Layout

Critical thinking Exercises

1. Layout decisions affect a wide range of facilities, from factories, supermarkets, offices,
department stores, and warehouses, to malls, parking lots and garages, and kitchens. Layout is
also important in the design of some products such as the interiors of automobiles and the
arrangement of components inside computers and other electronic devices. Select three
different items from this list, or other similar items, and explain for each what the four or five
key considerations for layout design are.
2. How can technology impact layout decisions?
3. What is the goal of line balancing? What happens if a line is unbalanced?

Exercises
1. An assembly line with 17 tasks is to be balanced. The longest task is 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 times?
b. What range of output is theoretically possible for the line?
c. What is the minimum number of workstations needed if the maximum output rate is to be
sought?
d. What cycle time will provide an output rate of 125 units per day?
e. What output potential will result if the cycle time is (1) 9 minutes? (2) 15 minutes?
2. For the set of tasks given below, do the following:
a. Develop the precedence diagram.
b. Determine the minimum cycle time and then calculate the cycle time for a desired output
of 500 units in a seven-hour day. Why might a manager use a cycle time of 50 seconds?
c. Determine the minimum number of workstations for output of 500 units per day.
d. Balance the line using the greatest positional weight heuristic. Break ties with the most
following tasks heuristic. Use a cycle time of 50 seconds.
Task Task time Immediate
(seconds) predecessor

A 45 -

B 11 A
 C 9 B

D 50 -

E 26 D

F 11 E

G 12 C

H 10 C

I 9 F,G,H

J 10 I

3. Develop a process layout that will minimize the total distance traveled by patients at a
medical clinic, using the following information on projected departmental visits by patients and
distance between locations. Assume a distance of 35 feet between the reception area and each
potential location. Use the format shown.

1. Department stores : The department stores have product of layout or Line Layout is the
arrangement of machines in a line (not always straight).The sequence in which they
 would be used in the process of manufacture of the product. This type of layout is most
appropriate in case of continuous type of industries where raw materials is fed at one end
and taken out as finished product at the other end. For each type of product a separate line
of production will have to be maintained Garages: Garages have process layouts. There is
a functional division of work under this method. For example, lathes are fixed in one
department and welding activities are carried in another department of the factory.
Factory: Ibis type of layout is undertaken for the manufacture of large parts and
assemblies- In this case, material remains fixed or stationary at one place, men and
equipment are taken to the site of material- This is suitable in case of ship building,
locomotives and heavy machinery industries etc The key considerations about designing
the layout are: • Time taken to complete: The choice is layout depends on the time
constraint. In case of high production requirements, the traditional layout can be altered •
Various resources and theft...
2 Technology has tremendous impact on process selection due to changes in computer related
technology and associated capabilities. The level of automation continues to change in
companies, thereby affecting layout decisions. For example, newer machinery is smaller;
therefore, the size of the machinery affects the work area size and ultimately the layout of the
facility.

2. Đoán đại:
The Benefits of Production Line Balancing
Production line balancing is an excellent model for attaining improved
efficiency in the production process. Some of its benefits are:

 Reduces the amount of idle time in work stations

 Facilitates a streamlined flow of  the production process
 It helps to create the right number of workstations and the number of
operations to have in each station.
 Achieves high employee morale and camaraderie by consolidating
processes
 Improves the rate of production and the output quality of the produced
items
 Maximizes workforce utilization  and production capacity  
 Reduces wastage
3.
 The goal:
 The goal of line balancing is to obtain task groupings that represent approximately equal time
requirements. This minimizes the idle time along the line and results in a high 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 labor and equipment
What happens if a line is unbalanced:
Idle time occurs if task times are not equal among workstations; some stations are capable of
producing at higher rates than others. These “fast” stations will experience periodic waits for the
output from slower stations or else be forced into idleness to avoid buildups of work between
stations. Unbalanced lines are undesirable in terms of inefficient utilization of labor and
equipment and because they may create morale problems at the slower stations for workers who
must work continuously.
A third cause of an inability to perfectly balance a line is that a required technological sequence
may prohibit otherwise desirable task combinations.

