BASICS OF PLANT LAYOUT

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 Plant layout
Plant layout has been defined as a plan of, or the act of
planning an optimum arrangement of industrial
facilities, including
 personnel,
 operating equipment,
 storage space,
 materials handling equipment and
 all other supporting services along with the design of the
best structure to contain these facilities

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 Locate All Areas In and Around Buildings
– Equipment
– Work stations
– Material storage
– Rest/break areas
– Utilities
– Eating areas
– Aisles
– Offices

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 Problems of layout develop when needed:
• to start a new product,

• to change the product design,

• to reduce the cost;

And when
• the market demand changes,

• the plant, the product, the building become obsolete,

• accidents occur frequently,

• the working environment is poor.

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 The resulting problems involve

• planning a completely new plant,

• re-arranging a presently installed layout,
• making adjustments to existing layout.

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 The objectives of a good study of plant layout
are:
• ensure effective space utilization,
• minimize the cost of material handling (internal transports),
• foresee future developments of the plant according to a
rational master plan,
• improve workers convenience as well as safety and create job
satisfaction, and
• avoid unnecessary capital investment.

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 Types of Layout

• Product Layout: In this type of layout, only one

product or one type of product is produced in a given
area.
• The product must be standardized and manufactured
in large quantities in order to justify the product
layout.

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 Some of the Advantages of Product Layout are:

• lower total material handling cost,

• lower total production time,
• less work in process,
• greater incentive for groups of workers to raise level of
performance,
• less floor area required per unit of production and
• greater simplicity of production control, fewer control records
needed and lower accounting cost.

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 Product Layout is Used When:

• one or few standard products are to be produced,

• large volume of production of each item over a considerable time
is needed,
• minimum of inspection is required during sequence of
operations,
• minimum of very heavy equipment or equipment requiring
special facilities are needed,
• materials and products permit bulk or continuous handling of
mechanical means and
• one machine is always used for one purpose.
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 Process Layout

Process Layout: Similar equipment and similar

operations are grouped together in the process or
functional layout. It is particularly useful where low
volume is required.

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 Some of the Advantages of Process Layout are:

• less duplication of equipment, hence lower investment cost,

• greater flexibility of production,
• better and more efficient supervision,
• greater incentive for individual workers to raise level of
performance,
• better control of complicated or precision processes,
• easier to handle breakdowns of equipment by transferring
work to another machine or station.

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 Process Layout is Used when

• many types or styles of products are on special order ,

• relatively low volume of production on individual items is needed,
• many inspections are required during a sequence of operations,
• high proportion of very heavy equipment or equipment requiring special
treatment exist,
• materials or products become too large or too heavy to permit bulk or
continuous flow and
• one machine is used for different operations.

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 Fixed-Position Layout

• Fixed-Position Layout: In this type of layout, the material or

major component remains in a fixed location, and tools,
machinery, men as well as other pieces of material are
brought to this location. Typical examples are ship building,
construction industries, aircraft building and bench work
exercises. This type of layout is not frequently used in
industrial enterprises. For this reason we are not going to look
into its advantage and disadvantages.

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 Developing Simulating Layout Problems
Product Market
Design New Obsolete Poor
Market Cost
Demand Worker
Change product Facility Relocation Reduction
Change Environment

Move to Rearrange Minor

Build New Existing changes
existing
Plant Plant
Plant

Class of layout problems

Relation between causes and classes of layout problems

Cause and result occur very frequently

Cause and result occur less frequently
Cause and result occur occasionally
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 STUDY OF PLANT LAYOUT

• The solution of any size and type of plant layout

problems could be facilitated by using a systematic
and logical approach.
• An early pioneer in this area was Richard Muther,
developer of the Systematic Layout Planning (SLP)
methodology.

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 The SLP procedure leads the planner
through
• Abstraction (Analysis): Gathering appropriate
information and analyzing the flow of materials and
the activity relationships to form a relationship
diagram. Space considerations when combined with
the relationship diagram develop the space
relationship diagram.

