PBO - Lecture 07 - Facilities Design

Lecture 7 – Facilities Design Principles of Business Operations
Principles of Business
Operations
Lecture 7:
Facilities Design
V1.0 © NCC Education Limited
Facilities Design Lecture 7 - 7.2
Learning Objectives
On completion of this unit, students will be able to:
• Understand layout of facilities and processes

• Appreciate the need for workplace design
• Appreciate the need for work and job design
Introduction
• Facilities layout and work design influence the

ability to meet customer wants and needs
• Well designed layouts provide value for the

organisation … poor layouts can be very costly to
correct
V1.0 Visuals Handout – Page 1

Facilities Design 1
• Facility layout is the specific arrangement of
activities required to produce goods and services
• There are four major layout patterns in common
use:
- Product layout
- Process layout
- Group layout
- Fixed position layout
Facilities Design 2
• Product Layout – arrangement is based on the sequence of
operations that are performed during manufacture
• Goods or services move in a continuous path from one
process to the next, e.g. a paper mill
• Advantages are lower work-in-progress; short processing
times; lower labour costs
• Major disadvantages are that if one part of the process
breaks down, the whole process stops. Also process layouts
are inflexible
Facilities Design 3
• Process Layout – functional group of equipment or
activities that do similar work are located together,
e.g. hospital
• Generally lower investment in equipment than
product layouts
• Limitations are high movement and transportation
costs; complicated planning and control systems;
longer processing time; higher worker skill levels
required

Facilities Design 4
• Cell Layout – uses self-contained groups of
equipment and people needed to produce a
particular good or service.
• Often uses a “U” shape arrangement – materials
move through the “u”, either clockwise or counter-
clockwise
• Cells have high job satisfaction for workers as tasks
are varied
Facilities Design 5
• Group Layout – classifies parts into “families” and

uses efficient mass-production type layouts
• Layout
y centralises on both people
p p expertise
p and
equipment capability
• Group layouts can be used for both manufacturing
and services
Facilities Design 6
• Fixed Position Layout – consolidates resources

necessary to manufacture a good or service in one
physical location
• Moderate flexibility, but very low volume, e.g.

highway construction

Facilities Design 7
• Materials Handling – closely linked to facility layout
• Materials have to be received into the organisation,
moved around the facility, and ultimately packaged
and stored ready for shipping
• Materials handling costs range from 20%-60% of
the total cost of manufactured goods – therefore it is
extremely important for operations managers
Service Operations 1
• Service facilities designs require clever integration

of servicescape, layout and process design to
support service encounters
• The trade-off between product and process layouts

is determined by degree of specialisation versus
flexibility
Service Operations 2
• Facilities offering a wide variety of services to

customers with differing requirements usually use a
process layout
• e.g. library, whereas highly standardised services

tend to use product layouts, e.g. fast-food kitchen

Designing Product Layout

• In flow shops product layouts consist of a fixed
sequence of workstations, separated by queues of
work-in-progress
• A good example is an assembly line dedicated to
combining components that have been created
previously
• Design is a key issue that requires constant
management attention
Designing Process Layout
• Process layout design is concerned with the

arrangement of departments relative to one another
• Principal design issues are usually the cost of

moving parts from one area to another – or the
inconvenience to customers of having to move from
one area to another
Class Activity
• Work in groups of about 5
• What are the key differences between designing a

layout for manufacturing as opposed to designing a
layout for a service? Make a list
• 15 minutes
• Feedback to the class

• 5 minutes

Workplace Design 1
• Workplace design is important for all layouts –

manufacturing and service based
• Design should offer maximum efficiency and

effectiveness
Workplace Design 2
Key questions to consider:
• Who will use the workspace?
• How will the work be performed?
• What technology is needed?
• What must the employee be able to see?
• What must the employee be able to hear?
• What environmental and safety issues need to be
addressed?
Ergonomics
• Concerned with improving productivity and safety
by designing workspaces that take into account the
physical capabilities of people
• Aim is to reduce fatigue,
g , costs,, and human errors
whilst increasing accuracy, speed, flexibility and
reliability
• Many countries have legislation in place requiring
employers to create ergonomic workspaces

Safety
• Key consideration in workplace design

• Three key issues:
- Lighting
g g – what lighting
g g is needed to do the jjob?
- Temperature and humidity – how can these be controlled
most effectively?
- Noise – how can this be reduced to aid employee
comfort?
Work and Job Design 1

