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CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 FACILITY LAYOUT DESIGN

Layout design is nothing but the systematic arrangement of

physical facilities such as production machines, equipments, tools, furniture
etc. A plant layout is the best placement of physical facilities which provide
an efficient operation. The improved layout affects the cost of material
handling, time and throughput. Hence it affects the overall productivity and
efficiency of the plant (Hassan 1994).

An effective and efficient layout design improves the efficiency of

material handling system and reduces total manufacturing cost and time. It
improves the effectiveness of space utilization of the system and considers the
area of layout, area of production equipments, number of columns, number of
rows, dimension of pathway, material movements, types of material handling
system, volume of the products, operation sequence, product mix and safety
of users. Moreover it ensures smooth and steady flow of production,
equipment and work force at a low cost.

Besides reducing material handling cost, inventory cost and labour

cost, it also improves the effective utilization of equipments and other
resources and increases the productivity and efficiency of the plant. The key
to good facility layout and design is the integration of people, materials and
machinery. The facility layout problem, otherwise called block layout,
considers the assignment of facilities to locations so that the
quantitative/qualitative objective of the problem is minimized or maximized
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as the case may be, under various constraints. There are two types of
objectives for facility layout problem (FLP) (Meller & Gau 1996). The first
one is the quantitative objective aiming at minimizing the total material
handling cost between departments based on a distance function. The second
one is the qualitative goal, aimed at maximizing the closeness relationship
scores between departments based on the placement of departments that
utilize common materials, personnel, or utilities adjacent to one another,
while separating departments for reasons of safety, noise, or cleanliness.

1.2 STATIC AND DYNAMIC FACILITY LAYOUT PROBLEMS

Facility layout problems are divided into two categories, static

facility layout problem (SFLP) and dynamic facility layout problem (DFLP).
The static facility layout problem is the determination of the physical
arrangement of production equipments within a facility. The static facility
layout problem approach is defined as flow of materials between the work
centers, demand of the product and product mix are fixed during the planning
horizon. When the flows of material between work centers change during the
planning horizon, this problem is known as the dynamic facility layout
problem.

Nowadays researchers are focused on static facility layout problem.

To meet out competition in the global market, facility layout must react to the
changes in designs, processes, quantities, scheduling, organizations, and
management ideas quickly. Once the changes are made, the manufacturing
system needs rearrangement of facilities and their structure must be modified.
However, SFLP alone cannot meet this change. Based on the market needs,
the plant has to adopt a flexible layout which is able to modify and expand
easily the original layout. Flexibility can be reached with modular devices,
general-purpose devices and material handling devices. In this critical
situation, SFLP needs to add flexibility to meet the production requirement.
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Modification and increase in the robustness of the SFLP are the approaches to
get flexibility. Gradually, SFLP develops these two approaches to the
dynamic facility layout problem (DFLP) and robust layout, respectively. If
there is a long-time material handling flow, DFLP or robust layout is suitable.
Otherwise, SFLP is better. If rearrangement is easy when the production
requirement changes drastically, DFLP is suitable. If not, choose robust
layout (Suo & Liu, 2008).

1.3 CHARACTERISTICS IMPACTING THE LAYOUT

In the literature different factors are taken in to accounts in order to

emphasize the characteristics layout problems. In general, the layout problems
addressed in research works differ, depending on characteristics like
manufacturing systems, the facility shapes, layout configuration, flow
movements, the layout evolution problems like problem formulation,
objectives and constraints addressed and the approaches that are the research
methodologies used to solve them. The tree illustration of the layout problem
is shown in Figure 1.1. This tree illustration shows how thesis research work
is organized in accordance with the most important features identified.
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Product layout
Process layout

Manufacturing Fixed Position

Systems Cellular layout

Hybrid layout

FMS layout
Fixed Dimension

Regular shape Aspect ratio

Facility Irregular shape

U-shape
Shapes
Single row Linear

Multi row Semicircular

Layout
Config Loop layout
n
Backtracking

Bypassing
Static Layout
Facility Flow movement
Layout Layout Evaluation
Problems
Dynamic Layout
Mini moment value

