BME/MAU DME 602R01,

MAMCME 605R02
Plant Layout and Material Handling
Text Book:
1. Plant Layout and Material Handling By James M Apple -
John Wiley & Sons Publisher, New York.
2. Plant Layout and Material Handling By K R Govindan -
Anuradha Publisher, Cheenai.
3.Plant Layout and Material Handling By S.C.Sharma-
Khanna Publishers, New Delhi.
4.Plant Layout and Material Handling By R.B.Choudary &
G.R.N.Tagore - Khanna Publishers, New Delhi.
5. Manufacturing facilities – location, planning, and design
by D.R.Sule, 2nd edition, PWS publishing company Boston,
1998.
 BME/MAU DME 602R01,
MAMCME 605R02
Plant Layout and Material Handling
TEXTBOOK
1. G.K.Agarwal, Plant layout and material handling, Jain brother publication, New
Delhi, 2013.
REFERENCES
1. Martand Telsang, Industrial Engineering and Production Management, S.Chand &
Company Ltd. , 2002.
2. Mikell P. Groover, Automation Production System and Computer Integrated
Manufacturing, Prentice Hall of India Pvt. Ltd, 2007.
3. James M Apple, Plant Layout and Material Handling, John Willey & Sons, New
York,
1983.
ONLINE MATERIALS
1. http://nptel.ac.in/courses/112107142/19
2. http://nptel.ac.in/courses/112107142/22
3. http://nptel.ac.in/courses/112102106/32
4. http://nptel.ac.in/courses/112107143/36
 Unit 1- Plant Location & Physical
facilities
Plant – men + materials + machines…

Plant Location – suitable site, area, place - for

establishment of a factory

Plant Layout – arrangement - machinery, services,

buildings and other facilities - efficient operation

Plant location and layout – design of a production

system - determine operating and capital costs

3
 Factors affecting selection of site
for a factory
 No location can be ideal or perfect
Site selection factors:
1.Market
2.Raw material
3.Transport and communication facilities
4.Labour
5.Power and fuel
6.Water
7.Climate and atmospheric conditions
8.Land
9.Labour laws and taxation
10.Financial and other aids
11.Social and recreational facilities
4
 Site selection factors
1. Market:
 Proximity
 promptness and cost effective service to
customers
 reduces the cost of transportation, cost
of damages to finished products and
spoilage (perishable products)

5
 Site selection factors
2. Raw material:
 Nearness to raw material
 reduces the cost of transportation
 Some industries by nature located near
the raw material (eg. Iron and steel
industries, cement industries etc.)
 favourable factor particularly for
perishable materials
(eg. Fish canning, fruit and vegetable
canning)

6
 Site selection factors
3. Transport and communication facilities:
 especially when raw materials are bulky and
low value
 fairly small in proportion to the total cost
 Selection of transportation (roads, rails, water
or air) depends on the size of raw material &
finished goods and plant location
 Sufficient communication system must be
there b/w the plant area and other parts of the
country

7
 Site selection factors
4. Labour :
 Adequate supply of labour is necessary
 Selection of skilled labour reduces the
cost of training and time
 Other factors which govern plant location
attitude of labour towards work, cost of
living, housing conditions, wage rates,
impact of trade union etc.

8
 Site selection factors
5.Power and fuel:
 Availability of continuous electric power
supply in proper quantity and at
reasonable rates
 Fuel important – steel plants, steam
power houses, foundries, diesel and gas
turbine power houses etc.
 Availability, calorific value and cost of fuel
– important considerations

9
 Site selection factors
6.Water:
 Needed for industry and also required for
persons working in the plant, sanitary
purposes etc.
 Plenty of water is an important factor for
process industries like steel, aluminium,
chemical, and paper.
 Thermal power houses are generally
located near natural source of water like
river, lake etc., to avoid pumping cost.

10
 Site selection factors
7.Climate and atmospheric conditions:
 Influences the process in several
industries such as textile – high humidity
essential, pharmaceutical industry –
clean and dust free atmosphere
essential.
 Also influences human efficiency and
behaviour.

