Green Factory Planning Framework and Modules for a Flexible Approach

Planning green factories implies increased complexity depending on specific planning requirements and contradictory planning targets; these aspects challenge present methods and tool for factory planning. To properly face these challenges with limited time and resources (typical of planning projects), a factory planning approach that particularly addresses green has to be adaptable to specific cases and aligned with the green vision of the factory. This paper proposes a modular Green Factory Planning and describes its main components. The conceptual elements for a framework and a planning process are presented and differences in methods and tool applications are described in comparison to established approaches. The method and tools are combined to planning modules, linked with a clear information flow as well as responsibility definition. A use case for a typical module that specifically considers energy consumption shows the potential of green as integrated vision for factory planning.