Mini traveling distance

Objectives Mini handling cost

Maxi layout moment ratio

Mini backtracking moves

Constraints Space allocation
Area Constraints
Facility location

Genetic Algorithm
Research Methodologies
Evaluation Simulated Annealing
Metaheuristics
Artificial Bee Colony

Particle Swarm Optim

Figure 1.1 Tree illustration of the layout problem

The selection of the problem is based on the many factors and

design issues like the variety and volume of the production, type of the
material handling system, different flows of products, layout configurations,
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shapes of the facility, objective functions and other constraints. These

important factors are detailed below:

1.3.1 Variety and Volume of Production

The layout design generally depends on the products variety and

the production volumes. There are six general types of layouts used in any
manufacturing organization, namely Product layout, Process layout, Fixed
position layout, Cellular layout, Hybrid or Combined layout and Flexible
Manufacturing System (FMS) layout.

1.3.1.1 Product layout

The product layout is also known as Flow line layout, Line layout,
Production line layout, Assembly line layout and Layout by product. The
production machines or workstations are arranged in a line based on the
sequence of operations required for the manufacturing of the product. It is
known as product layout. Figure 1.2 depicts a product layout:

Raw material Turning Milling Drilling Grinding Assembly Finished

product

Figure 1.2 Product layout

If a product requires a lathe, drilling, milling, shaping, grinding,

assembly equipment and finishing equipments in sequence, then the lathe
machines, milling machines, shaping machines, grinding machines, assembly
equipments and finishing equipments must be arranged one after another in a
straight line. If a single or a few items are to be produced in large quantities in
a production plant then this system is used.
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The Product layout has the following advantages. There are fewer
inventories, minimum material handling time and cost, reduced processing
time, less work in process, low unit cost, small working space, less inspection,
fewer delays, less skill set, simple, smooth and effective supervision and
control. The disadvantages of the product type layout are lack of flexibility,
high investment on equipment, machine stoppage stops the line, slowest
station and poor machine utilization.

1.3.1.2 Product layout

The process layout is also known as Functional layout, Job shop

layout and Layout by process. In this type, similar machines or workstations
are arranged together at one place based on the process they perform.
Figure 1.3 shows the arrangement of machines in a process layout.

Turning

Milling Shaping

Grinding
Drilling

Assembly & Testing

Figure 1.3 Process layout

Here all types of turning machines are placed together in one unit.
All milling machines are placed together in another unit, and so on. It is
useful for a manufacturer involved in a variety of products or items in small
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quantities. It is more suitable for batch production of non-standardized or

dissimilar products.

The advantages of the process layout are: Greater flexibility, good

incentives to workers, low investment, better utilization of machinery and
multiple product and process designs. The disadvantages of process layout
are: reduced productivity, higher material handling costs, long production
lines, complexity in planning and control, critical delays and difficult routing
and scheduling.

1.3.1.3 Fixed position layout

In a fixed position layout, the movement of workers to the product

site and machines remain stationary. The other names of fixed position layout
include Location layout and Static layout. Figure 1.4 shows a typical fixed
position layout.
aqdfdqf

Transport

Supplier

Project site

Human resources Power

Materials

fefwef
Figure 1.4 Fixed position layout
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It is preferred only when the manufactured or processed product is

bulky and heavy in size. It cannot be easily transported. Examples are
shipbuilding and repair, aircraft manufacturing and servicing, construction of
locomotives, boilers, generators, wagons, roads, dams, houses, and
automobile manufacturing processes.

The fixed position layout has the following advantages. They are
less prone to damage, have reduced transport cost, small investment on
layouts, higher adjustments and greater flexibility and facilitate changes in
product design, product mix, and production volume.

The disadvantages of the fixed position layout are listed below:

minimum utilization of equipments, increased cost of moving equipments,
requirement of more space, higher work-in-process, requirement of skilled
personnel, close control and coordination in production and personnel
scheduling.