11
 Site selection factors
8.Land:
 Topography, area, the shape of the site, cost,
drainage, soil conditions, probability of floods,
earth quakes etc., - influences the selection of
land.
 Access for waste disposal required for some
industries – ore processing plants, steel mills,
chemical plants etc.
 Load bearing capacity is an important concern
for construction of buildings and installing
heavy machineries
 Cost is an important factor in choosing b/w
rural and urban location

12
 Site selection factors
9.Labour laws and taxation:
 Industries are subjected to labour
controls and legislation
 State and Local laws should be studied
when considering various locations
 Tax rates differ from one locality to
another
 Some tax advantages may be gained by
a small town location when compared to
an urban site

13
 Site selection factors
10.Financial and other aids:
 Some states grant tax exemption for a
number of years, give loans at a very low
rate of interest, build up sheds etc., to
attract industrialist to start industries in
backward areas

14
 Site selection factors
11.Social and recreational facilities:
 Community attitude, presence of related
industries, existence of hospitals,
marketing centres, schools, banks, post
offices, police stations etc., recreational
facilities such as cinemas, clubs, parks
etc., facilities for expansion etc., shall
also be considered while selecting a site
for plant location

15
 Rural vs Urban plant sites
Urban site:
Advantages:
1. Very well connected by rail, road and air
2. Provides a good market
3. Availability of right labour force
4. Availability of power and water
5. Provided with good hospitals, marketing centers,
schools, banks, recreation clubs, etc.
6. Factory can set up in an existing available building
7. Availability of Training institutions for training workers
and other technicians
8. Availability of experts and specialists for services
9. Availability of ancillaries for making small components
10. Security

16
 Rural vs Urban plant sites
Urban site:
Disadvantages:
1. Limited area
2. High cost of land and building construction
3. Opportunity for expansion is seldom
4. High local taxes
5. High salaries
6. Poor employee – employer relations due to
union problems

17
 Rural vs Urban plant sites
Rural site:
Advantages:
1. Plenty of land
2. Less land cost
3. Availability of unskilled labour – trained to suit the
requirements
4. No union problem, good employee – employer
relations
5. Non-presence of undesirable manufacturing unit
6. Municipal and other regulations and taxes etc., are
seldom burden
7. Government gives inducements as it wants to develop
the underdeveloped areas
18
 Rural vs Urban plant sites
Rural site:
Disadvantages:
1. Non availability of skilled labour
2. Inadequate rail, road, air links
3. Non availability of power
4. Far away from selling markets
5. Non availability of hospitals, educational and
amusement centres
6. Lack of ancillary services
7. Non availability of experts and specialists
8. Reluctance of high grade executives staying at
the rural areas
19
 Alternate for Rural & Urban plant
sites
Suburban site:
 Alternate for rural and urban site
 Possesses the good points of both urban
and rural locations

20
Consideration in Facilities Planning
and Layout
The facilities procedure involves in planning
and design of an arrangement for
1) Production equipment
2) Handling equipment
3) Auxiliary equipment
4) Space
5) Land
6) Building

21
The Facilities Design Procedure
1) Procure basic data
2) Analyze basic data

3) Design production process

4) Plan material flow pattern

5) Consider general material handling plan

6) Calculate equipment requirements

7) Plan individual work areas

8) Select specific material handling equipment

9) Coordinate groups of related operations

10) Design activity relationship
22
The Facilities Design Procedure
11) Determine storage requirements
12)Plan service and auxiliary activities

13) Determine space requirements

14) Allocate activity areas to total space

15) Consider building types

16) Construct the master layout

17) Evaluate, adjust, and check layout with appropriate

personnel
18) Obtain approvals

19) Install layout

20) Follow up on implementation of layout

23
Major Elements of Facilities Design
1) Plant
2) Warehouse
3) Retail shop
4) Post office
5) Restaurant
6) Hospital
7) Home

24
 Scope of Facilities Design
Facilities design work should include the following
areas of interest
1) Transportation 10 ) Ware housing
2) Receiving 11) Shipping
3) Storage 12) Offices
4) Production 13) External facilities
5) Assembly 14) Buildings
6) Packaging and Packing 15) Grounds
7) Material handling 16) Location
8) Personnel services 17) Safety
9) Auxiliary production activities 18) Scrap

25
 Importance of facilities Design
1) Efficient plan for the flow of material –
economical production
2) Material flow pattern –effective
arrangement of physical facilities
3) Material handling – static flow pattern
into dynamic reality
4) Effective arrangement of facilities –
efficient operation of the various related
processes
5) Efficient operation – min. production cost
6) Min. production cost – max. profit
26
 Objectives of facilities Design
1) Facilitate the manufacturing process
2) Minimize material handling
3) Maintain flexibility of arrangement and of
operation
4) Maintain high turnover in work-in-process
5) Hold down investment in equipment
6) Make economical use of building cube
7) Promote effective utilization of man
power
8) Provide for employee, safety, and
comfort in doing the work
27
 Installation and Implementation of
Layout
 The Layout has been designed by the layout
designer – should closely supervise the work
involved in installation – to be ascertained work
is done according to the plan
 Any changes required – carefully examined and
get the approval from right person
 There must be proper cooperation and
coordination between the layout designer,
architect, and construction Engineers
 Proper evaluation and desirable changes to be
made in case of any avoidable and
unpredictable flaws while implementation

