PLANT

LAYOUTand
LOCATION
DECISIONS
OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT AND TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT
OUTLINE
POINTS OF DISCUSSION
PLANT LAYOUT
Definition, Necessity, Value,, Objectives, Affecting Factors, Advantages, Basic Layout Types

LOCATION STRATEGY
Involved Factors. Importance

DEPARTMENTALIZATION OF ACTIVITIES
Objectives, Types, Pros, Cons

LINE BALANCING AND SPACE REQUIREMENTS

Definition, Objectives, Solving Process, Sample Problems

LAYOUT OF WORK STATIONS

Low-Walled Cubicles, Shared Desk Space, Three-Way Enclosed Workstation Layout,
Freely Accessible Work Stations
PLANT LAYOUT AND LOCATION DECISIONS
OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT AND TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT

PLANT LAYOUT Definition

Necessity
Objectives
Affecting Factors
Advantages
Basic Lay-Out Types
PLANT LAYOUT
definition
According to Sansonneti and Mallick (Factory Management, Vol. 103) “It is placing the right
equipment, coupled with 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.”
Many situations give rise to the problem of plant layout. Two plants having similar operations may not have
identical layouts. This may be due to size of the plant, nature of the process and management’s calibre.

The need of plant layout may be felt and the problem may arise when:

There are design changes in the product.

There is an expansion of the enterprise.
There is proposed variation in the size of the departments.
Some new product is to be added to the existing line.
Some new department is to be added to the enterprise and there is reallocation of the existing department.
A new plant is to be set up.

PLANT LAYOUT
necessity
 PLANT LAYOUT
objectives
A good rather an optimum layout is one which provides maximum satisfaction to all concerned i.e.
shareholders, management employees and consumers.

The objectives of a good layout are as follows:

Should provide overall satisfaction to all concerned.

Material handling and internal transportation from one operation to the next is minimized and
efficiently controlled.
The production bottle necks and points of congestions are to be eliminated so that input raw
materials and semi-finished parts move fast from one work station to another.
Should provide high work in process turnover.
Should utilize the space most effectively; may be cubical utilization.
Should provide worker’s convenience, promote job satisfaction and safety for them.
Should avoid unnecessary investment of capital.
Should help in effective utilization of labour.
Should lead to increased productivity and better quality of the product with reduced capital cost.
Should provide easy supervision.
Should provide space for future expansion of the plant.
Should provide proper lighting and ventilation of the areas of work stations.
 1 Man Factor

FACTORS
2 Material Factor

AFFECTING
3 Machinery Factor

PLANT
4 Movement Factor

5 Waiting Factor

LAYOUT 6

7
Service Factor

Building Factor

8 Flexibility Factor
Man Factor
The man is very flexible element who can be made
suitable for all sort of layouts.

Safety and working conditions.

Man power requirements-skill level of workers,

their number required and their training
programme.

Man power utilization in the plant.

Human Relations
Material
Factor
It includes the various input materials like raw
materials, semi-finished parts, and materials in
process scrap, finished products, packing materials,
tools and other services.

Design and specifications of the product to be

manufactured.

Quantity and variety of products and materials.

Physical and chemical characteristics of various

inputs materials.

Component parts or material and their sequence

of operations i.e. how they go together to
generate the final product.
Machinery
Factor
The operating machinery is also one of the most important
factors therefore all the information regarding equipment and
the tools are necessary for inspection, processing and
maintenance etc.

The processes and methods should be standardized first.

Machinery and tools selections depend upon the type of

process and method, so proper machinery and other
supporting equipment should be selected on the basis of
volume of production.

Equipment utilization depends on the variation in production,

requirements and operating balance.

Machines should be used to their optimum levels of speed,

feed and depth of cut.

Machinery requirement is mostly based on the

process/method.

Maintenance of machines and replacement of parts is also

important.
Movement
Factor
It mainly deals with the movement of men
and materials. A good layout should ensure
short moves and should always tend towards
completion of product. It also includes
interdepartmental movements and material
handling equipment. This includes the flow
pattern reduction of unnecessary handling,
space for movement and analysis of
handling methods.
Waiting
Factor
Whenever material or men is stopped, waiting occurs
which costs money. Waiting cost includes handling
cost in waiting area, money tied up with idle material
etc. It may occur at the receiving point, materials in
process, between the operations etc.

The important considerations in this case are:

Location of storage or delay points.

Method of storing.

Space for waiting.

