You have been charged with the responsibility of implementing a facilities design project for bagging ammonium nitrate fertilizers (granular substance) in 10, 20 and 30 kg, plastic and paper bags and shipping trough railway box cars. The facility includes screw conveyor system for transporting fertilizers from the production plant to the bagging workstation, automatic weighing scale, turret hopper with spouts for bagging, heat sealer (for plastic bags)/sewing machine (for paper bags), steel wheel conveyor system for moving bags to railway box car and palletizer for stacking bags in the railway box car.
(a) Explain the problems that you envisage with particular reference to heat sealer, sewing machine, steel wheel conveyor and palletizer.
(b) State the factors that must be considered in the selection and installation of the various handling equipment.
(c) How would you proceed to design such a facility including manpower requirements and work method?