FACILITY LAYOUT

A plant layout refers to the arrangement of machinery, equipment and other

industrial facilities- such as receiving and shipping departments, tool rooms,
maintenance rooms and employee amenities etc, for the purpose of achieving the
quickest and smoothest production at the least cost. The subject of plant layout
not only covers the initial layout of machines and other facilities but encompasses
improvements in the methods of productions. In other words, plant layout is a
floor plan for determining and arranging the desired machinery and equipment of
a plant , whether established or contemplated, in the one best place to permit the
quickest flow of material at the lowest cost and with the least amount of handling
in processing the product from the receipt of the raw materials to the shipment of
the finished products.

Objectives of a good Layout:

Any one or many of the objectives might be achieved through a good layout:

 Provide enough production capacity.

 Reduce Material handling cost.
 Reduce congestion in the space matrix.
 Reduce hazards to personnel.
 Utilise labor efficiently.
 Increase morale of the working groups.
 Reduce accidents.
 Utilise the plant space efficiently.
 Provide volume and product flexibility.
 Allow ease of maintenance.
 Allow high machine/equipment utilization.
 Improve productivity.

Factors Influencing the layout:

The pattern of layout varies from industry to industry, location to location and
plant to plant. Some of the factors which influences layout are explained below:

1. Materials: Materials are the main components of any industry, The

materials could be the raw materials, work in process material, finished
products, maintenance materials etc. Adequate efforts are to be
undertaken to get them store at proper places. Usually in factory layout,
places are earmarked for specific materials and lots of planning are done to
see that the materials are moved to the area of interest with ease and at
shortest time possible.
2. Product: A layout is deigned with the ultimate aim of manufacturing the
desired product. Hence depending upon the product, the factory is set up
in accordance to this parameter. Due to different product, no each facility
will be the same. Example layout of a thermal power plant will be different
to that of an automobile manufacturing unit and so is the case for Nuclear
Facility.
3. Workers: Employee comfort in producing the product is to be seen and so
is the skill. Usually a heavy weight loaded factory will be seeing to employ
able bodies and so in the case of call centre facility , the employment will
be gender biased.
4. Machinery: The type of product, the volume of its production, the type of
process and management policy determines the size and type of machinery
to be installed which in turn influences the plant layout. Production is a
cumulative work of men, machine and materials. Combination in various
ratios of these constitute the product. Before the production is planned, it
is necessary to determine which of the elements are to be stationery, which
one is moving and also the moving distance.
5. Type of Industry: The type of industry will dictate the manufacturing
process and hence the layout. Industries can be classified under four major
heads and each of the head can be further classified into either
intermediaries or continuous:

a. Synthetic.
 b. Analytical.
c. Conditioning.
d. Extractive.
6. Location: The site selected for the location of a plant influences its layout is
the way of size, terrain, transportation needs, power requirement, future
expansion and the area where it is to cited.
7. Managerial Policies: Management policies significantly influences plant
layout. Following could be the management policies:
a. Volume of production and provision of expansion.
b. The extent of automation.
c. Making or buying some useful components.
d. Quick transportation of the produced goods.
e. Purchasing policy.
f. Personnel policy.
g. Government policy and directives.

Principles of Layout: These are the underlying principles of Layout Planning;

a) The Principle of Minimum Travel: Men , Material should travel the

shortest distance between operations so as to avoid waste of labor
and time and minimize the cost of material handling.
b) Principle of Sequencing: Machinery and operations should be
arranged in a sequential order.
c) Principle of Usage: Every foot of available space should be effectively
utilized. This principle takes more importance where the cost for the
space is very high.
d) Principle of Compactness: There should be harmonious fusion of all
the relevant factors so that the final layout looks well integrated and
compacted.
e) Principle of Safety and Satisfaction: The layout should contain built
in provisions for the safety of the work force. It should also be
planned on the basis of the comfort and convenience.
f) Principle of Flexibility: The layout should permit revision with the
least difficulty and at minimum cost.
 g) Principle of Minimum Investment: The layout should result in
savings in fixed capital investment, not by avoiding necessary
installation but by an intensive use of available facilities.

