Process Selection and Facility Layout

The Need for Layout Planning

 Inefficient operations
 High cost
 Bottlenecks
 Accidents or safety hazards
 Changes in product or service design
 Introduction of new products or services
 Changes in output volume or product mix
 Changes in methods or equipment
  Changes in environmental or other legal requirements
 Morale problems

Layout Design Objectives

 Basic Objective
 Facilitate a smooth flow of work, materials and information through the
system
 Supporting Objective
 Facilitate product or service quality
 Use workers and space efficiently
 Avoid bottlenecks
 Minimize material handling costs
 Eliminate unnecessary movement of workers or material
 Minimize production time or customer service time
 Design for safety

Repetitive Processing: Product Layouts

 Layout that uses standardized processing operations to achieve smooth,

rapid, high-volume flow

Non-Repetitive Processing: Process Layouts

 Layouts that can handle varied processing requirements

Fixed Position Layouts – Layout in which the product or project remains stationary,
and worker, materials and equipment are moved as needed.
Combination Layouts

 Some operational environments use a combination of the three basic layout

types:
 Hospitals
 Supermarket
 Shipyards
 Some organizations are moving away from process layouts in an effort to capture
the benefits of product layouts
 Cellular manufacturing
 Flexible manufacturing systems

Service Layout

 Service can be categorized as: product, process or fixed position

 Service layout requirements are somewhat different due to such factors as:
 Degree of customer contact
 Degree of customization
 Common service layouts:
 Warehouse and storage layouts
 Retail layouts
 Office layouts

Line Balancing – The process of assigning tasks to workstations in such a way that the
workstations have approximately equal time requirements

Goal: Obtain task grouping that represent approximately equal time requirements since
this minimizes idle time along the line and results in a high utilization of equipment and
labor

Why is line balancing important?

 It allows us to use labor and equipments more efficiently.

  To avoid fairness issues that arise when one workstation must work harder
than another

Cycle Time – The maximum time allowed at each workstation to complete its set of
tasks on a unit. It also establishes the output rate of a line.

How many workstations are needed?

 The required number of workstations is a function of:

o Desired output rate
o Our ability to combine tasks into a workstation
 Theoretical minimum number of stations

Precedence Diagram – A diagram that shows elemental tasks and their precedence
requirements.

How Process Selection of Facility Layout is done in actual management practice

Jansen, a Swiss steel maker, describes how the company’s offices were designed to
maximize the productivity and creativity of its engineers. Some products can not be
positioned in a plant on an assembly line or moved around. A fixed-position layout
allows the item to remain in one location while employees and machinery travel to it as
required. Products that are difficult to move are usually manufactured using a fixed-
position layout, such as ships , airplanes and building projects. Restricted space at the
project site also means that it is necessary to assemble pieces of the product at other
sites, move them to the fixed site, and then assemble them. The fixed-position layout is
also common for on-site services such as housecleaning services, pest control, and
landscaping. A fixed-position format is suitable for an item that is excessively enormous
or too substantial to even think about moving.

Advantages of Fixed Position Layout:

 Material movement is reduced

 Capital investment is minimized.
 The task is usually done by gang of operators, hence continuity of operations
is ensured
 Production centers are independent of each other. Hence, effective planning
and loading can be made. Thus total production cost will be reduced.
 It offers greater flexibility and allows change in product design, product mix
and production volume.

WORD COUNT: 620 Words

REFERENCE:

 https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wm-introductiontobusiness/chapter/facility-
location-and-layout