Chapter 6

Process Selection and Facility Layout

McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Copyright © 2012 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 6-2 Process Selection and Facility Layout

Chapter 6: Learning Objectives

 You should be able to:

1. Define and compare the basic processing types
2. Explain the strategic importance of process selection
3. Describe the influence that process selection has on the
organization
4. List some reasons for redesign of layouts
5. Describe the basic layout types, and the main advantages and
disadvantages of each
6. Solve simple line-balancing problems

Student Slides 6-2

Process Selection

3
 Process Selection
• Process selection
• Refers to deciding on the way production of goods or services will be organized
• Types of processing
• Intermittent (Irregular intervals) processing:
• Job shop
• Batch
• Repetitive (or Steady) processing:
• Assembly
• Continuous

Student Slides 6-4

Strategic importance of process selection

• It has major implications for

• Capacity planning
• Layout of facilities
• Equipment
• Design of work systems

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 Types of Processing
Repetitive/
Job Shop Batch Assembly Continuous
Description Customized Semi- Standardized Highly standardized
goods or standardized goods or Goods or services
services goods or services
services
Advantages Able to handle a Flexibility; easy Low unit Very efficient, very
wide variety to add or change cost, high volume, high volume
of work products or efficient
services
Disadvantages Slow, high cost Moderate cost Low flexibility, Very rigid, lack of
per unit, per unit, high cost of downtime variety, costly to
complex moderate change, very high cost
planning and scheduling of downtime
scheduling complexity
Volume Low or very low Moderate High Very high

Examples Manufacturing example: Bakeries, movie Automobiles, Petroleum products,

Carpentry theaters, airlines television sets, pencils sugar, salt, supply
Service example: electricity, internet
Veterinarian’s office

Student Slides 6-6

Types of Processing

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Process Choice Effects
Which type of process?

9
Process Selection

• Type of process will affect supply chain requirement.

• Repetitive & continuous processes require steady, high volume

input.

• Batch and job shops will have varying order quantity at different
times.

• Flexibility is not always the best option.

• It’s more expensive and not as efficient as less flexible alternatives.
• Some products have a stable demand and do not need flexibility.

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Process Selection and System Design

11
Facilities Layout

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 Facilities Layout
• Layout
• the configuration of departments, work centers, and equipment, with particular
emphasis on movement of work (customers or materials) through the system

• This simply means that we need to arrange our facilities in a certain way to
improve our operations and productivity.

• Facilities layout decisions arise when:

• Designing new facilities
• Re-designing existing facilities

Student Slides 6-13

The need for facility Layout

1. Inefficient operations
High cost
Bottlenecks
2. Accidents or safety hazards
3. Changes in product or service design
4. Introduction of new products or services
5. Changes in output volume or product mix
6. Changes in methods or equipment
7. Changes in environmental or other legal requirements
8. Morale problems (lake of face-to-face contact)

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Layout Objectives
 Basic Objective
 Facilitate a smooth flow of work, material, and information through
the system

 Supporting objectives
1. Facilitate product or service quality
2. Use workers and space efficiently
3. Avoid bottlenecks
4. Minimize material handling costs
5. Eliminate unnecessary movement of workers or material
6. Minimize production time or customer service time
7. Design for safety

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Layout types
1. Product layouts
• Repetitive processing

2. Process layouts
• Non-repetitive processing

3. Fixed-Position layout

4. Combination layouts

5. Cellular Layout

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Repetitive Processing:
Product Layouts
• Product layout
• Layout that uses standardized processing operations to achieve smooth,
rapid, high-volume flow

Raw materials
Station Station Station Station Finished
or customer item
1 2 3 4

Material Material Material Material

and/or and/or and/or and/or
labor labor labor labor

Used for Repetitive or Continuous

Processing
Student Slides 6-17
Repetitive Processing:
Product Layouts
• U-Shaped Layouts
• It often requires half the length of a straight production line.
• Permits increased communication among workers.
• Increases flexibility in work assignments
• Minimizes material handling.

