ABESEC Library

31 096

ilililililil]ilillI
621.86 AGA-P
 Introduction
1. Definitions of Plant l-ayout 2. Objectives of Plant l,ayout 3. Principles of Plant l:yout 4. Symptoms of Good Plant Layout
-<. Advantages of Good Plant l-ayout 6. Need for Relayout Decision 7. Types of l-ayout Problems

Plant layout deals with the arrangement of the physical facilities and the man power
required to manufacture a product. The arrangement includes the space needed for material
movement, storage, indirect labour and all other supporting activities and serwices as well
as the operating equipments and personnel. It is the duty of management to make a layout
so that man, material and maehinery can work together most efliciently and also it is safe
and satisffing for employees. Proper plant-layout is one of the keys of success in factory
management.
Everyone within an industrial organisation is concerned with plant layout in some way,
and everyone within a plant is interested in its layout to some degree. Top management is
interested in layout as it requires substantial investment ofboth money and efforts and involves
long term pommitments; which makes mistakes difficult to overcome. Middle management
is interestird in layout as it affects the output and has signifrcant impact on the cost and
efficiency of short term operations. The workers are interested in the arrangement of their
work stations as it affects their output, effrciency and earnings. In addition, changes in an
existing layout is resisted by personnel because such changes often require them to alter their
daily routine or to undergo retraining.
1.1. DEFINITIONS OF PI,ANT LAYOUT
Plant layout has been defined in various forms. Some of the important definitions are:
1. Plant layout is a floor plan for determining and arranging the desired machines and
equipment of a plant whether established or contemplated in the one best place to permit
the quickest flow of material at the lowest cost and with the least amount of handling in
processing the product from the receipt of raw material to the shipment of finished product.
2. Plant layout is placing the right equipment, coupled with the right method, in the
right place to permit the processing of a product unit in the most effective manner through
the shortest possible distance and in the shortest possible time.
3. Plant layout is a plan of, or the act of planning, an optimum arrangement of industrial
facilities, including personnel, operating equipment, storage space, material handling equip-
ment and other supporting services along with the design of the best structure to contain
these facilities.
4. Plan layout is planning the path each component/part of a product is to follow through
the plant, co-ordinating the paths of the various parts in the most practical and eeonomical
manner, then presenting ri scale drawing or other, representation of the arrangement and
finally seeing that the plan is properly put into effect.
2 Material Handling and. Plant Laryout
Irtroductton
It can be said that Plant layout is a Master Plan that integrates ground, building, floors,
departments, maehine tools, processingequipments, manufiacturingmethods, materialhandling operationprocess to
equipments, service facilities, flow of production, utilisation of labour, and shipment of finished interference,.
products into a unified machine of which management itself is the operator. It is a joint product 3. Grerter U
of the various fields of engineering and marurgement and is in effect the blueprint that physically effective utilisetion
co-ordinates the five basie factors of man, material, money, machinery and market. In integrating machinen'should be
these management/factors, plant Layout becomes a blueprint of management. for each work ststbu
the productivit)- end
12. OBJECTIVES OF PI,ANT I,AYOUT
4. ilinirql
Plant layout aims at an arrangement of work areas and equiplnents that will be the be evoided ard be Le
most economical to operate and yet be safe and satisfactory to all parties concerned, i.e., the of depa.rtment caD r
employees and management, and the products are produced at a cost low enough to sell at -qit+rtne6s in selectiq
a profit in a competitive market. Capital investment t
There are a number of objectives a layout has to meet. Essentially, facility planning it is noticed that ou
is a combinationof objectives and considerations. The final planningrests on a compromise broaching, capital im
ofvarious isolatedbenifits and limitatiorrs which in turnare modifiedbytime, degree ofrelative reami-og rn"chinec rl
importance, management attitude and policy. It is no use in pnrrch
equipment.
Few basic objectives, a planner must keep in view while planning a layout are :
1. Increased output/turnover. 5. Econorict
area in a plant mta r
2. Fewer production delays. the built up area, tti
3. Greater utilisation of man and machinery. b1' equipments and r
4. Minimum capital investment. moveEent gf rnqll rn
Deceosary-- sctivitiBa
5. Full utilisation of floor and cubic space. P
Stock bins spr.ead ou
6. Reduced inventory in process. machines or uDrru
7. Minimum material handling. Proper la-vout d
8. No congestion and confusion. coasideringall the neo
9. Easier adjustment to changing conditions. Iloreover, thought sL
of the three directbu
10. Easier and better supervision.
6. Reduced Il
11. Satisfaction and safety of workers. planning departrueU,
1. Increased Output : Layout should be sueh that produetion is carried out in most lf la1'out is plan.oed a
efiFrcient manner. Machines, equipments and work areas should be arranged such that material the mqte;ial movec &
moves smoothly along a straight line. Effort should be made to avoid or eliminate any delay rf inventon can be n
at any point during the process. It is being said that 80 per cent of the time a component/ sorkststions is avoidc
part either moves or is stored and only 20 per cent of the time the part is processed. Therefore, berween rporkststiou,
layout should be such that a worker has not to walk long distances for collecting materials, if the La-r'out is pl.anna
tools or instructions. Flow of the work should be planned such that the work passing through rnrteri.als or partr dur
any area can be easily identified, counted or checked with little possibility of being mixed wrerimum poesible spr
with other parts or batches in adjacent areas. mnditions.
2. Fewer Production Delays : Interruption due to whatsoever reasorrs should be 7. Dfiniuiei-rg,
avoided in production schedule. The interruption may be caused either because of unbelanced norkis not proceccingr
machine capacities, bottlene:ks at some workstation or some breakdowns. The delays can i.n a plant is determir
he ndling of the rnrtsri
be avoided in a ltryout by planning the material to move progressively from one workstation/
rnot€rie'l, then coatim
rorked meteriel from r
 ':-: i,;t:tlon

