CHAPTER THREE

PLANT LAYOUT
 Objectives of a Good Plant Layout
Integrate the p/n centers into a logical, balanced and effective p/n unit.
Reduce /Economic material handling
Effective utilization of available space
Minimize congestion of material, machinery, workers
Worker convenience and job satisfaction/Improved work conditions
Better supervision
Flexibility of plant & workspace design for expansion/to changing production
conditions
Removal of bottlenecks
Quick disposal of work
Minimize accident
Minimization in damage & spoilage
 3. Plant layout

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
Problems of layout develop when needed

To start a new product,

To change the product design,
To reduce the cost;
And when
The market demand changes,
The plant, the product, the building become obsolete,
Accidents occur frequently,
The working environment is poor.
 The resulting problems involve
Planning a completely new plant,
Re-arranging a presently installed layout,
Making adjustments to existing layout
The objectives of a good study of plant layout are:

Ensure effective space utilization,

Minimize the cost of material handling (internal transports), foresee
future developments of the plant according to a rational master plan,
Improve workers convenience as well as safety and create job
satisfaction, and
Avoid unnecessary capital investment.
Types of plant Layout
The three basic types of layout are:

1.Product oriented layout

2.Process oriented or functional layout

3. Static layout/ Fixed position/Project

 1. Product oriented Layout
In this type of layout, only one product or one type of product is
produced in a given area.
The product must be standardized and manufactured in large
quantities in order to justify the product layout economically save .

Machines, equipments and auxiliary services are located according

to the processing sequence of the product (cars, motor cycles assembly)
Suitable for continuous type of production
Can employ one of the basic Horizontal flow lines.
Is selected when the volume of production of a product is high
Product Layout for Wine Manufacturer
Some of the Advantages of Product Layout are:

lower total material handling cost

lower total production time
less work in process
greater incentive for groups of workers to raise level of
performance,
less floor area required per unit of production
effective quality control
easy to schedule
easy p/n control
Product Line Layout
Disadvantages
•Change in work nature needs change in layout
•Machine utilization may not be optimum;
•Machine breakdown delays work;
•work area expansion/machine addition not possible
 2.Process plant Layout (Nonrepetitive Processing)
Process oriented Layout: Similar equipment and similar operations are
grouped together in the process or functional layout. It is particularly
useful where low volume is required.
 Cont.
Similar equipment & tasks grouped
•Useful for low volume, high variety jobs
•Advantages:
–low capital investment,
–fewer m/c;
–higher space utilization;
–flexibility in equipment allocation;
–workers gain expertise;
–problems localized;
–job variety
 Process Layout is Used when
many types or styles of products are on special order ,
relatively low volume of production on individual items is
needed,
many inspections are required during a sequence of
operations,
high proportion of very heavy equipment or equipment
requiring special treatment exist,
materials or products become too large or too heavy to
permit bulk or continuous flow and
one machine is used for different operations.
Disadvantages:
needs more space
no mechanization
high work in process
work scheduling problems
high set-up & inspection costs
3.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.
This type of layout is not frequently used in industrial
enterprises. For this reason we are not going to look into its
advantage and disadvantages
Advantages:
Reduces movement of m/c & equipment
Minimizes damage/cost of movement
Continuity of assigned work force
Layout capital investment is lower.

Disadvantages:
Skilled & versatile workers needed due to multiple operations
skill combination may be difficult to obtain higher pay
movement of people/material may be expensive
equipment utilization low as they are left at location for
subsequent usage instead of being moved as & where needed
Factors influencing Plant Layout
1) Management policy

2) Manufacturing process

3) Nature of product

4) Volume of production

5) Type of equipment

6) Type of building

7) Availability of total floor area

8) Arrangement of Material Handling Eq.

9) Service facilities

10) Possibility of future expansion

Factors to be Considered in Planning Layout
Type of layout, pattern of the flow lines and communication systems

Hazards : moving parts, projecting machine elements, suspended

weights, air pollution, physical & chemical risks, safety of personnel &
plant.
Type of Production : Job, batch or continuous or combinations

Type of Operation : Wet or dry, Light or heavy machines etc.

Sequence of Operations
- Integration of production : Single/Multi flow
- Type of Products : Weight, Volume, Physical state
- Type of Inspection : Centralised/Decentralised
: Frequency etc.
- Management policy: Plans for future expansion, changes in
product design & variety.
 Ergonomics and Industrial Safety
A systems-oriented discipline which now extends across all
aspects of human activity.
Its all about interaction between people and the things they do, the
objects (equipment) they use & the environments they work, travel &
play in.
If good fit is achieved, the stresses on people are reduced.
They are more comfortable,
they can do things more quickly & easily
increase safety on the job, &
they make fewer mistakes
 Cont.
It is the science of adapting products & processes to human
characteristics & capabilities in order to improve well-being
& optimize productivity
Ergonomics (or human factors) is the scientific discipline
concerned with interactions among humans and other elements
of a system in carrying out a purposeful activity.
Aims to improve human well-being and overall system
performance by optimizing human-system compatibility.
Ergonomics (or human factors) :Human-system interaction
design considerations include physical, cognitive, social,
organizational and environmental factors."
 Plant layout Vs Ergonomics
Many of the problems encountered in the ergonomic design of man
& controls will be found in the design of workplace layouts
 Bench & seat heights
The efficiency of the operator will depend upon how
the work places designed
 Human-system interaction design:
Considerations
Physical factors
Social factors
Workstation factors: Sitting: chairs, work benches,
Displays,
Environmental factors
 Human-system interaction design:
Considerations Environmental factors
–Heat
–Lighting
–Noise

HFs Applications:
From these areas an ergonomist takes and integrates
information to maximize the operator’s
safety,
efficiency
performance
reliability and comfort.