Factory, layout, and hall planning in a brownfield setting is precision work under time pressure. You plan while production keeps running, with tight spaces, legacy equipment, and incomplete data, and every misjudgment costs cycle time, budget, and nerves. 2D plans are deceptive about clearances, and a point cloud shows the existing facility but not yet a plan. What helps is fast, realistic checking at 1:1 scale before the first anchor is drilled.
With Halocline, you bring the shopfloor layout, workstations, and material flow together in one 3D layout. You walk through variants at life size, check ergonomics and safety zones, measure paths and times, and make decisions on that basis. You don't need training or finished CAD models: you can start with your existing plans, photos, and point clouds.
Conditions are rarely ideal. Hall heights, column grids, crane runways, and restricted areas limit your options. Legacy equipment blocks utility connection points and foundation positions, and the load capacity of floors and ceilings sets limits for conveyor technology. At the same time, production keeps running, rebuild windows are short, and every additional loop pushes back the start-up. So you need an approach that makes uncertainties visible and backs up decisions with clear assumptions and measurements.
You start with the data you have. You place a 2D hall plan (DWG, JPG, or PNG) on the floor as a template or use a point cloud as a 3D template. You store photos in the notepad for details and explicitly mark anything unknown as an assumption. Instead of waiting for complete CAD models, you rebuild the existing factory with library elements as precisely as needed for the check. You record distances with dimensions. You create variants on the desktop and do the actual check in VR at 1:1 scale. This way you see clearances, lines of sight, maintenance access, and traffic routes without having to interpret a plan.
Coordination matters just as much. Production, logistics, maintenance, and occupational safety look at the same space, give feedback on the model, and record decisions with labels. Screenshots, measuring points, and assumptions stay with each variant and remain traceable. Trumpf shows how fast this can go: for replanning a stationary production into a flow line, only a 2D layout of the as-is state was available. The project was realized in Halocline in 3 weeks.
Clearances and safety zones: Misjudgments here are among the most common causes of rework. In VR, you experience passages, escape routes, and protected areas at life size, check lines of sight, and find collisions before expensive rebuilds begin. Misunderstandings that arise from 2D plans come to light early.
Utility connections and load capacities: If reach, cross-sections, or permissible loads are noticed late, rebuild pauses and extra costs follow. In Halocline, you make utility routes, connection zones, and load assumptions visible in the variants, for example with boxes and labels. As soon as measurement or inspection reports are available, you check the assumptions against them.
Ergonomics: It determines quality and pace. You check grasping areas and working heights with grasping area avatars for different body heights. If you run through a workflow in VR and record it, the ergonomics analysis based on the key indicator method shows which object movements are problematic. This reduces strain and error rates and stabilizes the cycle.
Material flow: Congestion arises at intersections, from poorly placed buffers, or from routes that are too long. In VR, you walk the routes, measure lengths, and analyze recorded paths in the spaghetti diagram. You vary buffer positions and traffic rules using planning variants and compare the alternatives.
Legacy equipment, fire protection, and standards: You check maintenance access, protected areas, emergency stop zones, and fire compartments directly on the 3D layout and document them traceably. The assessment against standards remains a job for the specialists, but they get a clear basis, and changes stay documented.
Halocline is the planning platform for production layouts and workstations. Here's how to proceed:
Line relocation during ongoing production: The starting point is a line that needs to move to a new spot within the existing facility. You import the point cloud of the target area, build two or three variants, check paths and buffers, confirm the utility access points, and agree on the solution in joint reviews.
New packing or assembly module: Here, ergonomics checks at 1:1 scale bring the greatest benefit. Shorter grasping paths, clear visibility, and stable postures shorten the cycle time and reduce mispicks.
Material flow bottleneck: You defuse intersections by separating routes and relocating buffer areas, and compare the variants with the as-is state.
Safety distances around legacy equipment: You make protected zones and clearances visible in the model and document them. This gives the acceptance inspection a clear basis and avoids rework.
Larger areas can be planned this way too: during the redesign of an existing part of its factory, Mettler Toledo planned a new area of around 1,800 m² in Halocline.
Sound decisions rely on a few clear metrics. Path lengths and walking times per role and shift reveal waste and potential. The impact on cycle time and utilization uncover bottlenecks. The ratio of usable to traffic area and suitable buffer sizes sharpen efficiency and safety. In addition, you document safety distances, collisions found, and maintenance clearances. A before-and-after comparison with identical metrics creates transparency and speeds up approval.
Want to replan your existing factory before you rebuild? Get started for free with Halocline Free and build your first workstation in 3D. For point clouds, process analysis, and the ergonomics check, get in touch and we'll show you the right scope.