Safeguard equipment for storing and avoiding

delay.
Service
Factor
It includes the activities and facilities for
personnel such as fire protection, lighting,
heating and ventilation etc. Services for
material such as quality control, production
control, services for machinery such as repair
and maintenance and utilities like power,
fuel/gas and water supply etc.
Building
Factor
It includes outside and inside building
features, shape of building, type of
building (single or multi-storey) etc.
Flexibility
Factor
This includes consideration due to changes
in material, machinery, process, man,
supporting activities and installation
limitations etc.

It means easy changing to new

arrangements or it includes flexibility and
expendability of layouts.
PLANT LAYOUT
advantages
01 WORKER
Reduces the effort of the worker.
Reduces the number of handlings.
Extends the process of specialization.
Permits working at optimum conditions by eliminating
congestions.
Produces better working conditions by eliminating congestions.
Reduces the number of accidents.
Provides better employee service facilities/conditions.
Provides basis for higher earning for employees.
02 LABOUR COST
Increases the output per man-hour.
Reduces set up time involved.
Reduces the number of operations or some operations
may be combined.
Reduces the number of handlers. Thus reducing labour
cost.
Reduces the length of hauls.
Reduces lost motions between operations.
Converts operator into a producer instead of a handler
by eliminating the various unnecessary movements.
PLANT LAYOUT
advantages
03 OTHER MANUFACTURING COSTS 04 MANUFACTURING CYCLE
Reduces the cost of expensive supplies. Shortens the moves between work-stations.

Decreases maintenance costs. Reduces the manufacturing cycle in each

department.
Decreases tool replacement costs.
Reduces the length of the travel by the
Effects a saving in power loads. product for completion.

Decreases spoilage and scrap. Thus waste is minimized. Reduces the overall time of manufacturing
the product.
Eliminates some of the waste in raw material consumption.

Improves the quality of the product by decreasing

handling.

Provides better cost control.

PLANT LAYOUT
advantages
05 PRODUCTION CONTROL 06 SUPERVISION
Facilitates receipts, shipments and delivery of inputs and finished goods. Tends to ease the burden of supervision.

Provides adequate and convenient storage facilities. Determines the supervisory control.

Permits the maximum possible output with same input. Reduces the cost of supervision process.

Paces production & determines production flow. Reduces cost of piece counts.

Makes production time predictable. Decreases the amount of inspection

involved.
Makes scheduling and dispatching automatic.

Sets up production centre & permits straight line layout by products for mass production.

Reduces the number of lost or mishandled parts leading to waste minimization.

PLANT LAYOUT
advantages
07 CAPITAL INVESTMENT
Holds permanent investment at its minimum level.

Keeps the plant from becoming obsolete before it is worn out.

Reduces the investment in machinery and equipment by:

a. Increasing the production per machine.

b. Utilizing idle machine time.
c. Reducing the number of operations per machine.

Maintains a proper balance of departments.

Eliminates wasted aisle space.

Reduces the capital investment by proper space utilization of material handling equipment required.

Reduces the inventory level of work in process and of finished product.

PLANT LAYOUT
basic layout types
In manufacturing, facility layout consists of configuring the plant site with lines,
buildings, major facilities, work areas, aisles, and other pertinent features such
as department boundaries. While facility layout for services may be similar to
that for manufacturing, it also may be somewhat different—as is the case with
offices, retailers, and warehouses. Because of its relative permanence, facility
layout probably is one of the most crucial elements affecting efficiency. An
efficient layout can reduce unnecessary material handling, help to keep costs
low, and maintain product flow through the facility.
 Process layouts are found primarily in job shops, or firms
that produce customized, low-volume products that may

Process
BASIC LAYOUT TYPES require different processing requirements and sequences
of operations. Process layouts are facility configurations in
which operations of a similar nature or function are

Layout
grouped together. As such, they occasionally are referred
to as functional layouts. Their purpose is to process goods
or provide services that involve a variety of processing
requirements. A manufacturing example would be a
machine shop. A machine shop generally has separate
departments where general-purpose machines are
grouped together by function (e.g., milling, grinding, drilling,
hydraulic presses, and lathes). Therefore, facilities that are
configured according to individual functions or processes
have a process layout. This type of layout gives the firm the
flexibility needed to handle a variety of routes and process
requirements. Services that utilize process layouts include
hospitals, banks, auto repair, libraries, and universities.

