Chapter 8

Facility Layout
Chapter Eight
McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2014 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
8–1
Copyright © 2014 by McGraw Hill Education (India) Private Limited. All rights reserved.
Learning Objectives
• LO8–1: Analyze the common types of

manufacturing layouts.
• LO8–2: Illustrate layouts used in

nonmanufacturing settings.
8–2
Layout Decisions
❑ Facility layout:
The process of determining placement of departments,

workgroups within departments, workstations, machines,
and stock-holding points within a facility.
The objective is to arrange these elements in a way that

ensures a smooth workflow (in a factory) or a particular
traffic pattern (in a service organization)
8–3
Layout Decisions
• Layout decision process requires the following
inputs:
– Specification of the objectives used to evaluate the
design
– Estimates of product or service demand
– Processing requirements
– Space requirements for the elements
– Space availability within the facility
8–4
Basic Production Layout Formats
• Workcenter (job-shop or functional layout)
– Similar equipment are grouped together.
• Assembly line (flow-shop layout)
– Work processes are arranged according to the steps by
which the product is made.
• Manufacturing cell
– Dissimilar machines are grouped to work on similar
products.
• Project layout
– Product remains at one location.
8–5
Workcenters
It is a format in which similar equipment or functions are
grouped together, i.e., all lathe is one area and all stamping
machines in another.
A part being worked on then travels according to the

established sequence.
This type of layout is typical in hospitals, for example, where

areas are dedicated to types of medical care.
This type of layout is also termed as “process layout”,

“job-shop”, or “functional layout.”
8–6
Machine shop process layout
Receiving Grin-
Mills ders
Raw matl. Large number
of
storage Assem- low volume
bly products
Drills
Planers
Finished
Inspec- goods
Lathes Automatics tion storage
Part A
Part B
Facility Layout 7
8–7
Workcenters………
The most common approach to developing a workcenter
layout is to arrange workcenters consisting of like processes in
a way that optimizes their relative placement.
The workcenter in a low-volume factory might consist of the

shipping and receiving workcenter, the plastic molding and
stamping workcenter, the metal forming workcenter, the
sewing workcenter, the painting workcenter.
Parts for the toy are fabricated in these workcenters and then
sent to assembly workcenters where they are put together.
Optimal placement means placing workcenters with large

amounts of interdepartment traffic adjacent to one another.
8–8
Workcenters
• Given:
– The flow (number of moves) to and from all departments
– The cost of moving from one department to another
– The existing or planned physical layout of the plant
• Determine:
– The “best” locations for each department, where best
means maximizing flow, which minimizes costs
8–9
Example: Toy Factory
• Goal is to arrange eight workcenters to minimize
interdepartmental handling cost.
• Assume all workcenters have same space and fit in
building.
• All material is transported in standard crates by
forklift.
• Transportation costs are $1 to move between
adjacent workcenters.
– Extra $1 for each workcenter in between
8–10
Steps
• Illustrate the interworkcenter flow by a model.
• Determine the cost of this layout.
• Search for workcenter location changes that will

reduce costs.
8–11
Example: Interworkcenter Flow, and
Building Dimensions and Workcenters
8–12
with Number of Annual Movements
Example: Interworkcenter Flow Graph
8–13
Example: Cost Matrix – First Solution
8–14
Solution
Matrix – Second
Interworkcenter
Example: Revised
Flowchart and Cost
8–15
Systematic Layout Planning
• In some cases, numerical flow of items between workcenters
– Can be impractical to obtain
– Does not account for the qualitative factors that may be crucial to the
placement decision
• In those cases, systematic layout planning can be used.

• It involves developing a relationship chart that -
– accounts for the importance of having each department located next
to every other department
– Is also guided by trial and error
▪ Switching workcenters then checking the results of the “closeness” score
8–16
Systematic Layout Planning
• From the relationship chart, an activity relationship diagram,
similar to the flow graph (in the last case) is developed.
• The activity relationship diagram is then adjusted by trial

and error until a satisfactory adjacency pattern is obtained.
• This pattern is modified workcenter by workcenter to meet

building space limitations.
8–17
Store
Layout
Floor of a
Systematic
Department
Planning for a
8–18
Assembly Line
• Assembly line: progressive assembly linked by some material
handling device
– Some form of pacing is present, and the allowable
processing time is equivalent for all workstations
• Assembly line differences are based on-