:Fratlon process to the next towards its completion with a minimum of

interruption, and
-.: i --e rence
S Greater Utilisation of Man and Machinery : A good layout aims at full and
':.T*c:ir"e utilisation of the available resources such as man, 1nd m-achinery. No man
: i:hinery should be idle at any time. Full utilisation of facilities is achieved b/prope.layoutor
: : : each work stationand operation. Better utilisation
:
of man and machinery
-': oroductivity and stimulates direct as well as indirect labour inil"nt increases
and increases their morale.
4' Minimum Capital fnvestment:As faras possible unnecessary capital investments
: ': a''"oided and be kept to minimum necessary. Selection of proper machines and arrangement
": iepartment can aid eonsiderably in redu"ing the quantity of equipments required. Fore-
" ahtness in selecting the methods of processing also helps to save in machine investment.
'apital investment can be
minimisedty m"kin! use of idl" ti*u on e:risting equipment. If
: :s noticed that one part, as processed, ,.""u orrly part of the capacity of La"li.re, say a
: : aching, capital investment should be avoided " on drilling and
by processing the part
:''arning machines already available in the plant "ith""
or getting the work done outside the plant.
": is no use in purchasing and installing any equipLent-if proper load is not there for the
=.: -ipment.
5' Economieal Use of Floor Area and Cubic Spaee : Every square foot of floor
i-a in a plant costs money in terms of capital investment^as well
By minimising
:le built up area' this cost is reduced to a considerable extent. Floor""..pt""p.
area is not inl,., occupied
:
"' equipments and storages, but floor area is also required by service departments and
;l'ement of man and material. Floor area occupied byLquipment in op.r"tiorru and other
:*cessary activities pays its own way, but unoccupied, wasied or
idle floor area is a burden.
S:ock bins spread out on only one level, unorganised store area,
long distances between
:achines or unnecessary aisles, walls or partit'ions mean poor space utilisation.
Proper layout dictates minimum spacing between two workstations or machines
:: nsideringall the necessaryprovisions foranyactivityand the
after
movementofmanand material.
l"[oreover, thought should be given for the possibility of movement of
men or material in any
' i the three directions and thus much floir area can be saved.
6' R'edueed Inventory in Process : Though this is a responsibility of production
:ianning department, a good layout affects to a veiy great extent ihe invenio.y i1 process.
'i layout is planned so that material keeps moving-frlm one operation to another directly,
:he material moves faster and thus the inventory ii pro"ess reqlired
is much less. The level
I inventory can be reduced if unnecessary storage, waiting [i*" o, delay of rnaterial at
*'rrkstations is avoided. Reduction in inventory is also achieved by shortenilng
the distalees
: etween workstations, machines and departments. The inventory
in the proces""is reduced
'f the layout is planned such that therl is minimum and if poisible no back tracking "lso of the
:naterials or parts during the manufacturing cycle. Move*"rt of the materials should be
at
maxjmum possible speed by adopting p"op." material handling equipment suitable for the
:onditions.
7. Minimising of Material Handling : It is a fact that the major part of production
'rork is not processingas is usuallysupposed, but material handling,
*nd t-he of
'n a pfant is determined primarily by the adequaey of its mateiial handling "p"ed iroduction
facilities. The
handling of the material begins at the receiving point, *here the material
arrives as raw
material, then continues progressively from storag-e through process, moving
worked material from department to department, from ma-chine to
in the form of
machine, from operation
 Intrcductbn
4 Material Handling and Plq'nt Layout
11. Eqeier and B
to operation. The worked material flows in and out of temporary storage, and is fed through watch the work easily an