28
 Equipments Required for Plant
Operation
 To select proper equipments – detailed
analysis of the following factors to be carried
out
1) Product – material, size, shape, quantities etc.
2) Plant factors – column spacing, door and
elevator location, floor load capacities etc.
3) Methods factor – sequence of operations,
production methods or equipment etc.
4) Cost data

29
Problems in selection of equipment
 1) Economic problems

 2) Technical problems

30
Problems in selection of equipment

 1) Economical problems:
Economical consideration
depends on the requirement of
initial capital outlay and the
estimated unit cost of production

31
Problems in selection of equipment
 2) Technical problems:
It requires the following
information
a) Floor space
b) Attention required in handling skill
c) Source of power for movement
d) Path of movement
e) Direction of movement
f) Form of material to be moved
32
 Classification of Equipments
 On the basis of production
facilities, equipments are
classified as
 1) Manually operated equipment
 2) Semi automatic equipment
 3) Full automatic equipment

33
 Classification of Equipments
 Equipments may also be classified
according to the standardization of
the machine unit and the degree of
specifications
 1) Standard machinery
 2) Universal machinery
 3) Multi-operation machinery
 4) Single purpose machinery
 5) Unit type machniery

34
Manually operated equipments
-includes machine jobs and
bench work equipment – requires
constant attention of worker for
adjustment and control

35
 Semi automatic equipments
 Includes machine’s operation throughout the full
cycle of operation for processing of a single
piece
 Loading, unloading, feeding, reversing tables
etc. are automatic
 Workers relieved from these operations
 Though the machine is expensive in installation,
reduce the operating cost through the
elimination of labour and increase the machine
capacity
 Operator can attend number of machines at a
time
36
 Fully automatic equipments
 Machinery functioning continuously
through successive cycling
 Producing simple product in large volume
and number
 Raw materials is fed automatically in one
end when machine in progress and
converted into finished product – unloaded
in another end

37
 Standard machinery
 Available in large quantities comparatively at lower
prices
 Considerable reliability in operation
 Available for all mechanical and processing operations
 Eq. lathe, drilling m/c, grinders
 Advantages:
 1) Initial investment is less
 2) plant capacity can be expanded
 3) applicable to wide range of uses
 4) adaptable to changes in the design of the product
 5) Breakdown period of machine is comparatively short
 6) replacement parts are easily available
 7) resale value is higher than that of specialized
machinery

38
 Universal Machinery
 Machines perform within wide ranges
 Produce variety of jobs of different sizes
 Machineries have great flexibility in
operations at low investment
 Flexibility in operation obtained by varying
speed and feed ranges and highly
maneurable tool holding devices

39
 Multi-operation machinery
 performs different operations on the same
fields
 Performs similar operations
simultaneously on a number of different
pieces
 Large scale production of standard
product results low unit cost
 Skilled labours are required
 Maintenance is difficult
 break downs and repairing takes more
time
40
 Single purpose machinery
 Used to perform the same and simple
operation without much change
 Useful for mass production – produces
identical pieces at a very high speed
 High investment
 Risk of loss of investment due to radical
design changes

41
 Unit type machinery
 Designed for max. output in single
operation
 Flexibility in speed and performing work of
comparatively limited size
 Applicable for Mass production plant
producing a product in different sizes

42
 Capacity
Right type of work produced / amount
of o/p actually achieved
 It is not the actual rate of o/p but rather
the amount that a firm is capable of
producing
It is the maximum rate of o/p attainable
over a specified period of time with latest
product specifications, work force and
equipment
 Measurement of capacity
 There are two ways to measure the capacity
 1. rate of o/p per unit time
 Eg. Tonnes/month, parts/min, barrels/month
 2. units of input
 Eg. Commonly used in service organization and
universities
 Institution – calculation of student credit hours is the
capacity of the department – refers to the maximum
amount that the department can effectively teach
 Industry – capacity specified as availability either
machine or labour
 Eg. 4 machines – 8hours-85% efficiency
 = 4x8x0.85=27.2hours
 So, available machine hours is 27.2 / day

44
 Plant capacity Integration
 Importantphase of engineering work –
selection of physical integration and
arrangement of equipment and building to
get a coordinated production process