– Material handling devices (belt, roller conveyor, crane,
etc.)
– Line configuration (U-shape, straight, branching, etc.)
– Pacing (mechanical, human, etc.)
– Product mix (single or multiple products)
– Workstation characteristics (workers may, sit, stand, walk
with the line)
– Length (few or many workers, # of workstations)
8–19
Assembly-Line Design
• Workstation cycle time: a uniform time interval in which a

moving conveyor passes a series of workstations
– Also, the time between successive units coming off the line
• Assembly-line balancing: assigning all tasks to a series of

workstations so that each workstation has no more than
can be done in the workstation cycle time
• Precedence relationship: the order in which tasks must be

performed in the assembly process
8–20
Assembly-Line Balancing
• Specify the sequential relationships among tasks.
• Determine the required workstation cycle time.
• Determine the theoretical minimum number of

workstations.
• Select a primary and secondary assignment rule.
• Assign tasks.
• Evaluate the efficiency of the balance.
• Rebalance if needed.
8–21
Assembly-Line Balancing
8–22
Example: Assembly Steps and Times
8–23
Example: Precedence Graph
8–24
Example: C and Nt
8–25
Example:
Assignment
8–26
Example: Efficiency
8–27
Solved Problem 2
A company is setting up an assembly line to produce 192 units per 8-hour
shift. The following table identifies the work elements, times, and
immediate predecessors:
Work Element Time (sec) Immediate Predecessor(s)
A None
40
B A
80
C D, E, F
30
D B
25
E B
20
F B
15
G A
120
Copyright © 2014 Pearson
Education, Inc. Publishing as H 145
G
Prentice Hall. 8–28
Solved Problem 2
a. What is the desired cycle time (in seconds)?
b. What is the theoretical minimum number of stations?
c. Use trial and error to work out a solution, and show your solution on a
precedence diagram.
d. What are the efficiency and balance delay of the solution found?
SOLUTION
a. Substituting in the cycle-time formula, we get
1 8 hours
c= (3,600 sec/hr) = 150 sec/unit
r= 192 units

Education, Inc. Publishing as
Solved Problem 2
b. The sum of the work-element times is 720 seconds, so
Σt 720 sec/unit
TM = c = = 4.8 or 5 stations
150
sec/unit-station
which may not be achievable.

Solved Problem 2
c. The precedence diagram is shown in Figure 7.6. Each row in the
following table shows work elements assigned to each of the five
workstations in the proposed solution.
Work Immediate
Element Predecessor(s)
D A None
25 B A
C D, E, F
D B
B E C
E B
80 20 30 F B
G A
F J
A H G
15 115 I H
40 G J C, I
120
H I
145 130
Figure 7.6 – Precedence Diagram

D
25
B E C
80 20 30
J
A F 115
40 G 15 I
H
120 130
145
Work-Element Cumulative Idle Time

Station Candidate(s) Choice
Time (sec) Time (sec) (c= 150 sec)
S1
S2
S3
S4
S5
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.

Publishing as Prentice Hall.
8–32
D
25
B E C
80 20 30
J
A F 115
40 G 15 I
H
120 130
145
Work-Element Cumulative Idle Time

Station Candidate(s) Choice
Time (sec) Time (sec) (c= 150 sec)
S1 A A 40 40 110
B B 80 120 30
D, E, F D 25 145 5
S2 E, F, G G 120 120 30
E, F E 20 140 10
S3 F, H H 145 145 5
S4 F, I I 130 130 20
F F 15 145 5
S5 C C 30 30 120
J J 115 145 5
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.

Publishing as Prentice Hall.
8–33
Solved Problem 2
d. Calculating the efficiency, we get
Σt 720 sec/unit
Efficiency (%) = (100) =
nc 5(150 sec/unit)
= 96%
Thus, the balance delay is only 4 percent (100–96).

Task Splitting
Often the longest required task time defines the shortest possible
workstation cycle time for the production line.
This task time is the lowest time bound unless it is possible to split
the task into two or multiple workstations.
✔ Suppose, that an assembly line contains the following task times:

40, 30, 15, 25, 20, 18, 15. The line runs for 7.5 hours per day.
Demand for output is 750 per day.
✔ The workstation cycle time is 36 seconds.
✔ The problem is that one task time is 40 seconds. How to deal with
that?
✔ There are several ways to accommodate the 40 second task in a 36

second cycle.
✔ The ways are discussed next.