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Non-repetitive Processing:
Process Layouts
• Process (functional) layouts
• Layouts that can handle varied processing requirements

Dept. A Dept. C Dept. E

Dept. B Dept. D Dept. F

Used for Intermittent processing

Student Slides
Job Shop or Batch 6-19
 6-20 Process Selection and Facility Layout

Fixed Position Layouts

 Fixed Position layout
 Layout in which the product or project remains
stationary, and workers, materials, and equipment
are moved as needed

Student Slides 6-20

 Combination Layouts
• Some operational environments use a combination of the three
basic layout types:
• Hospitals
• Supermarket
• Some organizations are moving away from process layouts in an
effort to capture the benefits of product layouts
• Cellular manufacturing
• Group technology
• Flexible manufacturing systems

Student Slides 6-21

Cellular Layout

• Cellular production:
• Layout in which workstations are grouped into a cell that can
process items that have similar processing requirements.

• Groupings are determined by the operations needed to

perform the work for a set of similar items, part families, that
require similar processing

• The cells become, in effect, miniature versions of product

layouts

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Cellular Layout
• Enables companies to produce more variety of products with little waste,
less work in process, space & lead time, better productivity, quality and
flexibility

• Effective cellular manufacturing require Group Technology to be used.

• Group Technology involves putting parts into groups with similar design or
manufacturing characteristics.

1. Design Characteristics (Size, shape, function)

2. Manufacturing or processing characteristics (type of operations
required OR sequence of operations required).

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Cellular Layout
• Techniques that facilitates cellular layout:
• Single-minutes Exchange of Die (SMED): this allows companies to
quickly convert a machine or process to produce different (but
similar) product type.

• Right-sized Equipment: using smaller equipment comparing to

the once used in the traditional layout.
• This allows transferring equipment to different cells.

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 Service Layout
• Service layouts can be categorized as: product, process, or fixed position

• Service layout requirements are somewhat different due to such factors as:
(Degree of customer contact +Degree of customization)

• For example:
• Hospitals (job shop) are high in contact + high in customization.

• A tailor is low in contact + high in customization.

• Gas stations & supermarkets (self service) are high in contact + low in
customization.

• A lot of services are being automated to reduce customer contact level. Exp.
ATM

Student Slides 6-25

  Common service layouts:
 Warehouse and storage layouts

•“Don’t waste an inch

•Find anything at any time

•Keep things moving

•Go faster (safely)”

Source:
https://www.interlakemecalux.com/blo
g/designing-warehouse-layouts

Source: https://www.interlakemecalux.com/blog/designing-warehouse-layouts

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 Common service layouts:
 Retail layout

Source: https://www.fohlio.com/blog/psychology-of-interior-design-retail-store-layouts/

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Line Balancing

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Line Balancing
• Line balancing:
• The process of assigning tasks to workstations in such a way
that the workstations have approximately equal time
requirements

 Goal:
 Obtain task grouping that represent approximately equal time
requirements since this minimizes idle time along the line and
results in a high utilization of equipment and labor

• Why is line balancing important?

1. It allows us to use labor and equipment more efficiently.
2. To avoid fairness issues that arise when one workstation must
work harder than another.
6-30 Process Selection and Facility Layout

A production line of a bicycle

Source: https://technologystudent.com/prddes1/prodline1.html

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Precedence Diagram
• Precedence diagram
• A diagram that shows elemental tasks and their precedence requirements
Precedence Diagram

• Eligible tasks:
• Tasks that do not have precedence requirements (activities) & we can start with
them immediately.

• Assigning a task is the process of choosing one of the eligible tasks to a

workstation:

 Choose the one with the highest

number of following tasks.
 If you have a tie, choose the one with
the longest processing time.
 Make sure that task time is less than
the remaining station time (well fit).
If not, close the workstation and
open another one.
Cycle Time

• Cycle time
• The maximum time allowed at each workstation to complete its set of tasks on a
unit

• Cycle time also establishes the output rate of a line

 6-34 Process Selection and Facility Layout

Cycle Time and Output Rate

Operating time per day

Output rate 
Cycle time

Operating time per day

Cycle time 
Desired output rate
CT min= Longest (maximum) processing time
CT max= The Sum of all tasks processing time = ∑t
How Many Workstations are Needed?

• Theoretical minimum number of stations

N min 
t
Cycle time
where
N min  theoretical minimum number of stations
 t  Sum of task times
Measuring Effectiveness
• Balance delay (percentage of idle time)
• Percentage of idle time of a line

Idle time per cycle

Balance Delay 
N actual  Cycle time
where
N min  Actual number of stations

• Efficiency
• Percentage of busy time of a line

Efficiency 100% - Balance Delay

Range of output:

Page 277, problem 1

• An assembly line with 17 tasks is to be balanced. The longest task is in 2.4 minutes,
and the total time for all tasks is 18 minutes. The line will operate for 450 minutes per
day.

