The Supporting Facility

Creating the Right Environment

Learning Objectives
 Discuss the impact of the “servicescape” on the
behavior of customers and employees.
 Describe the critical facility design features.
 Draw a process flow diagram.
 Identify the bottleneck operation in a product
layout and rebalance for increased capacity.
 Use operations sequence analysis to minimize
flow-distance in a process layout.
 Recommend facility design features to remove
anxiety of disorientation.
Servicescapes
Designing Physical Surroundings to Affect
Employee and Customer Behavior
 Ambient Conditions: background
characteristics such as noise level, music,
lighting, temperature, and scent.
 Spatial Layout and Functionality: reception
area, circulation paths of employees and
customers, and focal points.
 Signs, Symbols, and Artifacts: selection,
orientation, location, and size of objects.
Typology of Servicescapes
Who Performs in Physical Complexity of the Servicescape
Servicescape Elaborate Lean
Self-service Golf course Post office kiosk
(customer only) Water slide park E-commerce
Interpersonal Luxury hotel Budget hotel
(both) Airline terminal Bus station
Remote service Research lab Telemarketing
(employee only) L.L. Bean Online tech support
Facility Design Considerations
 Nature and Objectives of Service
Organization
 Land Availability and Space
Requirements
 Flexibility
 Security
 Aesthetic Factors
 The Community and Environment
Process Analysis Terminology
 Cycle Time is the average time between
completions of successive units.
 Bottleneck is the factor that limits production
usually the slowest operation.
 Capacity is a measure of output per unit time
when fully busy.
 Capacity Utilization is a measure of how much
output is actually achieved.
 Throughput Time is the time to complete a
process from time of arrival to time of exit.
Process Analysis Terminology (cont.)
 Rush Order Flow Time is the time to go through
the system without any queue time.
 Direct Labor Content is the actual amount of work
time consumed.
 Total Direct Labor Content is the sum of all the
operations times.
 Direct Labor Utilization is a measure of the
percentage of time that workers are actually
contributing value to the service.
 Process Flow Diagram of Mortgage Services
Property Survey
CT=90 min.

Yes
Final Approval
Mortgage CT=15 min.
Applications Completed Approved
Applications Mortgages

Credit Report Title Search

CT=45 min. CT=30 min. No

Unapproved
Mortgages
Product Layout
Work Allocation Problem
Automobile Driver’s License Office
Review Payment Violations Eye Test Photograph Issue

1 2 3 4 5 6
In 240 120 60 90 180 120 Out
15 30 60 40 20 30

Activity
Number(s)
Capacity
per hour
Cycle Time
in seconds
Automobile Driver’s License
Office (Improved Layout)

1,4 3
In 65 60
55 60
2 5 6 Out
120 180 120
30 20 30

1,4 3
In 65 60
55 60
Process Layout
Relative Location Problem
 Ocean World Theme Park Daily Flows

A B C D E F A B C D E F
A 7 20 0 5 6 15 30 0 15 6
B 8 6 10 0 2 12 40 10 8
Net
C 10 6 15 7 8 flow 20 8 8
D 0 30 5 10 3 30 6
E 10 10 1 20 6 10
F 0 6 0 3 4

Flow matrix Triangularized matrix

Description of attractions: A=killer whale, B=sea lions, C=dolphins, D=water skiing,
E=aquarium, F=water rides.
Ocean World Theme Park
(Proposed Layout)
(a) Initial layout (b) Move C close to A
Pair Flow distances C
Pair Flow distances
A B C AC 30 * 2 = 60 CD 20 * 2 =40
A B
AF 6 * 2 = 12 CF 8 * 2 =16
D E F D E F
DC 20 * 2 = 40 DF 6 * 2 = 12
DF 6 * 2 = 12 AF 6 * 2 = 12
Total 124 CE 8 * 2 = 16
Total 96
(c ) Exchange A and C (d) Exchange B and E and move F
Pair Flow distances Pair Flow distances
A A F
AE 15 * 2 = 30 AB 15 * 2 =30
C B CF 8 * 2 = 16 C E AD 0*2=0
D E F AF 6 * 2 = 12 FB 8 * 2 = 16
AD 0*2= 0 D B FD 6 * 2 = 12
DF 6 * 2 = 12 Total 58
Total 70
Environmental Orientation
Considerations
 Need for spatial cues to orient visitors
 Formula facilities draw on previous
experience
 Entrance atrium allows visitors to gain a
quick orientation and observe others for
behavioral cues
 Orientation aids and signage such as “You
Are Here” maps reduce anxiety
Topics for Discussion
 Compare the attention to aesthetics in
waiting rooms that you have visited. How
did the different environments affect your
mood?
 Give an example of a servicescape that
supports the service concept and another
that detracts. Explain the success or failure
in terms of the servicescape dimensions
Topics for Discussion (cont.)
 Select a service and discuss how the design and
layout of the facility meets the five factors of
nature and objectives of the organization.
 For Example 8.3, the Ocean World theme park,
make an argument for not locating popular
attractions next to each other.
 The CRAAFT program is an example of a
heuristic programming approach to problem
solving. Why might CRAFT not find the optimal
solution to a layout problem?
Interactive Exercise
The class divides into small groups. One-
half of the groups produce examples based
on work experience with supportive
servicescapes in terms of job satisfaction
and productivity. The other one-half of the
groups provide examples of poor
servicescapes in terms of job satisfaction
and productivity.