Advantages Disadvantages
Flexibility Utilization
Motivation Cost
System Protection Confusion
Product
BASIC LAYOUT TYPES Product layouts are found in flow shops (repetitive
assembly and process or continuous flow industries).
Flow shops produce high-volume, highly standardized

Layout
products that require highly standardized, repetitive
processes. In a product layout, resources are arranged
sequentially, based on the routing of the products. In
theory, this sequential layout allows the entire process
to be laid out in a straight line, which at times may be
totally dedicated to the production of only one product
or product version. The flow of the line can then be
subdivided so that labor and equipment are utilized
smoothly throughout the operation.

Advantages Disadvantages
Output Motivation
Cost Flexibility
Utilization System Protection
 A fixed-position layout is appropriate for a

Fixed-Position
BASIC LAYOUT TYPES product that is too large or too heavy to move.
For example, battleships are not produced on
an assembly line. For services, other reasons

Layout
may dictate the fixed position (e.g., a hospital
operating room where doctors, nurses, and
medical equipment are brought to the patient).
Other fixed-position layout examples include
construction (e.g., buildings, dams, and electric
or nuclear power plants), shipbuilding, aircraft,
aerospace, farming, drilling for oil, home repair,
and automated car washes. In order to make
this work, required resources must be portable
so that they can be taken to the job for "on the
spot" performance.

Due to the nature of the product, the user has

little choice in the use of a fixed-position layout.

Disadvantages
Space
Administration
Cellular
Cellular manufacturing is a type of layout where machines are
BASIC LAYOUT TYPES
grouped according to the process requirements for a set of similar
items (part families) that require similar processing. These groups
are called cells. Therefore, a cellular layout is an equipment layout

Layout
configured to support cellular manufacturing.

Workers in cellular layouts are cross-trained so that they can operate

all the equipment within the cell and take responsibility for its output.
Sometimes the cells feed into an assembly line that produces the
final product. In some cases a cell is formed by dedicating certain
equipment to the production of a family of parts without actually
moving the equipment into a physical cell (these are called virtual or
nominal cells). In this way, the firm avoids the burden of rearranging
its current layout. However, physical cells are more common.

Advantages
Motivation
Flexibility
Cost
PLANT LAYOUT AND LOCATION DECISIONS

LOCATION
OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT AND TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT

STRATEGY Necessity
Involved Factors
 LOCATION
Being in the right location is a key ingredient in
a business's success. If a company selects the
wrong location, it may have adequate access
to customers, workers, transportation,
STRATEGY
materials, and so on. Consequently, location
often plays a significant role in a company's
profit and overall success. A location strategy
is a plan for obtaining the optimal location for
a company by identifying company needs
and objectives, and searching for locations
with offerings that are compatible with these
needs and objectives. Generally, this means
the firm will attempt to maximize opportunity
while minimizing costs and risks.
 1 Facilities 6 Political Risk

2 Feasibility 7 Governmental Regulation

3 Logistics 8 Environmental Regulation

4 Labor 9 Incentives

5 Community and Site 10 Depending on the Type of Business

LOCATION STRATEGY
involved factors
PLANT LAYOUT AND LOCATION DECISIONS
OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT AND TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT

DEPARTMENTALIZATION Objectives
Types
Pros
Cons
 To achieve the common goal of an
organization, the company combines
teams under different departments.
01
These have several employees who
carry out a similar type of activities for
the betterment of their company.
The departments are headed by
senior executives who are also known
as managers in some cases of their
03
department. They are responsible for
delegating duties and tasks to the
employees in their department.

It groups individuals as per the

functions and activities they will be
performing in a single department. If
The employees of every department
you see a corporate ladder, you will
02 04 are accountable to their department
find that all the levels that come
head for their performance.
under the top and all the
subsequent ones have been
departmentalized.

DEPARTMENTALIZATION
objectives
DEPARTMENTALIZATION
types FUNCTIONAL DEPARTMENTALIZATION
The company creates departments based on the functions; they perform for
the company. For example, you will head together all the specialists related
to finance under a finance department and with marketing under that
department and not vice-versa.

GEOGRAPHIC DEPARTMENTALIZE
When a company organizes departments along geographic lines, it is
called geographic departmentalization. Multinational firms have their
offices all around the world, and they have created departments based
on the regions to handle company activities.

PRODUCT DEPARTMENTALIZE
Perfect for a large-scale company that deals with multi-products. It
groups all the activities related to the delivery and development of
products in a specific department.

