations and understanding are obtained; based on facts, based on the existing business pain points, organize planning needs, and use system logic to connect existing pain points and planning needs to ensure the accuracy, systematic and Forward-looking.2

2. The conceptual design of smart factory logistics is basedon the demand analysis.

The conceptual design combines smart factory strategy and value orientation, best practices inside and outside the industry, the frontier of smart logistics technology application, smart logistics development concepts, industry and enterprise development bottlenecks, smart logistics ideas Demands, smart factory construction goals, key points of industry competition, product and process characteristics, basic conditions (such as production line beats, capacity planning, effective working hours, etc.), strategic performance requirements, etc., adopt a series of methods and techniques, such as brainstorming and Expert discussion, design concept extraction and transformation, creative design and purification, transformation from sensibility to rationality, transformation from thinking to outline, transformation from diversity to certainty, etc., and finally output the logistics concept design.

The main content of the conceptual design phase output includes the following parts:

1. Factory logistics strategy: Based on the factors considered in the formulation of the strategy, according to its formulation steps, output the factory logistics strategy. It is worth noting that the logistics strategy is not a slogan, it may include measurable performance indicators, actionable mid- and long-term planning, etc.

2. List of factory capabilities: Mainly refers to the various ability elements of the smart factory, such as the factory can quickly respond to customer orders, support customization, have production flexibility, have digital features, and have accessibility.

3. Factory blueprint: The factory blueprint can be understood as the “look” of the factory. As mentioned above, it is classified according to the dimensions of logistics planning, including the outline of the five dimensions of logistics, infrastructure, products, manufacturing, and information. For example, the blueprint of logistics includes the overall operation logic of factory logistics, the growth path of factory logistics capabilities, and the general flow of logistics in the park. The blueprint of infrastructure includes the conceptual format of the building, such as the approximate opening of the park, the number of buildings, the number of floors, and the architectural form ( Elements such as steel structure, concrete, etc.), logical relationships between buildings.

4. Logistics technology selection: The logistics technology selection in the conceptual design stage mainly refers to the logistics technology concept based on the output of the factory’s pain points and key links, such as the use of stacker stereo storage for incoming pallets, and the use of conveyor lines for finished products offline and transfer Wait. It is worth noting that for the same key link, two or more logistics technologies may be output in the conceptual design stage.

5. Factory logistics planning creativity: mainly includes the highlights and breakthrough points of factory logistics planning. For example, car parking methods, conventional methods may consider ground or underground parking, but proposed roof parking may be a bright spot in the plan. For another example, for some large pallets with irregular sizes, how to store them compatible is one of the difficulties. At this time, through the flexible pallet design, multi-size storage compatibility is finally realized, which can be understood as a breakthrough in planning. point.

6. Factory scale and approximate flow: The factory scale mainly refers to the annual production capacity, monthly peak production capacity, and average production capacity that the smart factory can match based on this conceptual design. For example, it can match the annual production capacity of 3 million units and the monthly peak capacity of 350,000 units. The average production capacity is 250,000 units. The rough flow mainly refers to the data estimation, which can roughly present the flow data of each link, such as the flow of each logistics gate in the park, the flow between buildings, and the flow between processes.

7. Factory operation mode and logistics process: Based on the factory’s strategic positioning and value orientation, the output factory operation mode mainly refers to the factory operation direction, such as emphasis on delivery-oriented operation management, emphasis on information integration and interconnection of differential management. The logistics process refers to the general methods and techniques of logistics operation in the entire process of material arrival, unloading, receiving, inspection, warehousing, storage, picking, distribution, and finished product warehousing, storage, and delivery.

On the basis of the conceptual design model, through the control of the conceptual design process, it mainly includes logistics strategy formulation, conceptual blueprint planning and reaching path design, and finally presents a conceptual design plan that meets the needs of the enterprise.

3. Preliminary planning of smart factory logistics.

At the preliminary planning stage, it is necessary to fully consider the objective constraints faced by factory construction, and gradually transform the “dream factory” of conceptual design into a “real factory”. On the basis of the conceptual design, the preliminary plan combines the conceptual design plan, plot characteristics and parameters, local policies and regulations, plot environment, products and production technology, logistics technology, production and logistics equivalent, logistics technology selection, planning principles, Constraints, operating indicators, etc., adopt the PFEP planning method, and output the preliminary planning of the smart factory through the calculation of production and logistics flow, the intelligent logistics import model, the calculation of logistics resource demand, and the planning of functional areas. The preliminary planning model of the smart factory with logistics as the main line is shown in Figure 4:

The main content of the preliminary planning stage output includes the following parts:

1. The logistics layout plan of the factory area: mainly includes the opening of the park, the roads in the park, the unloading area, and the construction format (including construction The length, width, height, number of floors, structure, etc.) and living facilities (mainly referring to parking lots, canteens, dormitories, etc.). The planning of living facilities is based on humanistic care. For example, in order to prevent employees from being exposed to the sun and rain, consider planning a wind and rain corridor in the factory area to connect the factory building, canteen and dormitory.