 Even balance in the capacity throughout

the various operations is essential for
continuous flow of work

 Balance in capacity of various units and

equipments –achieved by an effective
selection of equipment
45
 Plant capacity Integration
 If the capacity is beyond the estimated maximum
– creates higher over head charges without
benefit
 Lack of sufficient equipment along the line –
creates disturbances and hurdles to hamper
production – result in idling of equipments – very
costly
 Ideal plant – machineries and equipments
selected in such a manner that each machine
operates to its full capacity with optimum
efficiency
 Maximum capacity – effectively approached –
logical selection of equipment to reach a balance
facilities operations

46
 Integration of equipment and
capacity
 To obtain continuous flow and maximum
capacity – proper integration of production
machines needed
 It involves
 1) machine time
 2) inventory of materials and stock
 3) interruptions and emergencies
 4) provision to vary the o/p rate

47
 Integration of equipment and
capacity
 1) machine time
 Production time carefully studied by
considering each machining operations
time, handling time,
 To get the optimum capacity -
unavoidable delays due to employee
absenteeism, break down time etc. are
also considered

48
 Integration of equipment and
capacity
 2) inventory of materials and stock
 Machines should not be stopped at any
cost for want of materials
 Inventory and stock of materials should be
properly controlled to ensure the
continuous flow of work

49
 Integration of equipment and
capacity
 3) interruptions and emergencies
 Continuity of flow must be maintained to
keep the plant capacity maximum
 Important to ascertain the operations and
the extent of any interruptions which
disturb the plant capacity

50
 Integration of equipment and
capacity
 4) provision to vary the o/p rate
 Equipments should be selected for certain
convenient operations at lower capacity
 In case of shut down the full capacity can
be used
 however this is uneconomical

51
 Serviceability
-Good plant location and layout – to provide room for
maintenance and services -relating to machinery
 service facilities include additional space, space for
access to machines, motors, pumps and different
service processes and service equipments
 Plant requires room for the service man and
equipment which are needed for lubrication, repair
and replacement
 Some emergency repair jobs may occur suddenly
 Some service machines may be too heavy and
expensive to move – the plant layout must provide
access for maintenance operations
52
 Serviceability
-Plant maintenance is a combination of actions carried out by an
organization to replace, repair, service the machineries
 Small or service machine shop must be include in the layout

 Service operations for buildings, production machinery, service

lines, service equipment, handling equipment, etc.
 consists of maintenance operations like oiling, greasing,
cleaning, painting, repairing, and others

 Major service line includes – 1) water, electricity for processes

and lighting, 2) Lubricating oil, 3) Acid, 4) Steam for process
and heating, 5) Gas, 6) Fuel, 7) other process liquid,
 8) Sewage and waste disposal

53
 Serviceability
Distribution of service lines need the following
considerations
1) Economical operations
2) Readily accessible to equipment located at
any position
3) Installation out of the way of other facilities.
Such service lines should not disturb
conveyors walking aisles or the production
floor
4) Safety concepts of personnel, equipment of
material
54
 Procedure for serviceability layout
 Erection and installation of service line requires
coordinated plan of the layout man, the builder, architect
and the plant engineer
 First step – determine exact service required – then
establishment of peak load service
 Service distribution system largely depends on the
location of the equipment

 Electrical serviceability is required to transmit high

voltage current – serviceability includes step down
transformer and power drives located near the work sites
and distribution lines
 Service line must be located either overhead or in the
floor
55
 Flexibility
 While planning layout, care must be taken to
provide space for future expansion, alteration,
and possible development

 Demands for future flexibility should be

anticipated in the initial planning itself

 Today’s unsettled conditions and rapid

technological progress make the plant and
facilities planning a market research as well as
the manufacturer problem – Robert

56
 Flexibility…
 Anticipation with respect to flexibility for any
alteration or expansion may be of costly planning
and construction
 anticipations vary from industry to industry

 Eg. In case of oil refinery industry the opportunity

for flexibility is extremely limited to production
process
 Each industry must find its own way b/w flexibility
and specialization

57
 Methods to obtain flexibility
 1) provide large size bay
 2) permit alternate arrangement for equipment
 3) providing clear heights for production and
storage
 4) Installation of utilities for electricity and
sprinklers on a grid
 5) provision for uniform lighting for the entire
plant
 6) locating light fixtures, sprinklers, unit heaters
etc. b/w bar joists or beams
 7) providing quick utility connections for
distribution lines
58
 Methods to obtain flexibility
 8) use of movable partitions
 9) installing a slope b/w ground and floor levels
 10) provision for future mezzanine or balconies
 11) design of adequate floor load capacities for
future needs
 12) adequate storage space
 13) use of flexible material handling equipment
 14) planning adequate utilities and service
facilities
 15) equipment with built in lugs or skid supports
for reallocation
59
 Analysis in selection of
equipments
Selection of equipment
depends on the process followed in the industry
Cost of production and quality of the product
influences much on the selection
Selection carried out while
1) expansion of production
2) radical changes in the design of the product
3) technological improvements
4) careful analysis of all influencing parameters
 Main factors for selection of
scientific equipment…
1) kind of operation
2) quality and degree of precision needed

