Plant Layout

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 Layout Planning
Manufacturing & Services
• Deals with the physical arrangement of
various resources that are available in
the system with an objective to
improve the performance of the
operating system thereby providing
better customer service.

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 The Need for Layout Decisions
Inefficient operations
For Example: Changes in the design
High Cost of products or services
Bottlenecks

Accidents
The introduction of new
products or services

Safety hazards
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 The Need for Layout Design
(Cont’d)
Changes in
environmental Changes in volume of
or other legal output or mix of
requirements products

Morale problems
Changes in methods
and equipment

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Implications of layout Planning

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• Relationship between volume-variety –flow
provides crucial input for layout planning.

• As the flow becomes more cumbersome,

the type of layout may significantly
influence the ability of operations manager
to effectively plan.
• Table8.1 of Mahadevan

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 Types of Layout
• Process
• Product
• Group Technology
• Fixed Position

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 Process Layout
Milling

Assembly
Grinding
& Test

Drilling Plating
Process Layout - work travels
to dedicated process centers

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 Functional Layout

222 222 222

111

22
444 Mill Drill Grind 3333

2
444

22
33

1111
2222 Assembly
3

44
33

111333

33
44
33

33

4
111
33

111
33
Heat 111 Gear
333Lathes
treat cutting 444

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 Cellular Manufacturing Layout
Heat Gear
-1111 Lathe Mill Drill -1111
treat cut

Heat
Mill Drill Grind - 2222

Assembly
2222 treat

Heat
3333 Lathe Mill Grind - 3333
treat

4444 Mill Drill Gear - 4444

cut

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 Process Layout

• Arrangement of resources on the basis of

the process characteristics of the
resources available.

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 Process Layout
Examples

• Car servicing
• Hospital-Patient requiring various tests
• Volume low & variety is more

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 Product Layout

• The resources are placed to follow exactly

the visitation sequence dictated by the
product.

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 Product layout
• The technique employed for product
layout is known as line balancing
• The resources required to achieve desired
/targeted production rate.
• Cycle time can be considered as a
reciprocal of production rate.

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 Product layout

• Plant & machinery layout is designed to

cater to continuous flow of Materials.
• Use of mechanisation and automation can
be planned.
• Automobile Industry

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 Advantages
• Process • Product
• Sharing of • Standardised product
specialised and and process routing
costly equipment • Operational control is
• More flexibility simpler
• Less vulnerable to • High output rate is
breakdowns possible

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 Disadvantages
• Process • Product
• Large inventory build • Less flexibility due to
up dedication of
• Excess material resources
handling • Possibility of
duplicating
equipments leading to
higher costs.

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 Group Technology Layout

• This is philosophy that seeks to exploit the

commonality in manufacturing and uses this as
a basis for grouping components and resources.
This is also known as cellular manufacturing.
• Pioneered by Russians
• Mid volume & mid variety scenario
• 70% of mfg. industry may fall under this
category)

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 Advantages of Cellular Layout

• PPC becomes simpler

• Material handling becomes easier
• Traceability improves
• Employees are able to relate better.
• Helps in implementing SGA, Kaizen
an JIT

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 Cellular Layout- Examples

• Reliance industries- HDPE & LDPE

• Titan Industry
• ABB( Industrial fans & blowers)

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 Fixed Position Layout

• The material remains in a fixed position ,

but the machinery, tool workmen etc are
brought to the material

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 Fixed Position Layout

• Employed in large project type

organisation
• Example
• ISRO
• Helicopter
• Nuclear engg. Division of BHEL

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• One worker and multiple machine layout

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 Layout Design for Services

• Critical factors
• Degree of customer contact
• Line visibility

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 Performance Measures

• The most fundamental measure for layout

design is the distance travelled by
customer order in the system.

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 Performance Measures
1. Distance travelled by job in • Kg Mts.
the SF
2. Space utilisation index
3. Matl. Handling costs • Rs./month
4. Lead time of the process • Hrs per avg. product
5. Ease of prodn. Control • Size of progress
chasing staff
7. No. of ownership changes • No. of times job
changes hand.

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 Automation
• Automation: Machinery that has sensing
and control devices that enables it to
operate
– Fixed automation
– Programmable automation

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 Automation
• Computer-aided design and
manufacturing systems (CAD/CAM)
• Numerically controlled (NC) machines
• Robot
• Manufacturing cell
• Flexible manufacturing systems(FMS)
• Computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM)

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 Functional vs. Cellular Layouts
Table 6.3
Dimension Functional Cellular
Number of moves many few
between departments
Travel distances longer shorter
Travel paths variable fixed
Job waiting times greater shorter
Throughput time higher lower
Amount of work in higher lower
process
Supervision difficulty higher lower
Scheduling complexity higher lower
Equipment utilization lower higher

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 Other Service Layouts
• Warehouse and storage layouts
• Retail layouts
• Office layouts

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 Design Product Layouts: Line
Balancing

Line Balancing is the process of assigning

tasks to workstations in such a way that
the workstations have approximately
equal time requirements.

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 Cycle Time

Cycle time is the maximum time

allowed at each workstation to
complete its set of tasks on a unit.

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 Determine Maximum Output
OT
Output capacity =
CT

OT = operating time per day

D = Desired output rate

OT
CT = cycle time =
D

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 Determine the Minimum Number
of Workstations Required
(D)( ∑ t)
N =
OT

∑t = sum of task times

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