Help & About

What FaDE is

FaDE is a combined layout designer. The Manufacturing module uses classic SLP + CRAFT to place departments on a factory grid; the Warehouse module uses SLP zone placement + a WaDE-style rack fill with ABC slotting. Both modules feed a common Analytics dashboard and Export center, so you can iterate a design in either module and compare it in one place.

SLP relationships

Every pair of departments or zones gets a rating: A (absolutely necessary, weight 64), E (16), I (4), O (1), U (0), X (undesirable, −1024). The engine minimizes the sum of distance × weight across all positive pairs and penalizes X-pair adjacency.

Manufacturing engine (CRAFT)

Departments are placed as contiguous blocks in priority order (total closeness rating + fixed-position boost). CRAFT then swaps pairs randomly and keeps the change when the total moment drops. Machine count × machine size + aisle allowance determines each department's cell footprint so a zone can't be split across the plan. Presets and the Guided setup dialog seed a starting matrix for common layout types (job shop, cellular, product, etc.).

Warehouse engine (SLP + WaDE)

Pick an industry preset (e-commerce, cold storage, 3PL, cross-dock, etc.), set building shape (rectangle / L / U) and dock positions, then generate. The engine places SLP zones inside the buildable envelope, fills rackable zones with A/B/C slotted bays according to your optimization goals, and reports KPIs — total bays, pallet positions, aisle share, CAPEX, OPEX, payback. Unbuildable regions (from L/U shapes or void gates) render as a hatched "UNBUILDABLE" area so they read as outside the building.

Standards compliance

After the main optimization, each layout is checked against rules defined in src/lib/engine/standards.ts — entry/exit presence, X-pair separation, zone coherence, aisle coverage, utility anchoring. If any error-severity rule fails, an extra repair pass runs. Anything still failing is shown in red on the compliance panel. You can upload a JSON rules file for your region via the Regional Standards card; rules cite OSHA 1910.36 / 1910.176, NFPA 101, FM Global 7-45, and Muther SLP.

Analytics dashboard

The Analytics page loads the most recent snapshot from each module and computes economics on top of shared assumptions (floor cost, machine cost, cost per move, amortization years, etc.).

• Manufacturing: bottleneck identification, per-department utilization %, CAPEX / OPEX rollups, material-handling cost from CRAFT flow moments, cost per unit.
• Warehouse: per-zone pallet positions, $/pallet position, cube utilization, amortized cost per pallet-year, payback.
• A/B compare: snapshot two iterations per module and view a delta report. Export any report to CSV.

If the warehouse tab shows "generate a layout first", regenerate in the Warehouse designer — the snapshot format was tightened and older snapshots are ignored on purpose.

Export center

The Export page captures whatever you last generated in each module:

• Layout image (PNG) — the 2D plan as rendered in the designer. For the warehouse module, switch to the 2D view before generating so the export captures the top-down plan.
• Excel workbook (.xlsx) — Departments / Zones, KPIs, per-item Economics, Totals, and the Assumptions used.
• JSON snapshot — full raw snapshot for scripting or re-import.

Manufacturing layout types

• Process Layout — same-function equipment pooled into functional areas; wide aisles because routing varies.
• Cellular Layout — U-shaped group-technology cells producing a part family end-to-end.
• Product Layout — dedicated production line(s); increase machine count for parallel lines.
• Fixed-Position Layout — large/heavy product stays put, resources come to it.

Typical workflow

1. Open Manufacturing or Warehouse, pick a preset.
2. Adjust departments/zones, entries/exits, and goal sliders.
3. Press Generate — inspect the plan and compliance panel.
4. Open Analytics to review economics; save A/B slots to compare iterations.
5. Open Export to download PNG, XLSX, and JSON artifacts.

Data & privacy

All designs, snapshots, and assumptions live in your browser's localStorage — nothing is uploaded. Clearing site data resets every saved layout and A/B slot.