PROCESS DEPARTMENTALIZE
When a company groups activities by the production processes, it is known
as Process Departmentalization. The departments will need adequate
material and manpower to conduct their operations and tasks smoothly.
 DEPARTMENTALIZATION
CUSTOMER DEPARTMENTALIZATION
types
When a company puts its focus on customer needs and wants, it creates
departments in accordance with different class or type of clients and
customers. This is known as customer departmentalization. It pays attention
to customer satisfaction to enhance the sales figure and brand image of a
company.

DIVISIONAL DEPARTMENTALIZE
When a corporation starts independent lines that operate as separate
entities, it is known as divisional departmentalization.

MATRIX DEPARTMENTALIZE
This type of departmentalization integrates project and functional
departmentalization to improve economies of scale.

PLANNING TASK FORCE

This type of departmentalization is created in extreme conditions when the
organization needs to address a particular and special circumstance. For
example, if there is a sudden natural disaster in your area the company will
create a special task force department to handle the related.
PRO
An effective grouping that enables meaningful work.
It is easy to coordinate different work in the same department.
Results in the integration of work.
Enables utilization of local conditions via low operational costs.
Utilizes special skills and specialized training to increase personal as well as company productivity.
Helps the company to gain the benefit of specialization.
There is a feeling of autonomy as the manager is granted the power to take independent decisions.
It increases the chance of growth and expansion.
Departments are created to fix the role of every person involved. Responsibilities are clear and
precise, and every person is now accountable for his/her action.
All departments are specific, and workers within it have a greater chance of uplifting and further
learning of the skills. It actually acts as on-the-job training. If the manager comes across someone
in his group who he thinks to need specialized training, he can easily arrange for it.
It becomes easy to evaluate managerial performance as tasks are allotted department wise.
As departments continue to grow, it creates less adaptability within the organization.
When a company groups activities and people in one specific department there is little room
for flexibility.
Difficulty in coordination between different departments.
Less responsibility and accountability as the departments are concerned with their own
space and not the company as a whole.
Too much emphasis on specialization.
Rising conflicts between different departments.
PLANT LAYOUT AND LOCATION DECISIONS

LINE BALANCING
OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT AND TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT

Definition
Objectives
Solving Process
Sample Problems
LINE BALANCING
definition
In production, line balancing is useful tool. Line-balancing
strategy is to make production lines stretchy enough to absorb
external and internal indiscretion. This strategy involves setting
a planned rate of production for necessary materials to be
fabricated within a particular time frame. Additionally,
successful line balancing requires assuring that every line
segment's production quota can be met within the time frame
using the available production capacity. This is an efficient
device to develop the throughput of assembly lines and work
cells while decreasing manpower requirements and expenses
 Following are major objectives of Line balancing procedure. It is used to:

INE BALANCIN Manage the workloads among assemblers.

objectives
Recognize the location of bottleneck.

Decide number of workstation.

Decrease production cost.

LINE

Assigning task to each work station in such a way that there is

little idle time.
LINE BALANCING
solving process
There are four steps in solving line balancing described by G. Andrew, 2006.

I. Drawing Precedence Diagram: Precedence diagram needs to be drawn to demonstrate a relationship between
workstations. Certain process begins when previous process was done.

II. Determining Cycle Time: Cycle time is longest time allowed at each station. This can be expressed by this formula:

This means the products needs to leave the workstations before it reaches its cycle time.

III. Assigning tasks to workstation: The tasks distributions should be taken after completing a time cycle. It’s good to
allocate tasks to workstation in the order of longest task times.

IV. Calculating an Efficiency Line: This is done to find effectiveness of the line. The formula is given by:
 Textech a large electronic manufacturer assembles a model AT75 handheld calculator at its Midland, Texas Plant.
The assembly tasks that must be performed on each calculator are below. The parts used in this assembly line are
supplied by materials handling personnel to part bins used in each task. The assemblies are moved along by belt
conveyors between workstations. Textech wants this assembly line to produce 540 calculators per hour.

Present a precedence diagram.

Assuming that 54 minutes per

hour are productive, compute the
cycle time needed to obtain 540
calculators per hour.

Determine the minimum number

of workstations.

Calculate the efficiency of the line

balance.

SAMPLE
SAMPLE
PROBLEM 1
Present a precedence diagram.
Assuming that 54 minutes per hour are productive,
compute the cycle time needed to obtain 540
calculators per hour.
Determine the minimum number of workstations.

