FE Industrial & Systems Practice Question Solution included after investigation
CASE E-084 Β· FE

The Shorter Layout That Moved More Material

Layout A had the shorter average distance, but its busiest material-flow pair was much farther apart. Weighted load-distance made Layout B the better design.

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Case E-084 engineering failure visual
HOW THIS WORKS

Think like
a real engineer.

Follow the investigation process used in the field β€” in five guided steps.

1

Inspect

Review the problem, diagram, and evidence.

2

Commit

Choose your hypothesis.

3

Prove

Run calculations and test your idea.

4

Fix

Select and validate a safe correction.

5

Sign Off

See the full debrief and key takeaways.

Case Brief

SAME PRINCIPLES. HIGHER STANDARDS.
PROBLEM STATEMENT

Three department pairs have daily material flows AB=50, AC=10, and BC=10 loads/day. Layout A has pair distances AB=30 ft, AC=5 ft, BC=5 ft. Layout B has distances AB=20 ft, AC=15 ft, BC=15 ft. A note chooses Layout A because its unweighted average distance is lower. Using load-distance score, determine the better layout and the percent reduction relative to Layout A.

Facilities Supply Chain Industrial Systems Design Verification Root Cause Analysis Safe Correction
E-084
INVESTIGATION WORKSPACE WORK THROUGH THE CASE β€” YOUR CHOICES MATTER.
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DEBRIEF (LOCKED)

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Find the root cause, confirm the fix, and see how this connects to the exam.

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CASE CLOSED Β· ENGINEERING VERDICT

What actually failed β€” and what should change.

What failed

A simple average distance ignored the material-flow pattern.

What was missed

The highest-flow department pair was also the longest pair in Layout A.

Corrected model

Use the total load-distance score Ξ£(flowΓ—distance).

QUICK ANSWER

Layout A has load-distance 50(30)+10(5)+10(5)=1600 load-ft/day. Layout B has 50(20)+10(15)+10(15)=1300 load-ft/day, so Layout B reduces the score by 18.75%.

ENGINEERING TAKEAWAY

Use a load-distance score by multiplying each pair's flow by its travel distance and summing across all relevant pairs.

CASE QUESTIONS

Questions this case should settle.

What is a load-distance score?

It is the sum of flow multiplied by travel distance for each relevant origin-destination pair.

Why can average distance be misleading?

It does not weight high-flow department pairs more heavily than low-flow pairs.

NEXT FE PRACTICE QUESTION

The Higher-Rate Distribution Center That Cost $10,000 Less

Facilities Supply Chain Β· 5–10 min

Continue Practice β†’
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

Real failures. Lasting skills.

Each case is designed to build the judgment, analysis, and confidence you need for engineering exams β€” and beyond.

  • Apply core engineering concepts to real-world problems
  • Practice structured troubleshooting and analysis
  • Strengthen exam-ready thinking through realistic scenarios
COMMON QUESTIONS
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Are the cases aligned with engineering exams?

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What happens after I complete a case?

The sealed debrief unlocks with the root cause, corrected reasoning, fix, and takeaway.