2. Factory functional area layout plan: The factory functional area mainly includes logistics area and production area. Logistics area generally refers to the receiving and dispatching area and storage and turnover area of ​​raw materials and finished products. Depending on the size of the enterprise, production mode, management level, etc., the logistics area may be integrated with the production area, showing a multi-point distributed cellular arrangement, or the logistics area (such as a warehouse) may be centrally arranged independently of the production area. The production area mainly refers to the processing area of ​​the production operation, including the pre-process and assembly process areas.

3. Auxiliary area layout plan: The auxiliary area mainly includes the auxiliary area of ​​the park and the auxiliary area in the building. The auxiliary areas of the park mainly include high-voltage substations, low-voltage substations, air compressor rooms, etc.; dangerous goods warehouses or gas stations: solvent rooms, gas cylinder rooms, etc.; security facilities: guard posts, fences, fire control rooms, and monitoring rooms; environmental facilities: Sewage treatment stations, industrial garbage stations, waste recycling rooms; and production-related floor scales, etc. The auxiliary facilities in the building mainly include toilets, production offices, pantry, equipment auxiliary rooms, etc.

4. Preliminary allocation of logistics capabilities and resources: preliminary allocation of logistics capabilities and resources in each link, such as the planned area of ​​each logistics area, various material storage methods, preliminary allocation of distribution methods, and a three-dimensional warehouse of materials and parts that need planning Preliminary calculation of the number of warehouses and the number of logistics facilities based on flow.

5. Preliminary definition of logistics facility parameters: It mainly includes the preliminary definition of parameters such as the type and quantity of logistics facilities. For example, the preliminary definition of a certain link requires the configuration of a latent AGV and the calculation of its preliminary quantity.

6. Preliminary building parameters related to logistics: mainly include production building form, building outline, height, storey height, column distance, fire compartment, load, rain shed, etc.

Preliminary planning is a complex optimal solution problem with multiple goals and multiple rules. Different industries, different companies, different plots, and different strategic orientations have different constraints and rules. Therefore, the preliminary planning cannot be transformed into a simple mathematical algorithm model. Instead, the mathematical model must be used to analyze and solve the input and output for each specific problem, so as to obtain a number of relatively optimized preliminary layout plans, and Only by presenting the pros and cons of each plan in detail, and comprehensively evaluating and choosing, can the planned plan be relatively optimal. Otherwise, a plan that is rashly obtained without systematic planning, because the less the constraints, the more divergent the solution will be, forming countless “comprehensions”. Different people will form different planning plans from their own point of view. Inability to form effective judgments and decisions, resulting in huge decision-making risks and opportunity costs. Therefore, in the preliminary planning stage, detailed and comprehensive input is particularly important.

4. Smart factory logistics detailed planning is based on the preliminary planning

The detailed planning combines the preliminary planning scheme, specific PFEP scheme, logistics technology and parameters (such as handling technology, storage technology, picking technology, etc.), logistics information technology, logistics operation logic , Production flow lines, intelligent manufacturing parameters, detailed logistics parameters, key link focus, humanistic requirements, etc., through the detailed design of PFEP, the logistics technology is researched, selected, confirmed and applied, and the logistics process is sorted and intelligent Research and design of logistics scenarios, design of the environment, selection of information technology and refinement of building parameters, etc., and finally output a detailed planning plan. The detailed planning model of the smart factory with logistics as the main line is shown in Figure 5.

The main content of the detailed planning stage output includes the following parts:

1. Architectural space and layout plan: refers to each area refined to each square meter (mainly including The detailed layout of the receiving and dispatching area, raw material storage area, semi-finished product area, finished product area, container storage area, defective product area, spare parts area, forklift area, etc.), such as the types of materials stored in the storage area, storage methods, and the placement of appliances Placement methods, etc., as well as the detailed material flow lines between each area and the specific docking form with the line side stations.

2. Logistics-related detailed building parameters: The detailed building parameters are mainly used to support the design of the construction drawing of the design institute, mainly including the opening size of the logistics equipment, the equipment lifting port, the three-dimensional warehouse building parameters (levelness, uneven settlement, distance of stiffeners, etc.) , The detailed size of the fire shutter/water curtain size, the number of elevators and elevator parameters, etc.

3. Operation scenario plan: operation scenarios based on the logistics design of inbound logistics, production logistics, and finished product logistics, such as how each type of material arrives, unloads, stores, exits, and distributes.

4. Production facility configuration plan: refers to the production facilities, equipment type, quantity and capacity requirements selected in the production process, which are strongly related to the production process.

5. Logistics facility configuration plan: including the specific logistics technology selected in each link, the type, quantity and capacity requirements of the logistics equipment and facilities involved.

6. Logistics informatization function requirements: Based on the operation scenario plan and operation logic, the overall framework of the intelligent factory logistics system informatization is clarified, and on this basis, the informatization function requirements of each link are proposed, mainly including inbound logistics, warehouse management, and material distribution , Finished product logistics, container management, emergency logistics and other links, while clarifying the input, information drive, information collection, output and other information of each process activity node.