Various Types of Layout:

A layout essentially refers to the arranging and grouping of machines which are
meant to produce goods. Grouping is done on different lines. The choice of a
particular line depends on several factors. The method of grouping or the types of
layout are:

a. Process layout, functional layout or job shop layout.

b. Product layout, line processing layout or flow line layout.
c. Fixed position layout or static layout.
d. Cellular manufacturing layout or Group Technology Layout.
e. Combination layout or Hybrid Layout.

Process layout

It is also called the functional layout, layout for job lot manufacture or batch
production layout. Process layout involves a variety of processing requirements.
For example, a manufacturing process layout is the machine shop, which has
several departments for milling, grinding, drilling etc. Items that require those
operations are moved in lot or in batches to the departments in a sequence that
varies from job to job. Consequently, a variable path material handling equipment
is needed to handle the variety of routes and items( example Fork lift trucks, jeeps
etc).The process arrangement is signified by grouping together of like machines
based on their operational characteristics.. For example Engine lathes are one
department, turret lathes in another department and milling machine in the third
department.

Machines in each department attend to any product that is taken to them. These
machines are hence called general purpose machines. Work has to be allotted to
each departments in such a way that no machine in any department is idle.
Because the machines are arranged by type rather than by processing sequence,
the system is less vulnerable to shut down caused by mechanical failure or
because of absentees. Process layout are very common in service environments.
Examples include Hospitals, Universities etc.

In these cases, the maintenance cost tends to be lower because of the general
purpose machines and not a specialized machine.

In sum , process layouts have both advantage and disadvantage.

The Advantage are listed as under:

o System can handle a variety of processing requirements i.e: flexibility

in greater production.
o Systems are not particularly vulnerable to equipment failures.
o General purpose equipment is often less costly and is easier to
maintain.
o It is possible to use individual incentive scheme.
o Better and more efficient supervision is possible through
specialization.
o This type of layout results in better utilization of men and machines.

The various disadvantages are:

In process inventory costs are high if batch processing is used in

manufacturing .

o Routing and Scheduling pose continual challenges.

o Equipment utilization are slightly low.
o Material handling is slow and inefficient and costly per unit area.
o Job complexities often reduces the span of supervision and hence
results in higher supervisory cost.
o Special attention is necessary for each product or customer and low
volumes result in higher unit cost.
o Accounting and inventory control and purchasing are much more
involved than product layout.
o There is accumulation of work in progress at different places.
 Product Layout:
Also called as the straight line layout or layout for serialized manufacture,
these layout involves the arrangement of machine in one line, depending
upon the sequence of operations. Materials are fed into the first machine
and the product is available at the other end. The output of one machine is
the input to the other machine. Good examples are paper mill and
automotive industries.
In product layout, if there is more than one line of production, there are
many lines of machines. The emphasis here, therefore, is on special
purpose machines in contract to general purpose machines, which are
installed in the process layout. Consequently the investment cost tend to
be higher.
The product layout may be advantageously followed in plants
manufacturing standardized products on a mass scale such as Chemical,
paper, sugar, rubber, refineries and cement industries.

Advantages:
 There is mechanization of materials handling and consequently
reduction in material handling cost.
 This type of layout avoids production bottlenecks.
 There is economy in manufacturing time.
 The layout facilitates better production control.
 It requires less floor are per unit of production.
 Work in progress is reduced and investment thereon, minimized.
 Early detection of mistakes or badly produced items is possible.
 There is greater incentive to a group of workers to raise their level of
performances.

Disadvantages:

 Product layout is known for its inflexibility.

