Facility (Plant) Layout

Layout Planning
• Layout planning in manufacturing & service
organizations
– deals with physical arrangement of various resources that are
available in the system
– with an objective to improve the performance of the
operating system
• Benefits of good layout design
– Jobs in a manufacturing system travel lesser distance
– Customers spend less time in service systems
– Costs & Lead time come down
– Improved quality
• Objectives are to maximize
– Customer satisfaction
– Utilization of space, equipment, & people
– Efficient flow of information, material, &
people
– Employee morale & safety
 Importance of Layout Decisions

• Requires substantial investments of money

and effort
• Involves long-term commitments
• Has significant impact on cost and
efficiency.
 Basic Production Layout Formats
• Process Layout (also called job-shop or
functional layout)

• Product Layout (also called flow-shop layout)

• Group Technology (Cellular) Layout

• Fixed-Position Layout
 Process Layout
(job shop or functional layout)
• A production system design in which
similar machines or functions are grouped
together.
• Most efficient when making products that
have different requirements or when
handling customers who have different
needs.
• Low-volume, High-variety
Process Layout
 Process Layout
An example

Product A
Product B L L L L D D

Product C D D
L L L L
D D
M M

G G G
M M
 Process Layout
Figure
Process Layout
(functional)

Dept. A Dept. C Dept. E

Dept. B Dept. D Dept. F

Used for Intermittent processing

Job Shop
 Advantages of Process Layout
• Can handle a variety of processing
requirements
• Not particularly vulnerable to equipment
failures (breakdown)
• More Flexible
Disadvantages of Process Layout
• In-process inventory costs can be high
• Challenging routing and scheduling
• Equipment utilization rates are low
• Special attention for each product or
customer
Product Layout (Flow shop Layout)
• Product Layout :-A production system design in
which every item to be produced follows the same
sequence of operations from beginning to end,
such as an assembly line.
• Two version of Product Layout:
 Fabrication Line:-builds components
,such as automobile tires or metal parts
for refrigerator on series of machines
 Assembly Line:- puts the fabricated
parts together at a series of
workstations.

In both the cases line must be balanced

.that is ,the time spent to perform work
on one machine must balance the time
spent to perform work on the next
machine in fabrication line, just as the
time spent at one workstation by one
assembly-line employee must balance
the time spent at the next workstation
by the next employee.
Product Layout for Carwash
 Product Layout
An example

Product A
L D M G

Product B
L D L G

Product C
L D M L G
 Product Layout
Figure

Raw Finished
Station Station
Station Station
Station Station
Station
materials 1 22 33 44 item
or customer
Material Material Material Material

and/or and/or and/or and/or

labor labor labor labor

Used for Repetitive or Continuous Processing

 Product Layout
Figure (cont’d)
Product Layout
(sequential)

Work Work Work

Station 1 Station 2 Station 3

Used for Repetitive Processing

Repetitive or Continuous
Product-Oriented Layout Advantages
• Low variable cost per unit usually
associated with high-volume, standardized
products.
• Lower material handling costs
• Lower work-in-process inventories
• Easier training & supervision
Product-Oriented Layout
Disadvantages
• Higher capital investment
– Special equipment

• Any work stoppage stops

whole process

• Lack of flexibility
 Fixed-Position Layout

A production system arrangement in which

the product being built or produced stays at
one location and the machines, workers,
and tools required to build the product are
brought to that location as needed, as for the
building of ships.
 Advantages of Fixed Layout
• Fixed layout is flexible with regard to change
in design , operation sequence, labour
availability, etc.
• It is essential in large project jobs , such as
constructions and shipbuilding etc., where
large capacity mobile equipment is required.
 Disadvantages of Fixed Layout
• Capital investment may be for a one-off
product , which can make it expensive
• Due to long duration to complete a product ,
average utilization of capital equipment is
limited.
• Space requirement for storage of material
and equipment are generally large.
 Cellular Layout - Work Cells

Cellular Production
Layout in which machines are grouped
into a cell that can process items that have
similar processing requirements
• Consists of different machines brought
together to make a product
• Group Technology
– The grouping into part families of items with
similar design or manufacturing operations.
• Group of items can be formed either
according to similarities in their design
(external features such as size , shape etc.)
or according to similarities I their
manufacturing process.
 Advantages of Cellular Layout
• Lower work in process inventories.
• A reduction in materials handling costs.
• Shorter flow time in production.
• Simplified scheduling of material and
labour.
Disadvantages of Cellular Layout
• Reduced manufacturing flexibility.
• There is also a risk that the cells that may
become out of date as products and process
change, and the disruption and cost of
changing cells can be significant.
 Cellular Manufacturing Layout
Heat Gear
-1111 Lathe Mill Drill -1111
treat cut

Heat
Mill Drill Grind - 2222

Assembly
222222222 treat

Heat
3333333333 Lathe Mill Grind - 3333
treat

44444444444444 Mill Drill Gear - 4444

cut
 Functional Layout

222 222 222

111

2
Mill Drill Grind

22
444 3333
444

22
33

1111
2222 Assembly
33

44
111333

33
33

44
33

4
33

111 111
33
Heat 111 Gear
3

333Lathes
treat cutting 444
 Layout Design in Service Systems
• Two important factors could influence the layout design
problem in a service organisation
– Degree of customer contact
– Line of visibility
• If firms aim for a high degree of customer contact, then
customer convenience is of paramount importance and firms
may have to forego efficiency aspects of layout design
• An increase in the line of visibility exposes more business
processes to the customer paving way for multiple
opportunities for hazarding service quality. Layout decisions
are critical in such situations.
 Assembly Line Balancing
• Analysis of production lines
• Nearly equally divides work between
workstations while meeting required output
• Objectives
– Maximize efficiency
– Minimize number of
work stations