for inspection, assembly lines for sub assembly, final assembly and packing. Finished products iu a row in direct seqtnD
are stored in shipping department which finally loads the products for shipment to customers' is also effective if the r
The handlirrg .,f *"i"ri"t in the plant from receiving till shipment costs a huge amount of
While planningtb
money to management but does not add any value to the product.
but it may notbe pmibl
How much money and time is spent for material handling in a plant is not usually to es.ch other; f6i e-rnrl
known. It is estimated that cost of material handling is 40-60 percent of the total eost of or wants to provide a u
production, and therefore, one should try to eliminate the movement of material and if it investment to a minimu
i" .rot po""ibl", should plan the layout, uo th"t the handling is reduced to a minimum, both goal towards which the I
in terms of distances ti*". If possible handling of material should be avoided completely seem to be cpposed, en
"rrd planned
and wherever practical, the handling should be mechanised. All movements should be the light of a partic'ulu
to move the part to*".d" the shipping area. Wherever possible the part should be "in proceis"
while in transit as in painting, backing, degreasing etc. By keeping material movi-ng faster' 13. PRINCIPLES OI
manufacturing cycle time is also reduced, resulting in lesser inventory in process. It also results
Some authors hrt
in reducing the cost of indirect labour. following principlee of, I
8. No Congestion and Confusion : IJnnecessary movement or handling of material 1. Integration;
and intersecting transport paths cause confusion and lead to congestion' Moving material machinery and supporti
directly and keeping them moving reduces the direct as well as indirect cost and eliminates 2. Utilisation : /
practically all conffiion and congestion. Provision of adequate space for all operations and sPace.
of material/parts necessary during the process of manufacturing helps to reduce cost'
"to"*g"
It also helps to keep the plant neat and clean. 3. Closenesa: h
and people between o1n
9. Safety, Satisfaetion and Comfort to Workers : Workers safety, satisfaction and tically.
comfort are the major factors to be kept in view while one plans a layout. Satisfying these
objectives requires attention to such items as light, heat, ventilation, humidity, removal of 4. FIow: Work ft
moisture, dirt, dust etc. i.e., in the same onder o
Equipment causing excessive noise should be isolated as much as possible or enclosed 5. Extrransion: E
in an area with sound absorbing walls and ceiling. Equipments which vibrate should be schedules.
mounted on pads to prevent the transmission of vibration to the floor or surrounding objects. 6. Flexibilif: E
Machines ,uxil-iary manufacturing equipment must be so placed as to prevent injury 7. Versatility: A
".rd
to personnel and damage to material and to other equipment. Safety may be incorporated improvement.
intt the layout by a caieful study of work place arrangement, material handling methods, 8. Regularity:A
storage te"hniques, ventilation, lighting, fire protection and all other factors involved in plant
op"."Iio.r". If the workers are satisfiedand have no hazards orfearofaccidents, it automatically 9. Orderliness : (
etc.
results in increased productivity, reduced operating costs and better employee morale.
10. Easier Adjustment to Changing Conditions : A plant or department planned 10. Capital Inved
for the production of-a certain quantity of a particular product, may have to change the product 11. Convenienee:
designjadopt new process or install new equipment because of fast development in science 12. Satisfaction lr
and-technoiory. Th"r. may be occasions when it will be necessary to increase production
capacities, change over to other products or elimination of a few products' The plants which I.4. SYMPTOMS OF i
cannot adjust or rearrange their production facilities quickly to the changing circumstances The following are I