 This type of layout is also expensive.
 There is difficulty of supervision.
  Expansion is also difficult.
 Any break down of equipment along the production line can disrupt
the whole system.
RELATIVE MERITS –
Product Layout
Mechanization of materials handling and
consequent reduction in material
handling cost.
Avoidance of bottle necks
Economy in manufacturing time.
Better production control.
Less floor area per unit of production.
Minimum investment in work in
progress.
Early deduction of mistakes or badly
produced items.
Greater Incentives to a group of workers
to raise their performance.
LISTING THE CIRCUMSTANCES WHERE PRODUCT AND PROCESS LAYOUT CAN BE USED.
Product Layout
One of few standard products.
Large volume of Production of each
item over a considerable period of time. individual items.
Minimum inspection required during
the sequence of operations.
Materials and Products permit bulk or
continuous handling by mechanical
means.
RELATIVE MERITS – Process
Layout
Reduction in the investment on
machines as they are general
purpose machines.
Greater flexibility in production.
Better and more efficient
supervision through
specialization.
Better scope of expansion.
Better utilization of men and
machines.
Easier to handle breakdown of
equipment by transferring work
to another machine or station.
Full utilization of the plant.
Greater incentives to individual
workers to raise the level of their
performance.
Process Layout
Many type or kinds of products or
emphasis on special orders.
Relatively low volume of production of
Many inspection required during a
sequence of operations.
Materials or products too bulky to
permit bulk or continuous handling by
mechanical means.
Little or no occasion to use the same Frequent used for using the same
machine or work station for more than machine of work station for two or
one operation. more different operations.

Fixed Position Layout:

Fixed position layout involves the movement of men and machines to the product
which remains stationery. In this type of layout, the material or the major
component remains in fixed location, and tools, machinery and men and
machines to the product is available because the cost of moving them would be
less than the cost of moving the product which is very bulky.

Raw Material
Air Craft Industry
Machine & equipment Finished Product

Labor

Also called the fixed location layout, this type is followed in the manufacture of
bulky and heavy products such as locomotive, ships, boilers, aircraft etc. The
construction of a building requires a fixed location layout because men, cement,
sand, bricks, steel etc are taken to the site.

The advantages of a fixed position layout are:

 Men and machines can be used for a wide variety of operations producing
different products.
 The investment on layout is very small.
 The worker identifies himself with the product and takes pride in it when
the work is complete.
 The high cost of and difficulty in transporting a bulky product are avoided.
 Combination Layouts:

It is not hard to find layouts that represent some combination of these above
models discussed. For instance, super markets layouts are essentially process
layouts and yet we find most use fixed path material handling devices such as
roller type conveyors at the cash registers. Hospital also use the basic process
arrangement , although frequently patient of care involves more of a fixed
position approach, in which nurses, doctors, medicines and special equipment are
brought to the patients.

Product layout and Process layout represents two ends on a continuum from
small jobs to continuous production. Process layouts are conducive to the
production of a wider range of products and services than product layouts. Some
manufactures are moving away from process layout in an effort to capture some
of the benefits of product layouts. Ideally, a system is flexible and yet efficient,
with low unit production costs. Cellular manufacturing, Group Technology, and
Flexible Manufacturing system represent efforts toward this ideal.

A typical Combined layout is as under:

Product Layout

RM FP GC HT GG

RM Fin Prod
FP GC
HT GG
GC

Process
Layout

Legend: RM: Raw Material, FP: Forging Press, GC: Gear Cutting machine, HT: Heat Transfer
Furnace, GG: Gear Grinding Machine, Fin Prod: Finished Product

Cellular Production Layout:

Cellular manufacturing layout involves machines grouped into cells and the cell
function somewhat like a product layout within a large shop or process layout.
Grouping are determined by the operations needed to perform work for a set of
similar items, or part families, that require similar processing. These cells become,
in effect, miniature versions of product layout. The cells may have no conveyor
movement of parts between machines. In the cellular layout, machines are
arranged to handle all of the operations necessary for a group of similar parts.
Thus all parts follow the same route although there may be some minor variations
in the route. In contrast , the functional layout involves multiple paths for parts.
Moreover , there is little effort or need to identify part families.

Below table lists the benefits of cellular layouts compared to functional layouts.

