Wollo University

Kombolcha Institute of Technology

School of Mechanical and Chemical Engineering
Department of Industrial Engineering
Chapter- 2

Plant Layout Design and Ergonomics

 Learning Objectives
 Define plant layout and explain its importance

 Identify and describe different types of layouts

 Identify factors that affect plant design locations

 understand principles and procedures of plant layout

 Understand the concept of ergonomics and industrial safety

What is plant Design
Plant design: Plant design is an overall design of an enterprise.
It is the planning of finances, the plant location and all the
planning necessary for the physical requirements of an overall
design of a plant.
It is the plan or the act of planning an optimal arrangement of
industrial facilities, operating equipment, storage space,
material handling equipment and other supporting service along
with the design of the best structure to contain these facilities.
 Plant Location
 Facility location is the process of determining geographic sites for
a firm’s operations.
 It refers to the choice of the region where men, materials, money,
machinery and equipment are brought together for setting up a
business or factory.
 the objective of plant location decision-making is to minimize the
sum of all costs affected by location.
 Location decision also affects the efficiency, effectiveness,
productivity and profitability.
 The term “facility” is used to cover: Plants, Warehouses, Hotels,
Medical Clinics, Fire Stations, Distribution Centers, Post Offices,
Libraries, Schools.
 Factors affecting plant location
1. Nearness to Market
2. Nearness to supply of raw materials
3. Availability of labor
4. Transport and communication facilities
5. Availability of power and fuel
6. Climatic conditions
7. Availability of water
8. Ancillary industries
9. Financial and other aids
 Location Evaluation Methods
1. Factor-rating method
2. Center of gravity method
3. Transportation method
4. Linear Programming Reading Assignment
5. Mixed Integer Programming
6. Dynamic Programming
7. Goal Programming
Example: Factor-Rating Method
 Steps in factor rating Method
1. List relevant factors of plant location.

2. Assign importance weight to each factor. Take from 1 to

100, with 100 being the most important

3. Score each location along the factor dimensions: start

from 0 to 100, with 100 being the best

4. Multiply weights by scores and sum for each location

5. Choose the location with the highest value.

 Solution
Step1. The identified three major factors are
a. Availability of labor
b. Availability of raw material
c. Proximity to market (sites)
Step 2. Weight reflecting importance of each
factor is assigned as
follows.
 Conti…
Step 3. Score the alternative sites w.r.t. the major selection
factors
Step4&5. Multiply weights by scores and sum for each
location also select the best location.
 What is plant layout?
Plant layout is the plan for arranging the physical
facilities and human power required to manufacture a
product with the objective of utilizing them in an effective
manner.

A facility layout is an arrangement of everything

needed for production of goods or delivery of services.

The layout design generally depends on the products

variety and the production volumes.
 Conti…
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
Primary objective of plant layout
 Minimize the movement of men and materials in the plant.

 To rapid production and managing cost.

 Layout of Manufacturing shop
•Material handling engineer and plant layout
engineer both must work together in designing the
layout so as to avoid future problems.
 Principles of Plant Layout
Principles of Plant Layout includes the
following:
1. Principle of integration(sense of unity)
A good layout is one that integrates men, materials,
machines and supporting services.
2. Principle of minimum distance: concerned with
the minimum travel (or movement) of man and
materials.
3. Principle of cubic space utilization( floor *
height)
 good layout is one that utilizes both horizontal
4.Principle of flow: A good layout is one that makes
the materials to move in forward direction towards
the completion stage.
5. Principle of maximum flexibility( demand
change)
future requirements should be taken into account while
designing the present layout
6. Principle of minimum handling: minimize
materials handling to the minimum.
 Types of Layout
There are four basic types of layout in
industrial manufacturing process. These are:
1) Product or Line Layout
2) Process or Functional Layout
3) Fixed-Position or Location Layout
4) Cell or Group or Hybrid or Mixed Layout
 types of plant Layouts

A. Product or Line Layout

• Machines and equipment are arranged in one line
depending upon the sequence of operations required for
the product.

• It is used for a system with high production volumes and

low variety of products.

• Facilities are organized according to the sequence of the

successive manufacturing operations.
 Advantages of Product Layout
Limitations
 Lower total material  A breakdown of one machine
handling cost, in a product line may cause
 stoppages of machines in
 Lower total production the downstream of the line.
time,  A change in product design
 Less work in process, may require major
 Greater incentive for alterations in the layout.
groups of workers  The line output is decided
by the bottleneck machine.
 Less floor area required  Comparatively high
 Greater simplicity of investment in equipment's is
production control, required.
 Lack of flexibility: A change
 Perfect line balancing in product may require the
which eliminates facility
bottlenecks and modification.
idle capacity.
 B. Process (functional) Layout
• Similar equipment and similar operations are grouped
together according to their functions.
Example, all lathes, milling machines, etc. are grouped in
the shop will be clustered in like groups.
It is particularly useful where low volume is required.
Advantages;
 Greater flexibility in production
 Easy to handle Machine break down by transfer
to another machine
 Greater Scope for expansion
 Investment on equipment will be comparatively
low
 Full utilization of equipment
 Greater incentive to operators to improve
performance
Disadvantages;
 Accumulation of work in progress
 Requires more floor space
 Difficulty in movement of material
 Production control is difficult
 High production time as WIP has to travel
from place to place
 C. 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.
Advantages
 Men & machine can be used for wide
variety of operations producing different
products
 The investment on layout is very small
 The high cost & difficulty in transporting
of bulky product are avoided

Disadvantages;
 High cost of operation
 Very high duration of project
 Rework will be very costly
 D. Group layout (or cellular
layout)
• The arrangement of a facilities or equipment
used to make similar parts or families of parts is
grouped together.
• Combine elements of both product & process
layouts.
• Maintain some of the efficiencies of product and
process layouts
Examples:
Group technology & manufacturing cells
Advantages
• Higher machine utilization
• Reduced material handling and transit time
• Reduced setup time
• Reduced work-in-process inventory
• Better use of human resources
• Better scheduling, easier to control and automate
• Encourages consideration of general purpose equipment
Disadvantages
• Greater labor skills required
• Sometimes cells may not be formed because of inadequate part families.
• Some cells may have a high volume of production and others very low. This
results in poorly balanced cells.
• When volume of production changes, number of workers are adjusted and
workers are reassigned to various cells.
• To cope with this type of reassignments, workers must be multi-skilled and
cross-trained.
• Sometimes, machines are duplicated in different cells. This increases
capital investment.
 Introduction to
Ergonomics and Industrial
Safety
The term "ergonomics" is derived from two
Greek words: Ergo = Work
Nomos = natural Law
Law of work

Ergonomics means
“fitting the job to the worker,” including:
• Work stations
• Tools
• Equipment
 Ergonomics is the study of the relationship between
people, their work tools, their work place, and the
tasks they perform.
• Ergonomics is the science of
designing the job to fit the
worker, rather than physically
forcing the worker’s body to
fit the job.

• What do you say about the

fitness of this person and his
work?
What Ergonomics and Industrial Safety?
What Ergonomics and Industrial Safety?
What Ergonomics at work?
 What Ergonomics at work?
Awkward postures happen when the work is:
 What Ergonomics at work?

Ergonomics at Work - Reducing heavy lifting

Mechanical assistance
What Ergonomics at work?

Ergonomic Stress Areas