(which too frequent these days), are put to great setbacks by losing their markets' The 1. Safe, neat, clean
"rL
necessary requirements for such changes should be anticipated and provisions should be made
2. Iress amount of
in the i.riti*i planning, so ,that rearrangement of the facilities can be done without losing
much time, u,ithout any inconvenience and spending disproportionate direct and indirect cost 3. No traflic contF
or losing the production.
 Irtroduction
out
11. Easier and Better Supervision: Layout should be such that the supervisors can
ryh
rcts watch the workeasilyand thus save theirtime. This canbe achievedbyarrangingworkstations
EIE.
in a row in direct sequence, avoiding unnecessary partition walls and odd angles. Supervision
rt of is also effective if the work is on one floor instead of multifloor.
While planning the layout, one may desire to incorporate all the objectives in the layout,
ally but it may not be possible to achieve this. In fact, some of the objectives are almost in opposition
rt of
to each other; for example one wants flexibility and does not want to spare any floor area,
if it or wants to provide a mechanised material handling system and also wishes to keep capital
rcth investment to a minimum and so on. Nevertheless, each objective represents an important
goal towards which the layout engineer must strive. When objectives in a particular situation
rtely
seem to be cpposed, an equitable compromise must be reached for most effective results in
med
Eds"
the light of a particular circumstance and importance of a particular objective.
Bter, I.3. PRINCIPLES OF PLANT LAYOUT
ults
Some authors have summarised these objectives more precisely in the form of the
following principles of plant layout :
erial
erial
1. Integration : Overall integration of all pertinent factors such as men, material,
machinery and supporting activities in a way that affect the layout.
tates
and 2. Utilisation : An effective utilisation of all the inputs i.e. machinery, people and
cost. sPace.
3. Closeness : Practical minimum distance for moving material supporting serviees
t and and people between operations. Space should be efticiently used both horizontally and ver-
hese tically.
,al of 4. Flow: Work flowing through the plant be in stream line and in a logieal sequence,
i.e., in the same order or sequences that forms, treats or assembles the material.
losed 5. Expansion : Easy to expand-without disturbing the existing layout and production
ld be schedules.
iects. 6. Flexibility: Easy to reanange, or adjust at minimum cost and least inconvenience.
njury
7. Versatility : Adaptable to changes in product design, sales requirement and process
rated improvement.
hods,
plant 8. Regularity: A regular or straight division of area and relatively even sizes of areas.
ically 9. Orderlineae 3 Clean work areas with suitable equipment for removing scrap, wastes
le. etc.
mned 10. Capital Investment : Avoid unnecessery capital investment.
oduct 11. Convenienge : For all employees, in both da/ to day and periodic operations.
:ience
12. Satisfaction and Safety : Ensures work satisfadtion and safety for all workers.
rction
which I.4. SYMPTOMS OF GOOD PI,ANT I,AYOUT
;llnces The following are the s5rmptoms of a good and well designed layout :
s. The
rmade
1. Safe, neat, clean:and comfortable.
losing 2. Less amount of pork in process.
ct cost 3. No traffic congestion in plant.
6 Material Handling and Plant Layout Introdactian