Dimensions Functional Cellular

Number of moves between Many Few
departments
Travel distances Longer Shorter
Travel paths Variable Fixed
Job waiting time Greater Shorter
Throughput time Higher Lower
Amount of work in process Higher Lower
Supervision Difficulty Higher Lower
Scheduling Complexity Higher Lower
Equipment Utilisation Lower Higher

Group Technology: Effective cellular manufacturing must have groups of

identified items with similar processing characteristics. This strategy for products
and process design is known as group technology and involves identifying items
with similarities in either design characteristics or manufacturing characteristics
and grouping them into part families. Design characteristic includes size, shape
and function: manufacturing or processing characteristics involve the type and
sequence of operations required. In many cases, design and processing
characteristics are correlated, although this is not always the case.. Thus, design
families may be different from processing families.
Once similar items have been identified, items can be classified according to their
families: then a system can be formulated to retrieve the database for the
purpose of design. This greatly enhances the productivity. The conversion to
group technologies and cellular production requires a systematic analysis of parts
to identify the part families. Hence it is time consuming job involving the analysis
of considerable data. Three primary methods of accomplishing these are Visual
Inspection, Examination of design and Production data and the Production
analysis.

Service facility Layout: In addition to these layouts are the service layout like
Warehouse and Storage layouts, Retail layouts and Office layout. The
fundamental difference between service facility layout and the manufacturing
facility layout is that, many service facilities exist to bring together customers and
services. Service facility layouts should provide for easy entrance to these facilities
from freeways and busy thoroughfares. Large, well organized and amply lighted
parking areas and well designed walkways to and fro from the parking areas are
the some of the requirements of service layout.

Because of different degrees of customer contact, two types of service facility

layout emerge: those that are almost around the customer receiving and servicing
functions ( like the banks) and those designed around the technologies,
processing of physical material and production efficiency (like hospitals).

Parking Area Casualty Department & In Parking area

Patient Department

Hospital Wards Surgery, Radiology, ICU

Typical layout of a hospital:

EXIT ENTRANCE
Hospital Wards

Doctors Office Nurse Lounge Cafetaria

Hospital wards Business Office

Parking Area Casualty Department & IPD Parking Area

Warehouse and Storage Layout: The design of storage facilities presents a
different set of factors than the design of factory layouts. Frequency of order
plays an important consideration, items that are ordered frequently should be
placed near to the entrance of the facility. Any correlation between two items
should be placed together for example when Product A is taken along with
Product B, then A and B should be co-located. Other considerations include the
number and the width, the height of the storage racks, rail and /or truck loading
and unloading and the need to periodically the count of the stocks.

Retail Layouts: The objectives that guide design of manufacturing layouts often
pertain to cost minimization and product flow. However with retail layout like
departmental stores, super markets etc, designers must take into account the
presence of customers and opportunity to influence sales volume and customer
attitudes through carefully designed layouts. Traffic patterns and traffic flow are
important factors to consider. Some large retail layout use standard layout for
most of their stores. This has several advantage:

 Ability to save money and time.

 Avoid confusion.
Office Layouts: Office layouts are undergoing transformations as the flow of paper
work is replaced with increase use of IT and related services. That means there is
less need to place office workers in a layout that optimizes the physical transfer of
information or paper work. Another trend is to create an image of openness:
office walls are replacing the giving way or low rise partitions.

Layout Planning: Designing and installing a layout for the first time and its
subsequent (in fact many revisions) may be located after by the engineering and
Planning development. Frequently there are specialists ( consultants) are engaged
for this purpose. There are no readymade design for the layout. Heuristic
methods are rules are often used. Many trial and errors for the layout are carried
out. There may be some governing rules are incorporated while locating the
departments like some sensitive lab is not located next to a heavy vibrating
machine department. In India, supermarket does not keep the meat product
department next to the cafeteria or in the hospital layout the Mortuary is not
located to the entrance or any wards.

When you have the building already , a temp plate method is often employed.
Each department holding the machinery, area is calculated and a temp plate of
the equated area is made and the temp plate is fitted into the total area keeping
the rules in mind.

Where a layout is to be developed with no building around, most common

method is the LINE BALANCING method.

Line balancing is the phase of assembly line study that nearly equally divides the
work to be done among the workers so that the total number of employees
required on the assembly line is minimized. Computer play an important role like
ALDEP ( Automated layout design program), CORELAP ( computerized
relationship) , CRAFT ( computerized relative allocation of facilities technique) are
the few of the software that are available for this purpose.

