GENERAL FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED IN A LAYOUT DESIGN

Flow of materials The flow of materials is very important in any layout, and it becomes all the more important when it is and assembly line. Whenever the layout is being designed it should be designed in such a way that the flow of materials is not being hindered. There are basically two types of flow in any layout, namely the internal flow and the external flow. The internal flow consists of the flow within the layout or how the materials move from one machine to another. Since it is an assembly line layout the flow of material is very important. The layout should facilitate the flow of the material. The external flow means the flow external to the layout, ie, the flow of the raw materials and the finished goods. The raw material pallet should be kept in such a way that they are near the aisles for easy transportation and also the finished goods pallets or trolleys should also be kept near the aisles for the easy movement. Distance travelled The distance travelled is one of the performance criteria whenever the layouts are being designed. The distance travelled should be tried to reduce at any cost. The distance travelled is always considered to be the additional cost. The movement requires time and the time spent in travelling is the time lost. But we cannot eliminate the moment completely since it is an ultimate necessity. Even though the movement is a non value addition process this is unavoidable. Thus all the care should be taken to reduce the movement as much as possible. This can be done by keeping those machines closer which have larger flow between them closer. In case of sub-assemblies they should be kept close to the main assembly lines. Material movement The material movement mostly refers to the external movement of the materials. This becomes important when the complete layout has to be designed. The material movement from the raw materials warehouse to the assembly lines and finally to the finished goods area. The layout should be so designed that this flow is facilitated and flow is continuous without any one point having a very large traffic. This will lead to the smooth material flow and easy handing of the inventories.

Operators convenience Operators convenience should also be taken into consideration while designing a layout. This is also very important since the operator is the one who is in the shop and who has to do the operation. Therefore its the duty of the layout designer to take care of the ergonomic factors while designing a layout. Most of the shop floor operations are inherently tiring and require a great deal of physical work. So the layout should be designed in such a way that the operators effort is being reduced and he or she does not have to undergo high amount of physical strain. The operators mental setup also comes into the action. For example in western countries the operators are used to work in the counter clockwise direction but in eastern countries its the other way around. Therefore the work place design as well as the layout design should be done keeping these factors in mind. Space available Space is always a constraint in the design of the layout in any case. The challenge is to come up with the best layout within the given space. The space is not always available as a luxury since the space comes only at a price. Moreover the available space should be used wisely since the space wasted is the money wasted. It can be seems that by closely analysing the space utilization in almost of the existing layout and by careful rearrangement more space can be found out. Country Laws and Norms The country laws and norms should also be kept in mind before the layout is being designed. In many countries it has its own standards for the minimum space that should be there for the operator to operate in the machine. This should be followed strictly. Depending upon these conditions the layout should be re-designed or modified. Many times these factors tend to be neglected which may give rise to the legal issues. These laws clearly state all the points regarding the minimum space required, the maximum working hours, the wages and its calculations and the overtime wages too. For example in India the minimum space between any two operators should be 1.2m.

Types of operations The type of operation is another major factor while designing the layout. A layout engineer should have a very good idea about the type of the operation and the difficulties faced by the operator. He should also be well aware of the issues arising while the operation is going on. The type of operation like those requiring high precision like that of a watch manufacturing will have a different set of issues regarding the layout design than that of a job shop or a foundry shop. Thus when layout designer designs the layout he should be well acquainted with the operations himself. The best way to be aware of the issues are by going to the floor and spending time over there, observing the operations, noting down the factors affecting the operations, doing a FUSA study, talking to the operators, etc. Environmental Conditions The environmental condition in which the operator has to operate is also an important factor that should be considered. For example in a watch factory the entire facility is arir conditioned and the humidity is also kept under control. This is important since the part are too small and the accuracy is highly required. But when it comes toa foundry shop the especially the conditions prevailing near the furnace is completely different. Thus in a watch factory if the machines can be located close by then in a foundry shop there should be enough space between the machines for giving enough space for the operator to move and to reposition himself. Thus while designing the layout the exact conditions prevailing should be known and the spacing between the machines and facilities should be given taking all these factors into consideration. Type of the layout followed The type of the layout followed comes from the manufacturing philosophy followed by the firm. The firm can adopt a line layout, or process layout. The firm can also adopt a cellular layout. So as a layout designer these information should be considered and the layouts should be designed. The layout consideration for a product layout will not be same for the process layout. If the product demand is not large enough to justify a dedicated line for the product then there is no point in designing a product layout and arguing this might reduce the other cost like material handling cost. Thus the layout designer should actually consider the

different parts that are being manufacture and their demand and how it can be grouped or the layout can be designed to achieve an overall profitability. Size of the finished goods The size of the finished goods should also be considered. In assembly operations usually the size of the produc goes on increasing with every operation. Thus this size also has to be considered. For example in a automobile assembly line the size of the layout restricts the number of the automobiles in the line but when we consider the layout of a small motor assembly the size of the product does not increase to a large extent at each assembly station. If the size of the finished goods is large enough that it cannot be moved by hands then the layout should also have the space for the manoeuvring of the products also. Therefore the layout designer should consider this factor also. The above given factors are just a general view of the real life scenario. In every shop floor there might be conditions that are unique to that shop. For a layout designer to design a good layout he has to spent time in the shop floor and try to get himself familiarized with the conditions existing there and the firms production philosophies.