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 Search (for possible solution):
• The overall layout is designed by combining space
consideration with the relationship diagram.
• The search phase is the phase in which alternative layouts are
developed by examining the space relationship diagram under
modifying consideration such as materials handling, storage
facilities, site conditions and surroundings, building types,
personnel convenience, etc., and practical limitations.

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 Selection:
• The most efficient general method of evaluating
layout alternatives is termed factor analysis. It
follows the engineering concept of breaking down the
problem into its elements and analyzing each one.

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 INPUT ACTIVITIES
AND DATA

ABSTRACTION
Flow of Activity
Material Relationship

(ANALYSIS)
Relationship
Diagram

Space Space
Required Available

Space
Computerized
Relationship
Layout Planning

SEARCH
Diagram

Modifying Practical
Consideration limitation

Layout X Layout Z
Layout Y

Layout

EVALUATION
Selected

Detail a
Detail b
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Systematic layout Planning Procedure Detail c
 Abstraction (Analysis)

• There are two basic elements on which every layout

problem rests
• Product (or material)
• Quantity (or volume)
• These two elements underline all other features or
conditions directly or indirectly in layout work.

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 S. Support services
P. Product-Material
With what support will
What is to be produced
production be backed
R. Routing-Process
How will it (they) be produced

T. Time
Q. Quantity-Volume When will it be produced
How much of each
Item will be produced H
W Y

Key PQRST to unlock layout problems

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 This phase will require the assembly of different data.
In general, information about the following is needed:
•the list of items to produce and store, and the relative
quantity;
•successive operations needed for every product;
•the volume, the weight and the characteristics of
materials to transport along the production line;

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• the number, type and technical data of machines and
plants necessary;
• the manpower needed;
• the necessary electric energy, steam, water,
compressed air, fuel, oil, etc.
• the necessary general service (offices, labs, cafeteria
etc.);
• the necessary auxiliary services like maintenance
department, tool store, etc;
• the possible variation of the product in the future.
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• If the study is on an existing plant, it is necessary to
have drawings of the plant layout and the building
with all the technical data.

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 Search for Possible Solution
• The systematic approach of generating possible
alternatives of plant layout is conducted by taking
in to consideration:
1. type of layout,
2. the possible internal transport systems and
3. the working condition.

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• Type of Layout: It is necessary to determine which
type of layout to select, product (line) or process
(functional) layout.
• In addition to the selection of type of layout it is also
important to fix the arrangement of machines

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 Q
Q A
Product α P= Product
Product β Q=Quantity
B
Product y

P P

P-Q Diagram

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• In region A there are few types of products but in a
great quantity. For these products it is advisable to
have product layout.
• In region C there are very many products in small
quantity. Hence, preferred to have process layout.
• For products in region B (medium types of products
and medium quantity) the case has to be studied
closely so as to be able which layout to select.

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• There are different types of machine arrangements.
The form of an industrial building is mainly
dependent on machine arrangements and the
advancement of a workpiece. The usual forms are
shown

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 a) IN PARALLEL

a) IN SERIES

a) COMBINED

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 The Possible Internal Transport System:

• After considering the type of workpiece

advancement, the production capacity and the
machineries required, it is necessary to examine the
volume and weight of materials that has to be
transported from one machine to the other, or from
one department to the other

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 Cont’d…
• The type of material handling equipment influences
directly the plant layout and also the building. The
working position, the form of the layout, the height,
width and length of the building, the loading and
unloading of materials, the positions and dimensions
of accessibility depends in general, on the type of
internal transport system adopted.

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• A good study of internal transport system may boil down to
the following major benefits:
Reduce costs by
- utilizing space to better advantage,
- increasing productivity and
- making few number of effective movements.
Reduce waste by
- eliminating damage to material during the handling process
and
- maintaining proper control over in-and-out of stock handling
process.
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Improve working conditions by
• providing safer working conditions and
• reducing worker fatigue.
Improve the efficiency of the plant by
• improving location of storage facilities,
• improving routing and
• increasing productivity.

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 Raw Material
Finished Good
Store
Working Dep’t

Future Expansion
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Typical One Floor Industrial Building
• In some plants, the cost of repeated handling
constitutes a very high proportion of the total cost of
the end product, and in some others, the distance,
materials have to move is not the sole criterion, and
often is not even the primary concern for locating an
area or an operation. Hence, more realistic value
assessment of the factors that truly affect total cost in
different kinds of layout planning situations is
needed.
• The available computer aided layout algorithms fall
into, either improvement, or construction routine
categories.

