College of Engineering

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Process planning & product costing (MEng 5322)

L2- Plant layout & process flow patterns

Prepared by Gebre F.
Nov. 2022
Learning objectives
Students are able to know

 Basics about plant layout and process flow

patterns.

 To relate plant layout with process planning &

process flow patterns.

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 Plant layout
❖A plant- a place where men, materials, money, equipment,
machinery, etc. are brought together for manufacturing
products.

❖Plant layout is about the physical arrangements of

departments, workgroups within departments, workstations,
machines and stock-holding points within a manufacturing
facility.

❖The objective is to arrange the people and equipment to

operate effectively and allow the smooth flow of work.
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 Types of plant layout
1. Fixed position layout
❖In the fixed position layout the product remains at the
same location, that is, a fixed position, usually due to the
size/weight of the product.

❖The workers and all tools and equipment are then brought
to the product to carry out work.

❖The workers are usually highly skilled and material

handling is high.

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 Lathe Press Grind
W
S a
t r
o e
r h
a o
g u
e s
e
Weld Paint Assembly

Figure-Fixed position layout

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 Figure- Fixed position layout
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 Fixed position layout contd.
• Advantages
✓Material movement is reduced.
✓Promotes job enlargement by allowing individuals or teams to
perform the “whole job”.
✓Continuity of operations and responsibility results from team.
✓Highly flexible; can accommodate changes in product design, product
mix, and product volume.
✓Independence of production centers allowing scheduling to achieve
minimum total production time.
• Limitations
✓ Increased movement of personnel and equipment.
✓Equipment duplication may occur.
✓Higher skill requirements for personnel.
✓General supervision required.
✓Cumbersome and costly positioning of material and machinery.
✓Low equipment utilization.
 Types of plant layout contd.
2. Product focused layout
❖In product layout, the arrangement is determined by what
resources are required to manufacture the product, which
will be detailed in the process plans.

❖It is often referred to as production line.

❖Typically employ equipment dedicated to a particular task

and each line deals with only one product or product
family.

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Product focused layout contd.

Lathe Drill Grind Drill

A W
S a
s
t Press Bend Drill r
s
o e
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r h
m
a Mill Drill o
b
g u
l
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y
Lathe Lathe Drill e

Figure- Product focused layout

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 Product focused layout contd.
• Advantages
✓Since the layout corresponds to the sequence of operations,
smooth and logical flow lines result.
✓Since the work from one process is fed directly into the
next, small in-process inventories result.
✓Total production time per unit is short.
✓Since the machines are located so as to minimize distances
between consecutive operations, material handling is
reduced.
✓Little skill is usually required by operators at the production
line; hence, training is simple, short, and inexpensive.
✓Simple production planning control systems are possible.
✓Less space is occupied by work in transit and for
temporary storage.
Product focused layout contd.
• Limitations
✓A breakdown of one machine may lead to a complete
stoppage of the line that follows that machine.
✓Since the layout is determined by the product, a change in
product design may require major alternations in the
layout.
✓The “pace” of production is determined by the slowest
machine.
✓Supervision is general, rather than specialized.

✓Comparatively high investment is required, as identical

machines (a few not fully utilized) are sometimes
distributed along the line.
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 Types of plant layout cont.

3. Process layout
✓Where the processes, workstations or departments are
organized according to function.

✓Typically used in low volume, high-variety manufacturing

where demand is too low or unpredictable.

✓Similar processes grouped together.

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Process layout cont.

Lathe Lathe Drill Weld Weld

W
S a
t Lathe Lathe Drill Paint Paint r
o e
r h
a o
Mill Mill Grind Assembly
g u
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Mill Mill Grind Assembly

Figure- process focused layout

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 Process Layout (cont.)
• Advantages
✓Better utilization of machines can result; consequently,
fewer machines are required.

✓A high degree of flexibility exists relative to equipment or

man power allocation for specific tasks.

✓Comparatively low investment in machines is required.

✓The diversity of tasks offers a more interesting and

satisfying occupation for the operator.

✓Specialized supervision is possible.

 Process Layout (cont.)
• Limitations
✓Since longer flow lines usually exist, material handling is
more expensive.
✓Production planning and control systems are more
involved.
✓Total production time is usually longer.
✓Comparatively large amounts of in-process inventory
result.
✓Space and capital are tied up by work in process.

✓Because of the diversity of the jobs in specialized

departments, higher grades of skill are required.
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 Types of plant layout contd.
4. Hybrid layout
❖ In reality the majority of organizations employ hybrid
layouts.