7. Logistics operation process logic: the logistics operation logic of the whole process from arrival, unloading, receiving, inspection, storage, distribution, finished product warehousing and shipping, such as basic requirements for material packaging, control of inventory cycle, control of inventory area, Picking and full set of lead time, etc.

8. Visiting channel design plan: Design a visiting channel plan based on the company’s visiting needs, including reference channel direction, main tourist attractions, etc.

9. Factory environmental design plan: factory environmental design including factory humanities, rest, care.

10. Investment budget: Based on the logistics facility configuration plan, and with reference to the prices of domestic mainstream logistics equipment suppliers, a detailed logistics facility investment budget is made to further support corporate decision-making.

In the detailed planning stage, detailed planning and design is required for parts logistics planning, logistics area planning, production flow line design, line-side station space planning, finished product logistics planning, etc., following the “three one” policy, and detailed to ” The planning of “each square meter, each material, and each station” requires coordination with multiple external and internal departments to plan in detail the logistics facilities and equipment of each node and output technical parameters and standards. At this stage, it is necessary to sort out detailed planning elements, define building parameter requirements, and carry out logistics facility configuration and logistics process design.

In the detailed planning stage, it is necessary to consider the connection of buildings, the connection of manufacturing equipment, the connection of logistics equipment, the connection of material/product circulation, the connection of production/process, the connection of planning-execution-operation, the connection of personnel, the connection of logistics, The connection of supporting facilities, the connection of logistics containers, the connection of suppliers/OEMs/customers, the connection of security/access control, the connection of peripheral vehicles, the connection of quality, etc. All the elements of the man-machine material law ring of the entire smart factory are connected.

5. Smart factory logistics plan verification

Based on detailed planning , the smart factory logistics plan needs to be verified through simulation technology in order to optimize and modify the plan. Factory logistics system simulation is to establish a system model for actual logistics operation scenarios, and then perform experiments based on this model, analyze system characteristics on the basis of experiments, optimize system target parameters, or evaluate system operating efficiency. Computer modeling technology is used to construct a simulation model to study the problems in factory logistics planning, and then optimize the logistics system to avoid bottlenecks in the operation process.

Factory logistics simulation is mainly divided into three categories according to its application scenarios: virtual reality process animation simulation, logistics discrete event data simulation, and logistics system operation simulation. For different application scenarios, different logistics simulation technologies are generally selected. In logistics planning, virtual reality process animation simulation and logistics discrete event data simulation are mainly selected to verify the scheme.

1. Virtual reality process animation simulation

Virtual reality simulation technology mainly displays the physical space position of the logistics system and the relative relationship with other related facilities such as the production line body, as well as the display of factory logistics operation scenes. It is mainly used for physical space verification of plan planning, plan introduction Discussion and external introduction and publicity, etc.

Through the three-dimensional modeling technology, the logistics operations and logistics automation system scenes involved in the factory logistics planning are 1:1 size three-dimensional modeling, and on this basis, the dynamic logic of the three-dimensional model is given to the three-dimensional model according to the flow and logic of the logistics system operation Relations, from the delivery of the supplier to the delivery of the finished product, the whole process is animated and visually displayed, so as to study and optimize the logistics plan, and provide a three-dimensional and visual logistics system operation process and logic.

2. Data simulation of logistics system

based on discrete events The data simulation technology of logistics system based on discrete events mainly studies the calculation of the comprehensive output of the production system and the load of system facilities and equipment under multiple constraints. Among them, there are many applications in production system layout optimization analysis, production line balance optimization, material distribution plan optimization, job sequencing and production scheduling, and logistics equipment load.

The logistics discrete event simulation is based on the analysis of the structure and process of the logistics system, through the mathematical description of the system, that is, the establishment of a system model, and then through a suitable simulation method, the logistics system is simulated to achieve the process. Through simulation, various statistical properties of the dynamic process of material transportation and storage can be understood, such as whether the utilization rate of transportation equipment is reasonable, whether the transportation route is unobstructed, and whether the flow cycle of the material handling system is too long.

3. Logistics system operation simulation The

logistics system operation simulation mainly studies the operation analysis of the production logistics system driven by the basic data of factory operations and the information system, such as the verification of the rationality of the information system design and development in the new system development and verification stage (logical and algorithmic Feasibility); another example is to evaluate the rationality of daily operation scheduling plans during the operation of the factory.

Logistics system operation simulation is a logistics system simulation model based on the operation plan. Run the entire production logistics system by modeling the entire production process of the factory and driven by the operation plan of scheduling systems such as APS, using the production environment resources of manufacturing execution systems such as MES as constraints and combining the dynamic scheduling strategy of random logistics events. Simulation model, and analysis and optimization process. Through a large number of interviews and experiments, the planned scheme was adjusted and optimized to optimize the operation efficiency of the factory. In the operation phase, the production logistics simulation model can also be extracted at any time, and then deduced for some scenes of the production operation, and accurately calculated some related index parameters to predict the operation of the factory, thereby providing a decision for the operation and management of the factory Decision support and basis.