8–35
Task Splitting
• Split the task – Can the task be split so that complete units are
processed in two workstations?
• Share the task – Can the task be shared so that an adjacent
workstations does part of the job?
• Use parallel workstations – Two identical workstations might
operate in parallel
• Use a more skilled worker – A faster worker or faster
equipment may be able to meet the 36 second time.
• Work overtime – Overtiming the shifts might be needed.
• Redesign – Is it possible to redesign the product to reduce the
task time slightly?
8–36
Flexible Line Layouts
Assembly line balances frequently result in unequal
workstations.
Flexible line layouts are a common way of dealing with that
problem.
For the assembly line balance example, the U-shaped line with
work-sharing at the bottom of the figure could help resolve the
problem.
8–37
Problem – operators Solution – remove
trapped in “cages” barriers so operators
prevents sharing work can trade work and
among them operators can be added
or removed as needed
8–38
Problem – operators
“birdcaged” with no
opportunity to share
work or add third
operator Solution – operators
can help each other,
and third operator can
be added if needed
8–39
Problem – straight line
is difficult to balance
Solution – U-shaped
line gives better
operator access and
may reduce need for
operators
8–40
Mixed-Model Line Balancing
• Most factories produce several different
products.
– Inventory can be reduced by building some of
each product during every period (e.g., day,
week, etc.).
• Mixed-model line balancing is one means of

scheduling this varied production.
8–41
Mixed-Model Line Balancing
It involves scheduling different models to be produced over a
given day or week on the same line in a cyclical fashion.
This approach is used by JIT manufacturing such as Toyota Inc.
Its objective is to meet the demand for a variety of products

and to avoid building inventories.
Final assembly line of Toyota are mixed product lines. The

production per day is averaged by taking the number of
vehicles in the monthly production schedule classified by
specifications and dividing by the number by the number of
working days.
8–42
Example : Mixed-Model Line
Balancing
• Processing must be completed for both Model J and
Model K wagons.
• Equal number of each model are required.
• Cycle time – 6 minutes for Model J and 4 minutes for
Model K.
• In an 8-hour day, how should the models be processed?
Because K = J, we
Total Processing Time can produce 48 of
each per day (6 of
each per hour.
8–43
Example : Mixed-Model Line
Balancing
This approach often requires diligent efforts to reduce setup

times and costs but can significantly reduce overall inventory
levels.
8-44
8–44
Cell
❑ Cellular layout allocate dissimilar machines into cells to work
on products that have similar shapes and processing
requirements.
❑ Manufacturing cell layouts are now widely used in metal

fabricating, computer chip manufacture, and assembly work.
❑ The overall objective is to gain the benefits of assembly lines

in workcenter kinds of production.
8–45
Benefits of Cellular Layout
❑ Better human relations: Cells consists of few workers who
form a small work team
❑ Improved operator expertise: Workers see only a limited

number of different parts in a finite production cycle, so
repetition means quick learning.
❑ Less in-process inventory and material handling: A cell

combines several production stages, so fewer parts travel
through the shop.
❑ Faster production schedule: Fewer jobs mean produced

tooling and hence faster tooling change.
8–46
Developing a Manufacturing Cell
Grouping parts into families that follow a common sequence
of steps. This steps requires developing and maintaining a
computerized part classification and coding system.
Identifying dominant flow patterns of parts families as a

bases for location or relocation of processes
Physically grouping machines and processes into cells. Often

there will be parts that cannot be associated with any part
family and specialized machinery that cannot be placed in
any one cell. These unattached parts and machinery are
placed in a “reminder” cell.
8–47
Example: Original Workcenter Layout
8–48
of Parts
Example: Routing Matrix Based upon Flow
8–49
Example:
Form Cells
Reallocating
Machines to
8–50
Project Layout
It is characterized by a relatively low number of production units in
comparison with other formats.
The product is visualized as the hub of a wheel with materials and

equipment arranged concentrically around the production point.
For example, building custom yachts/ship/building/bridge/heavy
machine parts/fighter jets/planes, etc.
A high degree of task ordering is common.
To the extent that this precedence determines production stages, a

project layout might be developed by arranging materials according
to their technological priority.
8–51
Project Layout….
This procedure would be expected in making a layout for a large
machine tool where rigid sequence is being followed.
Assembly is performed from the ground up, with parts being added
to the base in a building block fashion.
8–52
floor space
Retail Service Layout
• Goal — maximize net profit per square foot of
8–53
Servicescapes
The broad objective of retail service layout is to maximize net
profit per sq. ft. floor space.
This objective can be translated into minimize handling cost or