Criteria for selection and design of Layouts:

Facility layouts must integrate work centre location, office , computer facility, tool
room etc. Two of the major criteria for selecting and designing and layout are:
 1. Material Handling Cost and
2. Worker Effectiveness.

Material handling cost are minimized by using mechanized material handling

equipments such as belts, cranes and conveyors to automate product flows,
keeping the distances as short as possible by locating the work centers for
sequential processing activities in adjacent areas.

Work effectiveness is another important criteria in the layout of facilities. Good

layout provides workers with a satisfying job and permit them to work effectively
at the highest skill level. Good communication systems and well balanced
supporting activity locations are critical to the success of any facility.

The process of deciding how to assign tasks to workstations is referred to as the

“LINE BALANCING”. The goal of line balancing is to obtain task grouping that
represents approximately equal time requirements. This minimizes the idle time
along the line and results in a high utilization of labor and equipment. Idle time
occurs if task times are not equal among work stations. Some stations are capable
of producing at higher rates than others. Unbalanced lines are undesirable in
terms of inefficient utilization of labor and equipment.

Lines that are perfectly balanced will have a smooth flow of work as activities
along the line are synchronized to achieve maximum utilization of men and
material. Line balancing involves assigning tasks to workstation

Line balancing involves assigning tasks to workstations. Usually, each workstation

has one worker who handles all of the tasks at that station, although an option is
to have several at a single work station.

Working on Line Balancing:

The primary determinant is what the line’s CYCLE TIME ,will be, The cycle time is
the maximum time allowed at each work station to perform the assigned tasks
before the work moves on. For instance, if the cycle time is 2 minutes/second,
units will come off the end of the line at the rate of one every two minutes.
Suppose that the work required to fabricate a certain product can be divided up
into five elemental task, with the task times and precedence relationship as
shown in the following diagram.

0.1 0.7 1.0 0.5 0.2

min min min min min
n

The task times govern the range of possible cycle times.

The minimum cycle time is equal to the longest task time( 1.0 min).

The maximum cycle time is equal to the sum of the task time( 2.5 min).

The minimum cycle time will apply if there are five workstation, and

Maximum cycle time will apply if there is only one work station.

Output Capacity = OT/CT

Where OT = Operating time per day

And CT = Cycle time

Assume that the line will operate for eight hours per day ( 8*60 =480 mins), with
a cycle time of 1.0 min. the output will be

Output Capacity = 480 minutes per day/1.0 minutes per unit=480 units/day

With a cycle time of 2.5 minutes, the output would be

Output Capacity = 480 mins per day/2.5 mins per unit= 192 units/day

Assuming that no parallel activities are to be employed , the output selected will
be from 480 to 192 units per day.

As a general rule, the cycle time is determined by the desired output: that is a
desired output level is selected and the cycle time is computed.

CT = OT/D
 Where D is the desired output

In our above case CT= 480 mins per day/480 units per day= 1.0 mins per
Unit.

(note: Incase the desired output say is 400 units per day, then
CT=480/400=1.20 mins per unit)

The next step is to calculate the number of work station

N min = ∑ t /CT

Where Nmin is the number of minimum work station rounded

∑ t is sum of the task

In our case N min = 2.5 minutes per unit/1.0 minute per unit= 3 (rounded)

This means that there will be 3 work stations in our planning.

The next step is the precedence diagram.

0.1 Min 1.0 min

a b

c d e

0.7 min 0.5 min 0.2 min

It virtually portrays the task that are to be performed along with the sequential
requirements, that is , the order in which tasks are to be performed. The diagram
is read from left to right, so the initial task(s) are on the left and the final task is on
the right. In terms of precedence requirements, the only requirement to begin
task b is that task a must be finished. However in order to begin task d , tasks b
and c, must both be finished.
 Now let us see how line is balanced.