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 IMPROVEMENT ROUTINE:

• The basic approach is to find a suboptimum design by making

improvements in sequential fashion. First, a given layout has
to be evaluated to determine what the effect will be if
department locations are interchanged.
• If improvements can be made by making pairwise exchanges,
the exchange producing the greatest improvement can be
adopted.
• The process continues until no improvement is possible by
pairwise exchanges.

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 The objective function to be evaluated is:
n n
TC =   W ij C ij Dij
i -1 j -i

TC = Total internal transport cost

 Cij = Cost of internal transport, per unit distance per unit
weight, for material movement between department i and j
 Wij =Weight of material transported, per unit time, from
department i to j
 Dij = Distance from department i to j
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• The routine accepts input data of Wij and Cij in the form of a
FROM - TO chart. It may also accept Dij in the form of a FROM
- TO charter, or it may accept the co-ordinates of the work
centers.
• A FROM - TO chart is a square matrix whose elements represent
flow or distance between departments.
• The chart is constructed by listing the departments down the left
hand column and then across the top in the same order.
• The departments on the left are the originating (FROM)
departments and the ones at the top are the receiving (TO) ones.

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 To 2
From 1 3 4 ... j ... n
1
2
= Wij x C ij x D
3 ij

4
...

i
...

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• A relationship chart is a triangular matrix whose
elements represent the relationships among plant
layout departments. Letter codes are also used to
represent desirable or undesirable levels of closeness
between departments.

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• Six standard letter codes are used to show closeness
relationships.
• "A" indicates an absolutely necessary closeness
relationship;
• "E" indicates especially important;
• "I" important;
• "O" ordinary;
• "U" unimportant;
• "X" indicates a not desirable closeness relationship.
Although the letter codes are standard, the ratings reflect the
user's own reasons for assigning the letter codes.

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 CONSTRUCTION ROUTINE:
• This routine constructs layouts without the need for an
existing (preliminary) layout.
• Basically find the starting point or initial activity
placement and then add the remaining activity areas in
accordance with logical rule. Thus, the routine accepts
qualitative information from the relationship chart
with closeness value numerically rated.

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• The relationship chart and the numerically weighted
ratings, assigned to the closeness values, are the basis
for the order and placement in which departments
enter the layout. The ratings assigned for A,E,I,O,U
and X are used to calculate the Total Closeness Rating
(TCR) for each department.

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 n

TCRi = 
j=1
V( r ij ); i = 1 ... m

where
• TCRj =Total Closeness Rating for department;
• V(rij) =Numerical value assigned to the closeness value for department i
and j.
• n = Total number of departments.
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 DEPT.

2
...

k
...

The relation between the K th and the

...

Mth dept. can have any closeness value

(A,E,I,O,U or X)
n

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• The first department to be placed in the layout is assigned by
taking the department with the greatest TCR. Next, the
relationship chart is scanned to see if there is any department
that has an A value with the department already placed. If no
A value exists, a check is made for E value, and if no E value
appears, a check is made for I value, followed by O value. If
ties develop, the department having the greatest TCR is
chosen. This process is continually used until finally all
departments are placed in the layout.

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 Working Condition
• Proper working conditions are considered important
by management because they increase production
effectiveness. Employee working conditions are
influenced by many factors, over which the employee
has very little or no control.
• A good layout considers the factors influencing
working conditions.