maximizing product exposure.
This might result in stores that look like warehouses and

requires shoppers to approach the task like order pickers or
display case stockers
Walmart and Home Depot customers gladly accept such

arrangement for price savings.
8–54
Servicescapes….
More humanistic aspects of the service also must be
considered in the layout.
Bitner coined the term “servicescape” to refer to the physical

surrounding in which service takes place and how these
surroundings affects customers and employees.
The servicescape has three elements that must be considered:

the ambient conditions; the spatial layout and functionality;
and the signs, symbols, and artifacts.
8–55
Servicescapes….
– Ambient conditions
▪ Background characteristics, such as noise
– Spatial layout and functionality
▪ Planning the circulation path of customers and grouping
merchandise
– Signs, symbols, and artifacts
▪ Parts of the service that have social significance
8–56
Layouts
Alternative Store
8–57
Marketing Research and
Retail Layout
• People in supermarkets tend to follow a perimeter
pattern in their shopping behavior. Placing
high-profit items along the walls of a store will
enhance their probability of purchase.
• Sale merchandise placed at the end of an aisle in

supermarkets almost always sells better than the
same sale items placed in the interior portion of an
aisle.
8–58
Marketing Research and
Retail Layout
• Credit and other non-selling departments that
require customers to wait for the completion of
their services should be placed either on upper
floors or in “dead” areas.
• In department stores, locations nearest the store

entrances and adjacent to front window displays
are most valuable in terms of sales potential.
8–59
Office Layout
• More open offices
• Low divider walls
• Size and orientation of desks indicates

importance of people behind them
– ServiceMaster (A major janitorial firm) places its
know-how room (tools , manuals) at the center
8–60
THE END
8–61

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Facility Layout

• LO8–1: Analyze the common types of

• LO8–2: Illustrate layouts used in

The process of determining placement of departments,

The objective is to arrange these elements in a way that

– Estimates of product or service demand

– Space requirements for the elements

– Space availability within the facility

A part being worked on then travels according to the

This type of layout is typical in hospitals, for example, where

This type of layout is also termed as “process layout”,

The workcenter in a low-volume factory might consist of the

Optimal placement means placing workcenters with large

• Determine the cost of this layout.

• Search for workcenter location changes that will

Flowchart and Cost

• In those cases, systematic layout planning can be used.

• The activity relationship diagram is then adjusted by trial

• This pattern is modified workcenter by workcenter to meet

• Assembly line differences are based on-

• Workstation cycle time: a uniform time interval in which a

• Assembly-line balancing: assigning all tasks to a series of

• Precedence relationship: the order in which tasks must be

• Determine the required workstation cycle time.

• Determine the theoretical minimum number of

• Select a primary and secondary assignment rule.

• Evaluate the efficiency of the balance.

Work Element Time (sec) Immediate Predecessor(s)

Copyright © 2014 Pearson

which may not be achievable.

Copyright © 2010 Pearson

Figure 7.6 – Precedence Diagram

Work-Element Cumulative Idle Time

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.

Work-Element Cumulative Idle Time

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.

Thus, the balance delay is only 4 percent (100–96).

Copyright © 2010 Pearson

✔ Suppose, that an assembly line contains the following task times:

✔ The workstation cycle time is 36 seconds.

✔ There are several ways to accommodate the 40 second task in a 36

✔ The ways are discussed next.

• Mixed-model line balancing is one means of

This approach is used by JIT manufacturing such as Toyota Inc.

Its objective is to meet the demand for a variety of products

Final assembly line of Toyota are mixed product lines. The

This approach often requires diligent efforts to reduce setup

❑ Manufacturing cell layouts are now widely used in metal

❑ The overall objective is to gain the benefits of assembly lines

❑ Improved operator expertise: Workers see only a limited

❑ Less in-process inventory and material handling: A cell

❑ Faster production schedule: Fewer jobs mean produced

Identifying dominant flow patterns of parts families as a

Physically grouping machines and processes into cells. Often

The product is visualized as the hub of a wheel with materials and

A high degree of task ordering is common.

To the extent that this precedence determines production stages, a

This objective can be translated into minimize handling cost or

This might result in stores that look like warehouses and

Walmart and Home Depot customers gladly accept such

Bitner coined the term “servicescape” to refer to the physical

The servicescape has three elements that must be considered:

• Sale merchandise placed at the end of an aisle in

• In department stores, locations nearest the store