This involves assigning of tasks to work stations. Generally there is no technique

available that guarantee an optimal set of assignments. Hence managers employ
heuristic rules, which provide sometimes optimal set of assignments. There are
number of such heuristic rules but we shall consider two such rules:

1. Assign tasks in order of most following tasks.

2. Assign tasks in order of greatest positional weight. Positional weight is the
sum of each task’s times of all following tasks.

The general procedure used in the line balancing is listed below:

1. Determine to CT and N min.

2. Make assignments to work stations in order, beginning with station 1.
Tasks are assigned to each workstation from left to Right.
3. Before each work assignment , use the following criteria to determine the
eligibility of the work to the work station (WS).
a. All preceding tasks in the sequence have been assigned.
b. The task time does not exceed the time remaining at the WS.
c. If no task are eligible , move on to the WS.
4. After each task assignment, determine the time remaining at the current
workstation by subtracting the sum of times for tasks already assigned to
it from the cycle time.
5. Break the ties, that occur using one of these rules:
a. Assign the tasks with the longest task time.
b. Assign the task with the greatest number of followers.
c. If there is still a tie, choose one arbitrarily.
6. Continue until all tasks have been assigned to workstations.
7. Compute appropriate measures like percentage idle time , efficiency etc.
Question 1:

Using the information contained in the table shown, do each of the following:

1. Draw a precedence diagram.

2. Assuming an eight hour shift for the production, compute CT for an
output of 400 units per day.
3. Determine the number of minimum number of workstations required.
4. Assign the tasks to WS according to the following work rules.
a. Assign tasks according to greater number of following tasks. Incase
of a tie, use the tiebreaker of assigning the task with the longest
processing time first.
5. Compute the resultant efficiency of the system

Task Immediate Task

s Follower time in
minutes
a b 0.2
b e 0.2
c d 0.8 Solution:
d f 0.6
e f 0.3 1.Precedence diagram:
f g 1.0 Step 1
g h 0.4 a
h end 0.3

Step 2 : Task b follows a and d follows c

a b

c d

Step 3 Task e follows b

 a b e

c d

Step 4 Task f follows e and d.

a b e

c d e

Step 5 Task g follows f and h follows g

a b e

c d f g h

2.Cycle time

CT= OT/D = 480 minutes per day/ 400 units per day = 1.2 minutes per unit

3.Number of WS

Nmin = ∑ t /CT, here ∑ t = 3.8 minutes per unit and D= 1.2

And Hence Nmin = 3.17 rounded to 4 station.

4.Table:

Station Time Eligible Will Task time Revised time idle

remaining fit assign remaining
1 1.2 a, c a,c a(0.2) 1.0
(more
followers)
1.0 c,b c,b c(0.8) 0.2
(longer task)
0.2 b,d b b(0.2) 0.0
 0 e,d None - 0.0
2 1.2 e,d e,d d(0.6) 0.6
0.6 e e e(0.3) 0.3
0.3 f None - - 0.3
3 1.2 f f f(1.0) 0.2
0.2 g None - - 0.2
4 1.2 g g g(0.4) 0.8
0.8 h h h(0.3) 0.5
0.5 - - - - 0.5
1.0

Hence the layout will be like this:

station 1 Station 2 Station 3 Station 4

a b e f g h

5.Efficiency
c d

Efficiency = 100%- {(idle time)/(No of stations*Cycle time)}*100

Efficiency = 100%- {(1.0)/(4*1.2)}*100= 79.17 %

Question 2:

The task shown in the following precedence diagram are to be assigned to WS

with the intent of minimizing idle time. Management has decided an output
rate of 275 units per day. Production available time is 440 minutes per day.

1. Determine the appropriate CT

2. What is the minimum number of station possible.
3. Assign task using “positional weights”: Rule: Assign task with highest
following items(include a task’s own time) first. Break ties using greatest
number of following tasks.
 4. Compute efficiency.

0.3 min 0.4 min 0.2 min 0.1 min 0.5min 0.3min

a c e g h i

b d f

0.6 min 1.2 min 0.6 min

Solution:

1. CT = operating time/desired output

= 440 minutes per day/ 275 units per day
= 1.6 minutes.
2. Nmin = ∑ t / CT
= 4. 2 mins / 1.6 mins= 2.625 = 3 ( rounded)
3. Add positional weights ( task time plus the sum of all following times) to
the diagram. Start at the right end and work backwards.