4.'Better utilisation of available space and material. 23. Less inspection

5. Short material flow and production cycle. 24. Production coa
6. Steady and smooth flow and minimum of back tracking. 25. R.eceiving and r

7. Absence of bottleneck. 26. The supervicor

8. All machines loaded according to capacity' 27. Work in procea
-
9. Less handling by skitled workers. 28. Plant investm
10. Less mental or physical strain on workers. 29. Plant and equi
11. Easy to supervise end control. 30. The plant will
12. Production is economical. 31. Balancing of o1
13. Flexible to meet variations in output and varieties. 32. Idle time wiII I
33. Waste space li
1.5. ADVANTAGES OF GOOD PI.ANT I"AYOUT
Such a list of the r
Numerous advantages, direct as well as indirect are gained from a properly planned
but it is complete enougl
and designed layout. Enlightened managements realise this and make continuous efforts to
efficiently. Hence, the irr
ensure a good and efficient layout. Advantages of a good layout are :
changes in layout to ha
1. Lesser material handling will be needed.
2. Materials will move shorter distances for each time movedi I.6. TIIE NEED FOI
3. Back tracking and side tracking of materials will be eliminated- Why do layout pro
4. Less effort will be required of workers.
it with planning an er
undoubtedly do arise, 'lri
5. Improvdd and better located employee senrice facilities will be available. consists of making rnim
6. Adequate storage areas will be provided a small section of the pl
7. Output per man-hour and total output of the plant will be increased. so. The most common n
one of the following :
8. Manufacturing unit cost will be lower.
9. Maintenance cost will be lower. 1. Ineffrcient oper
10. There will be a saving in power load.
2. Changes in tbc
11. f,here will be less spoilage and scrap.
3. Introduction of
12. Higher wages will be possible.
4. Changes in -ir
13. The number of accidents would be reduced.
5. Changes in vol
14. Fire hazards will often be eliminated.
6. Obsolencence o
7. High percenta;
15. Set-up time will be reduced.
8. Congestion in 1
16. Floor congestion and bottlenecking of production will be eliminated.
9. Worker's compl
1?. The time lag between processing on successive operations, on the average will
be reduced. 10. High rate of r
18. Total time in process will be less. 11. Changes in the
19. Specialisation of operations is facilitated. 12. Environmental
20. Conveyorised production lines pace the flow of production. 13. Changes in the
21. Motion time-study work will be faciliteted. 14. Redesign of mr
22. Fewer expedites wi'll be needed. Most of the problu
help of the tools and ts
ut !*roductian

23. Less inspections will be required.

24. Production control will be easier to achieve.
25' Receiving and shipping schedule will be easier both to establish
and maintain.
26. The supervis6r,s burden will be lightened.
27' Work in process will be reduced in amount. logether with rupee
investment in it.
28. Plant investment can be held to the necesijary minimum.
29. Plant and equipment obsolescence may be less.
30' The plant will be better able to operate at,or near its inslalled
capacity.
31. Balancing of operations will be facilitated.
32. Idle time will be ress both for skilled personner and machines.
33. Waste space will be eliminated.
xt such a list of the advantages of having a good plant layout
is certainly not exhaustive,
to but it is complete enough to make it clear tt igood layout
enables a plant to operate more
"t
efticiently' Hence, the importance ofachierringgo# l;"; i" $"at and the
ehanges in layout to keep it good is also implrtant.
v'v'esu for continuous
need rur

