Integrated process planning and scheduling in networked manufacturing systems plays a crucial role nowadays and in the forthcoming context of Industry 4.0 to enable effective and efficient decisions, and to improve the business market, based on collaboration, along with computer-based distributed manufacturing and management functions. In this paper some insights regarding a literature review carried out about this main subjects analysed are presented and discussed. Moreover, a framework for integrated process planning and scheduling in networked manufacturing systems is proposed and briefly described, along with some main underlying issues, which are further discussed. Thus, the main purpose of this research consists on presenting a proposed methodology, based on the study conducted, to enable to further assist either academia or industry to develop new tools, techniques and approaches for integrated process planning in networked manufacturing environments. The findings and contributions of this research can help in the implementation and improvement in distributed manufacturing environments, to be linked with small and medium enterprises, to further expand their potentialities through well suited integrated process planning and scheduling decision making processes.

In modern technological industrial era, the typical manufacturing plant consists of a large number of diversified activities interconnected as a unit with required communication facilities. The manufacturing plant layout area consists of various activity cells such as design office, manufacturing shops, assembly and inspection departments, administration and security locations etc.,The fundamental goal of facility layout problem is to minimize the material flow costs by positioning the cells within stipulated area.The orientation and spatial coordinates of each cell is specified by FLP design and the orientation of each cell may be in horizontal or vertical position.In this paper,the manufacturing plant layouthas been designed by using Computerized Relative Allocation of Facilities Technique (CRAFT). JAVA programme has been developed to design the optimum plant layout by considering STEP file as input for developing an optimum plant layout