A. What are the minimum and maximum cycle time?

Minimum cycle time = length of longest task, which is 2.4 minutes.
Maximum cycle time =  task times = 18 minutes.

B. What range of output is theoretically possible for the line?

OT = 450 minutes

450
@ 2.4 min . :  187.5 units
2.4
450
@18 min . :  25 units
18

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 Page 277, problem 1 (continued)

D. What cycle time will provide an output rate of 125 units per day?
OT 450
Output  Solving for CT, CT   3.6 minutes per cycle
CT 125

E. What output potential will result if the cycle time is (1) 9 minutes? (2) 15
minutes?
OT 450
CT  9 min . :   50 units
CT 9

450
CT  15 min . :  30 units
15

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Example

• As part of a major renovation project, the industrial engineering

department has been asked to balance a revised assembly
operation to achieve an output of 240 units per eight-hour day.
Task times and precedence relationships are given below:

Task Duration (minutes) Immediate predecessor

a 0.2 -
b 0.4 a
c 0.2 b
d 0.4 -
e 1.2 d
f 1.2 c
g 1.0 e, f
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Example (continued)

 Do each of the following

1. Draw a precedence diagram
2. Determine the minimum cycle time, the maximum cycle
time, and the calculated cycle time
3. Determine the minimum number of stations needed.
4. Assign tasks to workstations on the basis of greatest number
of following tasks. Use longest processing time as a
tiebreaker. If ties still exist, assume indifference in choice.
5. Compute percentage of idle time for the assignment in
previous point.
6. Compute percentage of efficiency.

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Solution
1. Draw a precedence diagram
1.2
.2
.4
.2 f
c
b
a
1.0
1.2
g
.4
e
d

2. Determine the minimum cycle time, the maximum cycle time,

and the calculated cycle time
The minimum cycle time = maximum (longest) task time =1.2 minutes
The maximum cycle time = ∑t= 0.2 +0.4 +0.2 +0.4 +1.2 +1.2 + 1.0 = 4.6 minutes
OT 480 min./day
CT    2 minutes (calculate d CT)
output 240 units / day

3. Determine the minimum number of stations needed.

 t 4.6
N   2.3 (rounds to 3) stations
CT 2.0 41
 Solution
4. Assign tasks to workstations on the basis
of greatest number of following tasks. .2
1.2
.4
Use longest processing time as a .2
c
f
b
tiebreaker. If ties still exist, assume a
1.0

indifference in choice. .4
1.2
g
e
d
Assembly Line Balancing Table (CT = 2 minutes)

Work Station Eligible Assigned Time Remaining Idle time

I A, D A 2-0.2= 1.8
B, D B 1.8-0.4= 1.4
C, D D 1.4-0.4= 1.0
C, E C 1-0.2= 0.8
F, E - 0.8>1.2, not fit C nor E 0.8
II F, E E 2-1.2= 0.8, not fit E 0.8
III F F 2-1.2= 0.8, not fit G 0.8
IV G G 2-1= 1.0 1.0 42
 Solution

5. Compute percentage of idle time for the assignment in previous

point. Idle percentage also called balance delay

.8  .8  .8  1.0 3.4
Idle percent    42.5%
(4)( 2) 8.0

6. Compute percentage of efficiency.

4 .6
E   57.5%
( 4)( 2)

Or simply, Efficiency = 100% -Idle time percentage

= 100%- 42.5%
= 57.5 %

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Page 278, problem 4

 A producer of inkjet printers is planning to add a new line of

printers, and you have been asked to balance the process, given
the following task time and precedence relationship. Assume the
cycle time is the minimum possible.

1. Precedence diagram.
Length Immidiate
2. Assign tasks to stations in order of Task
(min) predecessor
greater number of following tasks.
3. Determine the percentage of idle time. a 0.2 _
4. Compute the rate of output in printers b 0.4 a
per day that could be expected for this c 0.3 _
line assuming a 420 minute working day. d 1.3 b,c
e 0.1 _
f 0.8 e
g 0.3 d,f
h 1.2 g

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Page 278, problem 4

Try it yourself!

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