3) anticipated future changes in the product

design
4) volume of production determined by the
forecast of demand

5) available equipment beyond plant

capacity
 Main factors for selection of
scientific equipment
6) anticipated production rates by various
capacity machine units
7) Kind of layout (process or product)

No. of equipment N = (T/60) (P/HC)

Where, T – std. time for the operation in min, P –
production required per day of std. no. of hours, H
– std. no. of hours per day, C – factor of use for
equipment as 0.85
 Space requirements
 Design of layout includes analysis of flow
pattern, aux. service activities, laying of
equipments & machineries, free area of
walking aisles, storage space, space for
material handling etc.
 Area estimated – sq.m per machine – then
area estimated as per the number of
machineries
 Consideration must be given for storage
requirement, handling of raw material and
finished product
63
Space requirement for service
and aux. activities
 Aux. spaces for aux. activities like locker room,
tool room, first aid and food service areas must
be provided
 Templates shall be used for layout diagram
 Interrelationship of flow of materials,
transportation, power plant, parking area,
storage yards, and buildings must be carefully
designed
 Depends on site selection and future expansion

64
 Space determination
 Factors considered for space requirements:
 Movement for tractor, trains, lift trucks and other
handling equipments along with the density of
personnel
 Factory areas are estimated based on the area
required for various operations at work station
 Areas to be considered:
 1) temporary material storage
 2) provisions for tools, benches, loads, desks,
files etc.
 3) maintenance clearances
 4) operator work areas, aisles, and other areas
 5) office areas

65
 Future space requirements
 Sufficientspace must be reserved for
future planning or development
 Can be estimated by considering some
specific activities
 a) receiving,
 b) production,
• c) assembling,
 d) warehousing,

• e) offices and shipping

66
 Future space requirements
General
1. Space for production and
service
2. Sales forecast
3. Technological advances
4. Possible changes in
product line
5. Master/ Long range
/ Expansion plans
6. Flexibility
7. Number of employees
Influencing factors
Production Buildings Cost
1. Size and nature 1. Type and construction 1.Capital investment
of product of plot 2.Interest
2. Method of production 2. Floor load capacity 3.Economic trends
3. Nature and number of 3. Infrastructure
process 4. Aisles
4. Work standards 5. Condition of soil
5. Production efficiency 6. Column spacing
6. Scrap percentage 7.Utilities
7. Number and size of 8.Plot size
machine
8. Flow pattern
9. Number of operators
10.Handlinge methods
and equipments
11. Storage requirements
67
 Factors for allocation of space
1) Relationship b/w internal and external
material flow
2) Flexibility for changing needs

3) Environmental requirements
4) Building characteristics
5) Use of mezzanines, balcony, basement,
roof, etc.
6) Product and process changes
7) Location and size of aisles

68
 Factors for allocation of space
8) External facilities
9) Arrangement required for each activities

10) Building orientation

11) Topography

12) Transport facilities

13) Location of service activities
14) Storage requirements

69
 Man Power Requirement
 Right person Right work
 Right person with right quality and
capacity

 Industry requires different type of persons

with different caliper to operate equipment

 Industry
needs people for administration,
supervision, guide the follow person,
operate machineries and handling
equipments
70
 Man Power Requirement
 Skill required for operating lathe/ drilling m/c is
simple – training shall be given in short period

 In case of process layout, technical training is

required to understand the effects of the process

 Persons involved must have coordination and

cooperation

 Workers must have thorough knowledge of the

process and must be time conscious to follow
the continuous flow of the material
71
 Man Power Requirement…
 Machines with power control devices – require
cautious people with presence of mind
 Hydel, / steam power plant – requires less skill
and more workers
 Nuclear power plant – requires restricted people
with technical skill and sufficient training
 Highly qualified with sufficient training and
experience is required to operate CNC m/cs /
computer aided manufactuirng
 Fully automated industry – less number of highly
skilled workers are engaged

72
 Man Power Recruitment
 Management must know what kind of man
power required for the organization
 3 methods of man power recruitment
 1) by company gate hiring
 2) by recommendations thru friends and
relatives
 3) thru advertisements, public and private
employment services etc.
 Selection method depends on the type of person
required
 Effectiveness of personnel selection depends on
the quality and quantity of required work
73