I.6. THE NEED FOR REI,AYOUT DECISION

Why do layout problems arise? ordinarily when one thinks
of plant layout, one links
it with planning an entirely new plant starting from scratch. Although such occasions
undoubtedly do arise, this usually is not the reasoriall the time.
More frequently, layout work
consists of making minor changes in the existing
layouts, locating ,,"* **"Liines, revising
e small section of the plant, or making occasiona-l
in material handling systems or
"h"rrg""
so' The most common reasons for redesigning of plant"are
the result of one or more than
one of the following :
1. Inefficient operations i.e. high cost of production, bottrenecks
etc.
2. Changes in the design of production/services.
3. Introduction of new product services.
4. Changes in mix of output.
5. Changes in volume of output.
6. Obsolencence or failure of existing equipment.
7. High percentage of rejection.
8. Congestion in plant, lack of storage space etc.
9' worker's complaint regarding working conditions, (noise, light, temperature
etc.).
10. High rate of accident or safety hazard.
11. Changes in the location of market for existing products.
12. Environmental
"il*.,g"u.
13. Changes in the factory legislation.
14. Redesign of material handling system.
Most of the problems can be solved-by minor changes
help of the tools and technique discussed in Chapt"" - -in the existing layout with the
b-"
 Materiql Handling and Plant Layout

I.7. TTPES OF LAYOUT PROBLEMS

The following are the type of problems one is much more likely to encounter in practice:
1. Enlarging or R.educing Existing Departments : The addition or removal of
facilities, the trading of areas between departments, or a complete relayout may be necessary
because of increases or decreases in demand for goods or services or changes in the scope
or capability of processes. For example, in the last fewyears in medium and hearry engineering,
there has been a steady increase in the use ofsteel fabrications where iron castings previously
predominated.
2. Movement of a Department : The need to move a department because of a change
in the specification or nature of the goods or service, or because of changes in demand or CEAI
operating processes, may constitute a simple exercise or alternatively, if the existing layout
is inadequate, it may present the opportunity for a major change. Fasl
3. Addition of Department :'fhis may result from the desire to undertake work never
done before on the site, or the desire to centralise work previously undertaken in several
seperate departments.
o ry
4. Replacing or Adding New Equipments : Frequently new equipment designed a Pr
to perform extactly the i;ame function as its predeeeosors is physically different and, in a M'
inslallation, necessitates a ,tain amount of re-organisation. Occasionally new machines may
be installed to repalace o,' siipplement existing machines. a Mr
EXERCISES . itr
1. Defrne plant layout. Why it is uecessary to plan it well? oM(
2. List the important objectiveo of plant layout and explain them with suitable examples.
J. Explain the principles of a good layout. oEr
4. Beferring to the several principles of good layout, which of the principles would you list as more important to
consider and which principle as least important in the cese of the following industries. oS€
(i) Automobile assembly pleut.
(ii) Television mauufacturing plant.
(iii) Shipyard for Iarge fabrication and assembly.
.Fr
(iu) Diesel locomotive manufac'turing. .E:
(u) Jobbing foundry.
(ui) Wooden peucil manufacturing. "
.Ft
(uii)
Plaetic products.
(uiii)
Vegetable cannirg plga1. .A(
(ir) High priced jewellery manufacturiag.
5. Ca:r plant layout principles be applied to the rayout of- a l-{:
(i) Retail outlets
(ii) Hoepitals
(rD RsiI road yards
(iu) Recreation gtounds and amusement parks? Why or why uot?
6. Whet are the eymptoms of poor layout? Describe the characteristics of a theoretically perfect plant layout.
?. What ere the rnerks of a good layout?
8. Ust the advantages of a good layout. Worrld you expect every layout to heve all the advantages?
9. Enumerate the reasous for the existence of ineffrciency in layouts.
10. What are the ruajor reasous for redesip.i.g of a layout?
11. Liat. the types of layout problerne likely to be encouutered in practice? How thege problemo can be solved?
12. What t;pe of layout probleros arises due te-
(i) Migration of industry.
(ii) The treud towerds decentralization.