(0.18) (0.15) (0.11) (0.9) (0.8) (0.3)

0.3 min 0.4 min 0.2 min 0.1 min 0.5min 0.3min

a c e g h i

b d f

0.6 min 1.2 min 0.6 min

(3.2) (2.6) (1.4)

Table:

Station Time Eligible Will Assign task Revised time Idle

 Remaining fit time Remaining time
1 1.6 a,b a,b b(0.6) 1.0
1.0 a,d a a(0.3) 0.7
0.7 d,c c c(0.4) 0.3
0.3 d,e e e(0.2) 0.1
0.1 d,g g g(0.1) 0.0
0.0 0.0
2 1.6 d d d(1.2) 0.4
0.4 f none - - 0.4
3 1.6 f f f(0.6) 1.0
1.0 h h h(0.5) 0.5
0.5 i i i(0.3) 0.2
0.2 0.2
0.6

The resulting layout diagram:

Station 1 Station 2 Station 3

a c e g h i

d f
b

Efficiency = 100%-{(0.6)/(3*1.6)}*100

= 87.5%

Designing a Process Layout:

The main issue in designing process layout concerns the relative positioning of the
departments involved. All the departments must be assigned to a location.. The
problem is to develop a reasonably good layout .Interdependency between
departments has to be taken into account while fixing the various department to
the locations. Layout can also be influenced by external factors also such some
departments have perforce to be near the entrance for example ICU has to be
very near to the entrance. Cash counters in a supermarket has to be very near to
the exit and so on.

Major obstacle to finding the most efficient layout of department is the large
number of possible combination. For example a 14 department siting can have 87
million combination. Unfortunately no algorithm exists to identify best layout
arrangements. Planners often rely on heuristic rules to guide trial and error
efforts for a satisfactory solution to each problem.

One advantage of process layouts is their ability to satisfy a variety of processing

requirements. In customer oriented system, people must move from one work
centre to other work centre. Material oriented system necessitate the use of
variable path material handling equipment. In both the cases, transportation cost
or time is significant. Because of this factor, one of the major objective is to
minimize the transportation ,cost, time , distance etc. This is usually done by
locating the high dependent work center close to each other.

The various methods used for selecting best layout are discussed below:

Travel Chart Method:

The travel chart also known as From- To chart is helpful in analyzing the overall
flow of material. It shows the number of moves made between departments and
identifies the most active departments.

Typical travel chart is shown as under;

Facility Outline Chart

1 2 3
4 5 6
From To Chart

Fro No of moves
m A B C D E F
A 7 5
B 4 10
C 7 2
D 8
E 4 3
F 6 10

The solution of such type are arrived by trial and error method.

Step 1.

Determine which departments have the most frequent links with other
departments. This can be done by totaling the number of entries in each row and
column. This can be done by adding the number of entries in each row and
column.

Department A B C D E F
s
No of Links 3 5 3 2 5 4

Step 2:

Try to locate the most active department in the central position in the facility
outline.

In this case departments B and E which have the maximum number of links with
other departments are located at location 2 and 5 of the facility layout.

Step 3:
By trial and error method, locate the other departments so that the non adjacent
flows are minimized . A layout shown below satisfies all the dependency rules. If a
non adjacent flow exists, try to minimize the number of units flowing to non
adjacent areas as weighted by the distances between non adjacent departments.

B D
A
7 4

5 4 10 7 8

6
E C
F 3 2

10

Load Distance Analysis Method:

Load distance analysis is useful in comparing alternative layout to identify the one
with the least product or material travel time per period. This method helps to
minimize transportation cost by evaluating alternate layouts on the basis of the
total of the product of actual distance moved and the load(the units moved) for
each layout. Alternatively the material handling cost can be computed directly by
multiplying the number of loads by the material handling cost per load. The layout
with the lowest total ( Load * Distance) or total ( Load * Cost) is the best choice.