1.3.1.4 Cellular layout

The combination of process and product type layout is known as

cellular layout. It is shown in Figure 1.5 and it works on the principle of
Group Technology (GT). So it is also known as Group Technology layout.
The principle of GT is to divide the manufacturing facility into small groups
or cells of machines (Dilworth 1996).
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lathe drill mill drill

inspect

pack inspect bore grind

Figure 1.5 Cellular layout

Each of these cells is dedicated to a specific family or set of part

types. Cellular manufacturing is the grouping of the production equipments
into machine cells where each machine cell specializes in the production of a
particular part family. GT is a manufacturing philosophy in which similar
parts are identified and grouped together to take the advantage of their
similarities in design and production. Similar parts are arranged into part
families, where each part family possesses similar design and/or
manufacturing attributes. A part family is a collection of parts that are similar
either in geometric shape and size or in the processing steps required in their
manufacturing (Mikell 2009). Fixed area cellular layout problems are families
of design problems involving the placement or allocation of work centre,
which are given a fixed area. The work centre is placed optimally with shorter
travelling distance of products (Reis & Anderson 1960). This type of the
machine layout is affected by a number of factors like the number of
machines, availability of floor space, part sequences and the material handling
systems (Hassan 1995). The type of material handling equipment plays an
important role in the design and operation of a modern manufacturing facility.
It determines the travel time and affects the throughput and the flexibility of
the Flexible Manufacturing System (FMS).
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The cellular type layout has the following advantages: High

utilization of machineries, less travelling distance, smooth flow of materials,
benefits of both product and process type of layout and importance of general
purpose equipment. The disadvantages of cellular layout are: requirement of
more skill, flow balance and the other demerits of product and process type of
layout.

1.3.1.5 Hybrid layout

A combination of any two or more layouts like product layout,

process layout, fixed area layout, and cellular layout is called hybrid layout or
combined layout. Many companies do not adopt a single type of layout. For
example, a company uses a combination of cellular layout in manufacturing
sections, process layout in finishing departments, and product layout in
assembly shops. Figure 1.6 describes a hybrid layout:
Rg3tr

Product layout

Raw materials LM MM DM GM Finished

products

LM VM DM GM
Process
layout
HM

rgg Figure 1.6 Hybrid layout

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The comparison of various types of layouts are given in the

following Table 1.1

Table 1.1 Comparison of various types of layouts

Fixed position
Product Layout Process layout Cellular layout
layout
Suitable for
Suitable for mass Suitable for bath Suitable for small
heavy machinery
production production to medium batch
industry
Saves the
Material handling Material handling Less material
transforming
cost is low cost is high handling
costs
Lesser Higher
Higher production Faster processing
manufacturing time production
time and cost time and less cost
and cost period and ost
Lesser work-in- Higher work-in- Higher work-in- Less work in
progress progress progress process inventory
Optimum use of Covers more floor More space Less space
floor space space required required
Higher labour Higher labour
Lesser labour cost Higher labour cost
cost cost
Effective
Effective Difficult in
Moderate control production
production control production control
control
Maximum
Lesser flexibility Greater flexibility Higher flexibility
flexibility
Heavy
Large investment Lower investment Lesser investment
investment
Maximum Moderate
Under utilization High utilization
utilization of utilization of
of machines of facilities
machines facilities
Lack of Effective Required close Effective
supervision supervision control supervision
Unskilled Skilled Multi-skilled
Skilled employee
employees personnel employee
Moderate
Large production Small production Single product
production
quantity quantity production
quantity
Heavy
Air craft
Car assembly plant Hospitals machineries
manufacturing
industry
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1.3.1.6 Flexible Manufacturing System (FMS) layout

Figure 1.7 shows an FMS layout that consists of a group of

processing work stations interconnected by means of an automated material
handling and storage system and it is controlled by an integrated computer
control system. It has the capability of processing a variety of different parts
and quantities of production and producing large volumes of product at a
lower cost. But it is very inflexible in terms of the product types that can be
produced.
dee
Computer Control
Room

M4 M5
Semi-finished
products
M3 M6

M2 M7
Raw material

Finished
M1 M8
product

Conveyor
UNLOAD
LOAD

Raw material Finished product

Figure 1.7 Flexible manufacturing system layout

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The advantages of Flexible Manufacturing Systems are: reduced

processing time, better utilization of manpower, improved quality, increased
productivity, improved efficiency, reduced set up time, production of a
variety of parts, serving a variety of vendors at the same time and production
of more product with less time.