• Job is a set of tasks an individual performs
• Job design involves consideration of the tasks,
responsibilities, work environment and the methods
used to complete the job
• Need to design to meet the organisations need for
work completion AND provide a motivating, safe
and satisfying environment for the worker
Work and Job Design 2

• Need to consider the core characteristics of the job,
the psychological state of the worker, and the
outcome of the tasks
• Techniques such as job enlargement, job rotation
and job enrichment can be used to increase job
satisfaction levels
• Team working can also increase employee
satisfaction and motivation levels

Virtual Workplaces 1
• Information technology and increased use of the
Internet has led to more people working “virtually”,
i.e. away from the office
• Teleworking allows people to connect to their
workspace from remote locations
• Technology also facilitates people in geographically
different areas to meet “virtually”
• There are both advantages and disadvantages …
Virtual Workplaces 2
Disadvantages Advantages
• Lack of human socialisation • Flexible hours
• Low status • Quicker response times
• Needs high levels of self- • No commuter time
di i li
discipline • Reduced costs
• More difficult to manage and • Encourages cross-functional
control working
• Plus many others … • Plus many others …
Class Activity
• Work in groups of about 5
• How has the issue of ergonomics been addressed

in the classroom you are studying in? What would
you change and why?
• 10 minutes
• Feedback to the class

• 5 minutes

Conclusions
• Designing the correct layout is an important decision for
organisations
• Manufacturing and service environments have different
requirements with respect to layout decisions
• Work and job design needs careful planning to maximise the
chance of success for both the employer and the employee
– need to consider ergonomics and safety
• Technology is changing where, as well as how and when
people work
References
• Evans & Collier (2007) “Operations Management:
An Integrated Goods & Services Approach”,
Thomson
Lecture 7 – Facilities Design
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Lecture 7 – Facilities Design Principles of Business Operations

V1.0 © NCC Education Limited

Facilities Design Lecture 7 - 7.2

• Understand layout of facilities and processes

V1.0 © NCC Education Limited

Facilities Design Lecture 7 - 7.3

• Facilities layout and work design influence the

• Well designed layouts provide value for the

V1.0 © NCC Education Limited

V1.0 Visuals Handout – Page 1

Facilities Design Lecture 7 - 7.4

V1.0 © NCC Education Limited

Facilities Design Lecture 7 - 7.5

V1.0 © NCC Education Limited

Facilities Design Lecture 7 - 7.6

V1.0 © NCC Education Limited

V1.0 Visuals Handout – Page 2

Facilities Design Lecture 7 - 7.7

V1.0 © NCC Education Limited

Facilities Design Lecture 7 - 7.8

• Group Layout – classifies parts into “families” and

V1.0 © NCC Education Limited

Facilities Design Lecture 7 - 7.9

• Fixed Position Layout – consolidates resources

• Moderate flexibility, but very low volume, e.g.

V1.0 © NCC Education Limited

V1.0 Visuals Handout – Page 3

Facilities Design Lecture 7 - 7.10

V1.0 © NCC Education Limited

Facilities Design Lecture 7 - 7.11

• Service facilities designs require clever integration

• The trade-off between product and process layouts

V1.0 © NCC Education Limited

Facilities Design Lecture 7 - 7.12

• Facilities offering a wide variety of services to

• e.g. library, whereas highly standardised services

V1.0 © NCC Education Limited

V1.0 Visuals Handout – Page 4

Facilities Design Lecture 7 - 7.13

Designing Product Layout

V1.0 © NCC Education Limited

Facilities Design Lecture 7 - 7.14

Designing Process Layout

• Process layout design is concerned with the

• Principal design issues are usually the cost of

V1.0 © NCC Education Limited

Facilities Design Lecture 7 - 7.15

• What are the key differences between designing a

• Feedback to the class

V1.0 © NCC Education Limited

V1.0 Visuals Handout – Page 5

Facilities Design Lecture 7 - 7.16

• Workplace design is important for all layouts –

• Design should offer maximum efficiency and

V1.0 © NCC Education Limited

Facilities Design Lecture 7 - 7.17

V1.0 © NCC Education Limited

Facilities Design Lecture 7 - 7.18

V1.0 © NCC Education Limited

V1.0 Visuals Handout – Page 6

Facilities Design Lecture 7 - 7.19

• Key consideration in workplace design

V1.0 © NCC Education Limited