The main goal of line balancing is to achieve a set of task groupings at workstations in the line
that have equal time requirements to attain high utilization of labor and equipment. Unbalanced
lines have bottlenecks at some workstations and idle time at others. The resulting output is
lower than it would be if the line could be balanced.

enefits of Line Balancing

1. Reduce waiting waste
Waiting waste is one of the 8 types of waste of Lean manufacturing. It
refers to any idle time that occurs when operations are not fully
synchronized. For example, waiting waste occurs when operators are
waiting for materials or for someone else to complete their task.
Equipment downtime–time during which equipment is not operating–is
another example of waiting waste.

Line balancing ensures that all operators and machines work together in
a balanced fashion. No operator or machine should be overburdened or
idle. By minimizing downtime, line balancing reduces waiting waste.
2. Reduce inventory waste

Inventory waste is another type of waste. It corresponds to an excess of

raw materials, work in progress (unfinished goods), or finished goods.
Inventory waste indicates the inefficient allocation of capital.

Line balancing standardizes production, meaning it is much easier to

avoid build-ups or surplus inventory. By reducing idle time, line balancing
ensures that there is minimum work in progress. And finally, by bringing
production time closer to takt time, it guarantees on-time delivery.
3. Absorb internal and external irregularities

Line balancing reduces variations within a production line. A balanced

production line is stable and flexible enough to adapt to changes.

For example, if customer demand changes–meaning takt time changes–

operations can be realigned quickly through line balancing. The
consequences of changes brought to a balanced production line are
predictable. It is thus much easier to modify the line to adjust the
production rate.
4. Reduce production costs and increase profits

Perfect line balancing leads to workers and machines that perform in a

fully synchronized manner. No operator is paid for standing idle. All
machines are used to their full potential. In other words, manpower and
machine capacity are maximized. Such process efficiency represents
fewer costs and more profits.
Excersie:

1. OT = 450 minutes
a. Minimum cycle time = length of longest task, which is 2.4 minutes.
Maximum cycle time =  task times = 18 minutes.
b. Range of output:
450
@2 . 4 min .: =187 . 5 units
2 .4
450
@18 min . : =25 units
18
Dx ∑ t 187. 5( 18 )
N= = =7 . 5 , which rounds to 8
c. OT 450
OT 450
Output= Solving for CT, CT= =3 . 6 minutes per cycle
d. CT 125
e. Potential output:
OT 450
CT=9 min .: = =50 units
(1) CT 9
450
CT=15 min .: =30 units
(2) 15
2. a.
 Solutions (continued)
OT 7(60 )
CT= = =
b. D 500 .84 minutes = 50.4 seconds (maximum cycle time)

Minimum cycle time = maximum task time = 45 seconds (results in 560 units of production)

N=
∑ t =193 =3. 83 or 4 stations
c. CT 50. 4
d.
Task Number of followers *PW
A 6 106
B 5 61
C 4 50
D 4 106
E 3 56
F 2 30
G 2 31
H 2 29
I 1 19
J 0 10
*Positional weight
CT = 50 seconds
Feasible tasks
Work Station Task Task Time Time Remaining
Remaining
I A 45 5 –

III D 50 – –

III B 11 39 C, E

E 26 13 C, F

C 9 4 –

IV G 12 38 H, F
 F 11 27 H

H 10 17 I

I 9 8 –

V J 10 40 –
Solutions (continued)
193
I=1− =22.8 %
e. (50)(5)
3.
16.
No. of trips
(two way)
1–2 0
1–3 40 A reasonable (intuitive) assignment is:
1–4 110 3–A, 5–B, 1–C, 4–D, 6–E, 2–F.
1–5 80 An equivalent solution is the reverse order:
1–6 50 2–F, 6–B, 4–C, 1–D, 5–E, 3–F.
2–3 0
2–4 50
2–5 40
2–6 120
3–4 10
3–5 250
3–6 10
4–5 40
4–6 90
5–6 20
(Ignore Reception since all locations are the same distance from it.)