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 LIGHTING
• Good lighting facilitates accuracy and ease of seeing. A lighting
system that aids these two demands means that the worker is
able to see the critical details required in his job without
excessive visual strain.
• The lighting fixtures are described according to the way they
distribute light.
 Direct lighting 0-10% of flux directed to the roof
 Semi direct 10-40% " " "
 General diffuse 40-60% " " “
 Semi indirect 60-90% " " “
 Indirect 90-110% " " "

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• In most European countries, the law requires for a
minimum level of illumination. The following ranges
are accepted internationally

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TYPE OF WORK ILLUMINATION VALUE IN FLUX
• Store and rarely accessible
working places 100 - 200
• Rough work (Brewery) 200 - 500
• Medium work (automobile assembly) 500 - 1000
• Precise work (wool work) 500 – 1000
• Fine work (Radio and TV assembly) 1000 - 2000
• Very fine work (controlling wool work) 1000 - 2000
• Working on a very small pieces
(watch assembly) 2000 - 7500

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 AIR CONDITIONING
• Air conditioning is used for many plants to control
contamination by dust, bacteria and toxic gases in
addition to air temperature and humidity.
• Air conditioning is a system which provides an
atmosphere comfortable to the human being and
maintain an atmospheric environment demanded by a
manufacturing process or storage of products.

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 NOISE
• A wide variety of sound exists in industry. Continuous
exposure to high noise levels frequently results in
temporary or even permanent loss of hearing.
• But there is no clear cut line to indicate how much noise
results in hearing loss.
• The following are standard measurements for different
sound sources in decibels:

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 SOURCE dB
- Hydraulic process at one meter 140
- Automobile horn push at one meter 120
- Automatic lathe at one meter 100
- Conversation at one meter 70
- Workshop (mechanical) 80

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 The reduction of noise may be brought about by a
variety of methods. Some of these methods are:
Control of the noise at the source.
Isolation of the noise.
Use of baffles and sound absorbers.
Acoustical treatment.
Use of ear protection devices.

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 USE OF COLOR
• The objective of utilizing scientifically selected colors is to bring
about a clear three dimensional vision.
• Color codes have been developed for particular uses. The red,
yellow and green of traffic lights is a well known example of color
coding.
Red - danger; stop
Yellow - caution
Green - safety equipment
• It is advisable to paint the roof of the industrial building with a
minimum reflection index of 0.7, the walls 0.5, and the floor 0.25.

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Different colors have different psychological effects.
• Red - Hot and heavy, exciting, stimulating.
• Orange - Hot, exciting and stimulating less than red.
• Yellow - Hot, exciting lovely.
• Green - Fresh and light, pacific.
• Blue - Light, pacific.
• Violet - Light, loneliness.
• White - Cold, brilliant (seems to increase volume).
• Black - Hot (seems to decrease volume) depressing.

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 SPACE REQUIREMENTS

• The layout man often finds himself involved in work space arrangement; at
any rate, he must determine the floor space that will be required by an
operator. The study of floor space needed considers the following points:
• While at work, the operator's arms and hands should move as easily as
possible and he ought to reduce, to the minimum the movement of his
shoulders, his body and his person from one position to another.

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• Fixed posts for utensils and materials should be assured.
• The disposition of utensils, materials and organs of maneuver near and
infront of the operator.
• Avoidance of the standing operator wherever possible. The study of the
working area should consider a proper and comfortable position for the
legs of the operator in an armchair or on a stool.
• When the operator is transporting material, or when he is in a position to
push, or pull he should do it in such a way that:
• he is in an equilibrium position and
• he applies the possible minimum force to produce the effect.

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 PASSAGE IN AN INDUSTRIAL
BUILDING
• From the very beginning of the study one has to determine the corridors
within the building. Their width is determined according to the internal
transport system selected and according to the clearance needed for
passages.
• Principal corridors which normally start from one end of the building and
end at the other end are 3 to 5 meters wide.
• Corridors within the department:
1. passage for one person 60 cm,
2. passage for two persons 120 cm,
3. passage for three persons 170 cm.

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 SAFETY

• A good plant layout should consider the safety of all

personnel.
• Lack of adequate storage space which is beyond the
control of the foreman, can lead to unsafe practices in
the storage of materials. Some of the safety hazards to
be watched for in plant layout are:

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• inadequate passage,
• insufficient storage space allowance for safe handling procedures,
• insufficient handling equipment capacity,
• floor load capacity,
• floor obstructions,
• slippery finish floors,
• inadequate exits,
• inadequate stairs, ramps and ladders,
• inaccessible fire extinguisher and first aid boxes
• unguarded moving parts of equipment ,
• workers located under the above hazards and
• improper ventilation for removal of dangerous or toxic gases.

