A working reference showing how a real system design builds from an operational flow sketch through all four engineering layers. Use it while working through Module 5 and again when building your Capstone flow diagrams.
Each stage builds on the one before it. Start at the Operational Flow and work down. Notice what gets added at each layer and more importantly why it gets added at that stage and not earlier.
Each layer has a job. Do not mix them. Rate numbers do not belong on Layer 1. Equipment names do not belong on the Operational Flow. Build in sequence and the design tells you what it needs.
This is what the discovery meeting produced. It shows how Riverside moves product today — before any automation is assumed. No conveyor language. No equipment names. Just the operation as it exists. Every system design starts here. If you skip this step you are designing a solution before you understand the problem.
The operation as-is. No automation assumed. This is the output of the discovery meeting, nothing more.
Can you narrate this flow out loud without stopping? If not, you do not understand the operation yet. Do not proceed to Layer 1.
Conveyors. Equipment names. Rates. Speeds. People locations. None of it. This is the problem, not the solution.
Now automation is the answer. The operational flow becomes the engineering blueprint. Cart pushes become throw-on lines. Manual staging becomes a merge point. Manual sort becomes a sorter. Still no rates, no equipment models, no people. You are drawing what the system does, not how fast or what brand.
Cart pushes are now throw-on lines. Central staging is now a merge point. Manual sort is now a sorter. The operation drove every decision.
Can you narrate this as a complete story without gaps? Every path a carton takes from induction to destination must be on the diagram.
No CPM values. No belt speeds. No equipment models. No people. No controls logic. That all comes next.
Exceptions need a defined path. If you do not draw it now you will forget to design it. Every system needs one.
The flow from Layer 1 now gets CPM values at every section. Work backward from the required output. 20 CPM combined at the sorter. Distribute by volume split. Calculate belt speeds from those rates. Every segment of the system must have a number before Layer 3 begins.
Start at the dock doors. Work back through the sorter to each throw-on line. Rate at every segment before any speed is calculated.
Zone A / Zone B split is unconfirmed. Flag it now. An assumption you did not document is a gap that surfaces later as a dispute.
Takeaway spur speed is not the sorter speed. Use the Speed of Takeaway Spur calculator. Divert angle drives the difference.
Every segment has a CPM value. Every belt has a speed. If any section is blank this layer is not complete.
Every point where a decision is made gets labeled. Where does the WMS query fire? How long does it have to respond? The scan-to-divert distance is a physical calculation driven by belt speed and WMS latency. It must be confirmed in writing before the layout is finalized. Anti-gridlock logic and exception paths are defined here.
Scan-to-divert distance is a physical dimension. It is calculated from confirmed latency. If IT cannot give you a number, the layout cannot be finalized.
The induction throttle point is a Layer 3 decision. If destination lanes fill and recirculation backs up, induction stops. Define the condition before the controls contractor writes a line of code.
No-read, WMS timeout, and lane-full conditions all need a defined path. If the diagram does not show it, it will not be designed or priced.
Every decision point is labeled. Every exception has a path. WMS latency is confirmed in writing. If any of those are missing, Layer 3 is not done.
Operator locations, forklift crossings, pull cord runs, accumulation zones, maintenance access. By the time Layer 4 is complete, a knowledgeable person can read the diagram and understand the full system — the rates, the control logic, and the physical constraints — without asking a single question.
Every operator location is shown. Operators at the scan station, Door 1, Door 2, and the hospital lane. If a person works near the system they are on the diagram.
Two near misses were reported. The crossing is marked, guarded, and on the diagram. If it is not on the diagram it will not be priced or installed.
Every conveyor run with operator access has pull cord. It is shown on the diagram. It goes in the electrical RFQ with dimensions. Not as a footnote.
A knowledgeable person can read this diagram and understand the system intent, the rates, the control logic, and the physical constraints without asking the engineer a single question.