❖Applicable for flexible manufacturing systems (FMS) or

cellular or group technology layouts.

❖Contain the behaviors of both process and product layout.

❖A combination of group layout in manufacturing cells,

product layout in assembly area, and process layout in the
general machining and finishing section is used.
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 Hybrid layout contd.

Lathe Drill Grind Assembly

W
S a
t Mill Assembly Weld Paint r
o e
r h
a o
Press Lathe Drill Press Assembly
g u
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Grind Drill Assembly Drill Grind

Figure- Hybrid layout

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 Process flow patterns
❖ Flow pattern- the system to be adopted for the movement
of raw materials, from the beginning and up to the end of
manufacturing.
❖Objective- to plan for the economical movement of the raw
materials throughout the plant.
❖Flow pattern
✓Flow within workstations
✓Flow within departments
✓Flow between departments

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 Process flow patterns contd.
Flow pattern affects
❖Material handling cost
❖Amount of work in process
❖Capital and space in work in process
❖Length of total production time
❖Performance and coordination of operations
❖Physical and mental strain on the operators
❖Supervision and control mechanism

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Process flow patterns contd.

Types of flow patterns

❖Horizontal and vertical flow patterns
1. Horizontal pattern- adopted in a shop floor.
✓Line flow- economical in space and convenient in I shaped
buildings

✓Simplest
✓Separate receiving/shipping crews

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Process flow patterns contd.
✓L flow- used when line flow is not accommodated in the
available space.

✓It is not as long.

✓U flow- feeding and output take at the same end.

✓Very popular
✓Simple to administer

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Process flow patterns contd.
✓S or W flow- zig-zagging on the shop floor, for long
production line.

✓Efficient utilization of space.

✓Compact and effective supervision.

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Process flow patterns contd.

✓O flow- for operations performed on rotary table or

rotary handling system.

✓Components are moved from one working station to the

other and when they leave the O-line.

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Process flow patterns contd.
❖Combinations of horizontal flow

Figure- combinations of horizontal flow.

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Process flow patterns contd.
Unidirectional and retractional flow
✓Unidirectional flow
❖When the material is passed from one workstation to
another without passing along the same path.

Figure- Unidirectional flow

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Process flow patterns contd.
✓Retractional/repeated flow
❖Two or more nonconsecutive operations are performed on
the same machine.
❖Intermittent localized halts will occur in the production
line.

Figure- Retractional/repeated flow

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Process flow patterns contd.
2. Vertical flow pattern
❖Applied in multi-storey buildings
❖Processing upward or downward
❖Centralized or decentralized elevation
1. Flow between buildings exists and the connection between buildings
is elevated.

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Process flow patterns contd.

2. Ground level ingress (entry) and egress (exit) are required

3. Ground level ingress (entry) and egress (exit) occur on the

same side of the building.

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Process flow patterns contd.
4. Travel between floors occur on the same side of the
building.

5. Some bucket and belt conveyors and escalators result in

inclined flow.

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Process flow patterns contd.
6. Backtracking occurs due to the return to the top floor.

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Process flow patterns contd.
Factors governing the flow pattern
✓Number of parts in each product
✓Number of operations in each part
✓Sequence of operations in each part
✓Number of sub-assemblies
✓Number of units to be produced
✓Product versus process layout
✓Desired flexibility
✓Locations of service areas
✓The building
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 Flow planning
❖Planning effective flow involves combining patterns with
adequate isles to obtain progressive movements from origin
to destination.
❖Achieved by maximizing directed flow paths, reducing
flow and minimizing the cost of flow.
❖Directed flow path- is uninterrupted flow path progressing
directly from origin to destination.
❖Interrupted flow path- congestion and undesirable
intersections may occur.

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 Flow planning contd.

Figure- direct and interrupted flow paths, undesirable congestion and

intersection may occur

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Flow planning contd.
The reduction of flow can be achieved by work
simplification:
✓Eliminating flow by planning for the delivery of materials,
information, or people directly to the point of ultimate use
and eliminate intermediate steps.
✓Minimizing multiple flows by planning for the flow between
two consecutive points of use to take place in as few
movements as possible.
✓Combining flows and operations whenever possible by
planning for the movement of materials, information, or
people to be combined with a processing step.
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Flow planning contd.

Minimizing the cost of flow can be achieved as follows

✓Reduction of manual handling by minimizing walking,
manual travel distances and motions.

✓Elimination of manual handling by mechanizing or

automating flow.

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 End of Chapter 2

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