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• The layout man should give due consideration to the
problem of safety. Overlooking the problem will lead
to
 lower morale of the workers,
 lower productivity and
 heavy accident liability costs.

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 Selection
• Every layout plan has intangible costs which to all
intents and purposes cannot be measured in terms of
birr and cents.
• Moreover, a comparative cost analysis of alternative
layouts is sometimes a standoff, no one plan has a
clear-cut financial advantage over the other.
Essentially, however, there are three:
1. balancing advantages against disadvantages;
2. cost comparison and justification; and
3. factor analysis rating.

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 Advantages versus Disadvantages
• Probably the easiest of the three evaluation methods
mentioned above is the listing of advantages and
disadvantages.
• It is also the least accurate; therefore, it is used more for
preliminary screening out of rough alternatives.
• This pros and cons system involves merely listing in columns
or on sheets placed adjacent to each other all the advantages of
each alternative, below them are listed the disadvantages.
• This simple comparison is surprisingly effective and certainly
is not a time consuming procedure

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 Cost Comparisons

• A more economical approach to the evaluation

problem is cost comparison, by establishing the total
factory cost of a product and added investment for
machine tools, a comparison between alternatives is
possible.

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• In preparing a cost analysis, there are basically
two approaches we can follow.
– We may either consider total cost involved or
– We may consider only those costs that will be
affected by the project under considerations.

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• A systematic way of classifying cost elements and
accumulating cost figures are required. For this the
following procedures are recommended.
– prepare a worksheet(s) that picks up investment
requirements for each alternatives;
– prepare a worksheet that establishes operating cost
estimates, and
– make calculations to compare and justify expenditures for
alternative layout plans.

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 Factor Analysis

• The overall desires of what is wanted in layout being

planned are broken down into so-called factors or
considerations. They may also be termed criteria or
objectives. Follows a list of the most commonly
involved factors or considerations; not in order of
importance.

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• ease of future expansion,
• adaptability and versatility,
• flexibility of layout,
• flow of materials effectiveness,
• materials handling effectiveness,
• storage effectiveness,
• space utilization,
• effectiveness of supporting service integration,
• safety and housekeeping,

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• working conditions and employee satisfaction,
• ease of supervision and control,
• appearance, promotions value, public or community relations,
• quality of products,
• maintenance problems,
• fit with company organization structure,
• equipment utilization,
• utilization of natural conditions or surroundings ,
• ability to meet capacity or requirements,
• investment or capital required and
• savings, payout, returns, profitability.

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 PROCEDURE FOR EVALUATING
ALTERNATIVES BY FACTOR ANALYSIS

A. Identify the plan to be evaluated.

– Select the alternatives that are to be evaluated.
– Have a visual plan, or sketch of each layout infront of each
rater clearly understood by him, during the evaluation
process.
– Identify each visual plans by letters A, B, C, etc. Also give
it a brief three-to-five word description.

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B. Establish the factors or considerations.
– Establish what factors, consideration criteria or
objectives are involved, or wanted from the layout.
– Define the factors so that they are clearly
understood. Avoid duplication of terms and
congestion as to meaning.

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C. Arrange a rating sheet.
– List the factors or considerations vertically on the
lines of a sheet of paper.
– Arrange the identification letter for each
alternative plant horizontally in columns across the
same sheet.
– Leave room for adequate reference notes.

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D. Determine the relative importance of each
factor.
– Determine the weight or importance value of each
factor relative to the other factors.
– Record by whom the weight values are
determined.

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E. Rate each factor for alternative plans.
– Establish a rating code or system.
– Rate each element on the extent to which it
achieves, or affords the ends represented by the
factor in question - - - rating each layout exactly as
it is planned.
– Rate all the plans for one factor; then take the next
factor.
– Record by whom the rating(s) was (were) made.

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F. Calculate weighted value and total.
– Translate the rating symbols into numerical values and
multiply the weight value by each rating number.
– Total the weighted rating values for each alternative plan
by adding the respective columns.
– Record by whom the extension and tally were made.
– Take actions as appropriate, based on the totals.

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