1.3.2 Facility Shapes and Dimensions

There are two different facility shapes generally used in the

manufacturing industry. They are Regular (generally rectangular) shape
(Kim & Kim, 2000) and Irregular (generally polygons containing at least a
270 angle) shape (Lee & Kim, 2000). Figures 1.8, 1.9 show the Regular and
Irregular shape layouts respectively.

Figure 1.8 Regular shape

Figure 1.9 Irregular shape

Facility dimension is classified into two types: those with fixed

length and a fixed width and those defined by the area (Chwif et al, 1998).
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1.3.3 Material Handling Systems

A material handling system is used to handle the material at

appropriate locations. It can be belt conveyors, wheel conveyors, roller
conveyors, road guided vehicle, automated guided vehicles, robots, etc.
Tompkins et al (1996) estimated that 20–50% of the manufacturing costs are
due to the handling of parts and so a good arrangement of handling devices
might reduce them by 10–30%. There are two problems in selecting the
material handling systems. The two dependent design problems are: finding
the facility layout and selecting the handling equipment. Based on the type of
material handling system, single row layout, multi-rows layout, loop layout
and open-field layout are used.

1.3.3.1 Single row layout

The single row layout includes linear (Figure 1.10), U-Shaped

(Figure 1.11) and semi-circular shapes (Figure 1.12). It is commonly used in
Group Technology cells, Just-In-Time (JIT) implemented facilities and FMS.

Figure 1.10 Linear layout

In the linear layout, there may exist bypassing and backtracking.

Backtracking is the movement of some parts from a machine to another
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machine that precedes it in the sequence of placed machines in a flow line

Der2sssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss
arrangement. Bypassing occurs when a part skips some machines while it is
sssss
moving towards the end of a flow line arrangement.

M3 M2 M1

M4

M5 M6 M7

Figure 1.11 U-Shaped layout

142r4tr4tr4tcccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccc
ccccccc M3 M4

M2 M5

M1 M6

Figure 1.12 Semi circular layout

The material flow are moving along the sequence of operations of

all the parts; small material handling cost and time, less delays and better
control of operations and the ability to use conveyors are the advantages of
single row layout.

1.3.3.2 Multi-row layout

Normally multi-row layouts are suitable for FMS. Adjacent lines

share common equipments. Low investment, small space area, and high
machine utilization rate are its other advantages. The limitations of this layout
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are complicated process management and coordinating multi-tasking.

Figure 1.13 shows a multi-row layout:

M1 M2 M3 M4 M5

M6 M7 M8 M9 M10

M11 M12 M13 M14 M15

Figure 1.13 Multi-row layout

1.3.3.3 Loop layout

Loop layouts are used in FMS. It has high flexibility in material

handling system. Figure 1.14 describes a loop layout arrangement.
M3 M2 M1

M M M
3 2 1

M5 M6 M7

M M M
5 6 7

Figure 1.14 Loop layout

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1.3.4 Flow of Materials

In the facilities layout, the decision regarding placement of the

machines is typically made. Depending on the application and availability of
space, the machines are placed in one of the following pattern
(Tompkins 2010). A pictorial representation of the flow patterns is given in
ghawgergheh
Figure 1.15.

5 8

2 3

7 6

Figure 1.15 Flow patterns

DEGWGww
In the above Figure, lines 1 and 4 show the Straight line pattern.
Lines 1, 3 and 4 or 1, 2 and 4 represent the U-Shaped pattern. Lines 1, 5, 6
and 4 depict the S-Shaped pattern. Lines 2, 7, 6 and 3 or 2, 5, 8 and 3 show
the W-Shaped pattern.

1.3.4.1 Straight line pattern

The straight-line pattern is normally used when products are

produced in large quantities and the number of steps required for their
production is a few. Moreover, the shipping and receiving sections are on the
opposite sides. Figure 1.16 shows the arrangement of machines in a straight
line pattern.
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M1 M2 M3 M4

Figure 1.16 Straight line pattern

1.3.4.2 U-Shaped pattern

U-Shaped patterns are often used when it is necessary to keep the

beginning (receiving) and end (shipping) of the line on the same side and the
same end of the plant. U-Shaped patterns are also preferred in just-in-time
layouts. Workers are generally placed at the centre of the U-Shape. From
there they can monitor more than one machine at a time. A typical U-Shaped
pattern is shown in Figure 1.17.