SAMPLE
PROBLEM 1
With the provided summary of tasks in work stations, calculate
the efficiency of the line balance.

SAMPLE
PROBLEM 1
 SAMPLE
PROBLEM 2
Task Times and Precedence Relationships

Determine the following:

Precedence Diagram
Cycle Time
Theoretical Minimum No. of Workstation
Line Balance Efficiency
PRECEDENCE RELATIONSHIPS FOR PIZZA ASSEMBLY
SAMPLE
PROBLEM 2
Precedence Diagram of Pizza Assembly
SAMPLE Theoretical Minimum # Workstation (N)

PROBLEM 2
Cycle Time

Pizza Operation
Runs 8 hours per day = 28,800 seconds; and
Wants to produce 300 pizzas per day.
ASSIGN TASKS TO WORKSTATIONS
Make sure the sum of task times at any station does not
exceed the cycle time. There are rules that can be followed
if there is a choice of tasks to assign to a station.

Longest Task Time Rule

Select the task with the longest task time.

Number of Followers Rule

Select the task with the greatest number of followers.
SAMPLE
SAMPLE
PROBLEM 2
Line Balance Efficiency
 PLANT LAYOUT AND LOCATION DECISIONS

LAYOUT OF
OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT AND TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT

WORK STATIONS
The workstation is the personal space everyone gets to enjoy in a common room or an office.
The right layout takes into account privacy, optimal working conditions and even a chance for
personalisation and so it is an integral part of designing the interior of an office space.

Here are a few different layouts that our interior design team has worked on and the reasons
why each of the respective layouts work.
Low-Walled
Cubicles
The open office layout is starting to dominate the
professionals scene. It brings many benefits to the
table but in some instances, the shortcomings are
also way too many.

An interior design company can adopt a hybrid

approach when it comes to workstation layouts,
taking the best of the open office and the cubicle
designs.

This hybrid approach comes in the form of a low-

walled cubicle. The low-walled cubicle is a
modification of its traditional counterpart that gives
workers a bit of privacy without making them feel
entirely partitioned and isolated from the rest of the
team.

Such a layout is a great choice for a particularly noisy

part of the office or a team that has to focus on a
specific task every once in a while in seclusion.
Shared
Desk Space
Sleek and open, shared desk space layouts are the
perfect choice for offices where collaboration and
fast exchange of ideas and information is key to
success.

In this case, the workstation doesn’t belong to just one

person. It is shared by several professionals who have
the same job and who need to collaborate with each
other.

Shared desk space layouts encourage open and

honest communication. In addition, the layout is a
great choice for team building and encouraging
people to get to know each other better.

Obviously, the shared space is divided through the

use of partitions, giving everyone a bit of privacy and
a chance to concentrate on the task at hand. At the
same time, it’s very easy to peek over the separator in
order to discuss something with a desk-mate.
Three-Way Enclosed
Workstation Layout
Hard thinkers, those handling financials and people
who need to do their job without interruptions will
benefit from this office workstation layout idea.

Once again, the concept is a modification of the

traditional cubicle. Privacy screens or dividers are
utilised on three sides. This configuration provides the
seclusion that the respective employee needs without
making them feel completely separated from the rest
of the team.

The absence of one of the walls and a door sub-

consciously projects openness and agility. There’s
really no need to create a completely enclosed
space in a contemporary office in Singapore. People
will know the purpose of that respective area. The
knowledge will contribute to a more mindful
approach towards communication and a reduction
in disturbances.
Freely Accessible
Work Stations
Long tables lined with office chairs – imagine
this kind of workstation setup. Whether you
love it or hate it, this concept is gaining
popularity.

The concept here is easy to understand –

people arrive, they sit at an available spot
and start doing their work – very much like
hot-desking or co-working spaces.

There is no dedicated workspace, rather, the

entire office is shared.

The aim of this layout is to get rid of the

inherent hierarchy within the office. It
encourages a manager to sit next to a junior
assistant. People feel more at ease in such an
environment and it also brings them closer
together. If you are looking for the best
possible layout to encourage team building,
this one would be it.
 1 Pamintuan, Myrriel Joi E.

2 David, Joecel M.

3 Villegas, Carlos Miguel M.

4 Soriano, Paulene Ann D.

5 Soriano, Ma. Janica D.

Our Team 6

7
Matutino, Lovelyn A.

Tiqui, Jaed Charles S.

8 Soriano, Nicolo C.

9 Guinto, Aljon T.