The following illustration helps in understanding this concept.

Example:

Two layout alternatives are shown below. The facility’s product, their travel
between departments and the distance between departments for each layout
alternative are also shown below: The layout alternative that minimizes the
monthly product travel through the facility has to be determined.
Layout A

8 4 1 2 5
0
3 7 1 9 6
Layout B

7 1 9 6 3
4 1 2 5 8
0

Dept Dist Dist Dept Dist Dist

movement between between movement between between
combination dept dept combination dept dept
Layout A Layout B Layout A Layout B
1-5 30 30 3-9 30 20
1-7 10 10 4-5 30 30
1-9 10 10 4-7 10 10
1-10 10 10 4-10 10 10
2-5 10 10 5-6 10 10
2-6 20 20 6-9 10 10
2-10 10 10 7-8 20 50
3-6 40 10 8-10 20 30

Produc Dept No of products Product Dept No of products

t processing Assessed/month processing Assessed/month
sequencing sequencin
g
A 1-5-4-10 1000 D 1-7-8-10 1000
B 2-6-3-9 2000 E 2-5-6-9 2000
c 2-10-1-9 3000 F 1-7-4-10 4000

Steps involved:

Step 1:
Compute total travel for each product thru the sequence chart.

Produc Dept Sequence Dist in Dist in

t Layout A Layout B
A 1-5-4-10 30+30+10=70 30+30+10=70
B 2-6-3-9 20+40+30=90 20+10+20=50
C 2-10-1-9 10+10+10=30 10+10+10=30
D 1-7-8-10 10+20+20=50 10+50+30=90
E 2-5-6-9 10+10+10=30 10+10+10=30
F 1-7-4-10 10+10+10=30 10+10+10=30

Step 2:

Compute the total distance travelled per month for each product thru each layout

Produc Load/units Dist/produc Dist/produc Load * Load * Dist

t t t Dist Per Month
Layout A Layout B Per Month Layout B
Layout A
A 1000 70 70 70,000 70,000
B 2000 90 50 1,80,000 1,00,000
C 3000 30 30 90,000 90,000
D 1000 50 90 50,000 90,000
E 2000 30 30 60,000 60,000
F 4000 30 30 1,20,000 1,20,000
Total 5,70,000 5,30,000

Step 3:

Determine the layout with the minimum load* distance per month.

In this Layout B is better than Layout A.

Systematic Layout Planning

Systematic layout Planning ( SLP) is often used where the amount of material that
flows between departments may not be critical for developing a good facility. This
method develops a chart known as “ Relationship Chart” or “ Richard Muther Half
Matrix”. This chart is based of the relative importance of one dept with the other.

The importance are denoted by “A,E,I,O,U and X”. They are also called as

“ nearness code”

Nearness Degree of Importance

code
A Absolute Necessary
E Very Important or Essential
I Important
O Ordinary Importance
U Unimportant
X Undesirable

Illustration below shows a typical Half matrix table.

Assembly
Fabrication

Job Planning

Pattern Shop e
u
Shipping i u
i e
a u a
u u i
u x e
x u
e o
o u
 Testing

Wiring

Example:

Assign nine automobile service departments to bays in a 3* 3 grid so that the

closeness ratings in the following matrix are satisfied. (the unimportant and
ordinary importance have been omitted for simplicity). The location of
department 4 must be in the upper right hand corner of the grid to satisfy a town
ordinance.

Department 1
 A
Department 2
A E
Department 3 A

X A

A
Department 4
A I

E A
Department 5 X

Department 6 X

X X
Department 7

Department 8

Department 9

Note that department 1 has many ratings, making it a strong candidate for the
center position in the grid. We can form a cluster of departments that should be
close together.

9 2

8 3

7 1 6

6 4

Next, we can identify departmental pairing that should be avoided:

5 2

6 8 4

These departments should be spaced around the perimeter of the grid. After a bit
of trial and error, the final grid shown below emerged. Check it against the rating
matrix to see if it satisfies the rating.

2 3 4

9 1 6

8 7 5