M1 M2 M3 M4

M5

M9 M8 M7 M6

Figure 1.17 U-Shaped pattern

1.3.4.3 S-Shaped pattern

S-Shaped patterns are used for long assembly processes that have to
fit in the same area and also when it is necessary to keep the receiving and
shipping ends on the opposite sides. Figure 1.18 illustrates S-Shaped pattern:
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M3 M2 M1

M6 M5 M4

Figure 1.18 S-Shaped pattern

1.3.4.4 W-Shaped pattern

W-Shaped pattern, like the S-Shaped pattern used for long

assembly processes, which to fit in the same area. When it is necessary to
keep the receiving and shipping ends on the same side, the W-Shaped pattern
is preferred. Figure 1.19 depicts W-Shaped pattern arrangement.

M1 M3 M5

M2 M4

Figure 1.19 W-Shaped pattern

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1.3.5 Backtracking and Bypassing

There are two movements namely, backtracking and bypassing

(Figure 1.20) that can occur in flow-line layouts, which impact the flow of the
products. Backtracking or counter clockwise movement is defined as a part
moving from one facility to another preceding it in the sequence of facilities
in the flow-line arrangement. The number of backtracking movements has to
be minimized. Bypassing occurs when a part skips some facilities during its
moving towards the flow line arrangement.

Backtracking

Bypassing

Figure 1.20 Backtracking and bypassing movement

1.4 OBJECTIVE OF THE RESEARCH

This research concentrates on the fixed area cellular layout

problems in various manufacturing systems by implementing some relatively
important factors by using non-traditional optimization techniques. The
machine layout problem is defined as the physical arrangement of X number
of dissimilar production equipments to Y number of locations in a given
layout area. A sensible arrangement of production equipments reduce the total
movement of the products and cost of material handling. Also, it increases the
productivity and overall efficiency of the plant. „C‟ programming language is
used for coding.
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The objectives of the research are listed below:

To determine an appropriate physical arrangement of

equipment within the cell by minimizing the travelling
distance of the products.

To minimize the material handling cost by reducing

backtracking movements.

To reduce total moment value for the sequence.

To maximize the layout moment ratio for the proposed

layout.
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Details about the organisation of the research methodology is

shown in Figure 1.21:

Figure 1.21 Organization chart of the research methodology

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1.5 THESIS ORGANIZATION

This thesis is organized into nine chapters and the chapters are
organized as follows.

Chapter 1 furnishes an overview of layout design problems, types

of layout, features of a good layout, types of flow material and patterns,
procedure for layout design, and factors affecting the layout. Also it presents
the objectives of the research with an organization chart of research
methodologies.

Chapter 2 includes a detailed literature survey made in the area of

cellular layout design problems during the course of this research work. It
explains the research works described by various authors in the domain of
layout design on different manufacturing systems with multiple objectives.

Chapter 3 contains a detailed discussion of the research works

related to layout design problems by using heuristics and meta-heuristic
techniques. It also deals with the non-traditional optimization algorithms
applied in this research.

Chapter 4 presents a fixed area layout design problem with three

parts and eight machines. PSO, GA and SA techniques are applied to the
above said problem with particular objectives. Findings are tabulated and
compared. The analysis and interpretation of results are expressed
graphically. Also, it presents the results and conclusion.

Chapter 5 offers help in solving a fixed area cellular layout design

problem with ten parts and ten machines. PSO, GA, SA and ABC techniques
are applied to the problem with another set of objectives. Results are tabulated
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and compared with one another. The investigation and findings are explained
with graphical representation and is concluded with remarks.

Chapter 6 deals with a fixed area layout design problem with

twenty parts and twelve machines. The above said techniques are employed
with all objectives. Results are compared and evaluated. The analysis and
conclusion of results are explained with graphs.

In Chapter 7, the outcome of the research is discussed in detail for

all types of problems. The conclusion of the research is declared in this
chapter. Also, the researcher recommends a suitable technique for solving
fixed area cellular layout design problems.

Chapter 8 lists out the limitations of the research work.

Chapter 9 includes the scope of the research. Also, the researcher

has recommended the scope for further research.

References and the list of publications are presented at the end of

the research work.