LAYOUT DECISIONS

PRODUCT LAYOUT
PROCESS LAYOUT
HYBRID LAYOUT
FIXED POSITION LAYOUT
LAYOUT
Layout deals with the arrangement of work
areas and equipments inside the plant or
service facility. The basic theme behind the
arrangement of work areas is to produce the
product economically, to provide the
service effectively, and to provide a safe
and good physical environment for the users
that is, the workers and customers
Benefits of good layout
1. Ease of working, maximum safety and minimum
health hazards for people
2. Minimum handling of materials
3. Minimum damage and spoilage of materials
4. Reduced congestion of materials, machinery and
men
5. Flexibility with regard to changing production
conditions

Basic Principles of Layout:

1. The total movement of materials should be
minimum
2. The arrangement of the work area should
have as much congruence as possible with
the flow of materials within the plant
3. The layout should ensure adequate safety
and healthy working conditions for the
employees

Principles (Cont.)
A good layout should take into consideration all
the three dimensions of space available.
The layout should be adaptable or flexible
enough so as to allow for probable changes in
the future.
It should consider MH system

Costs associated with layout decisions:

1. Cost of movement of materials
2. Cost of space
3. Cost of production delays
4. Cost of spoilage of materials
5. Cost of customer dissatisfaction due to poor
service quality
6. Costs of labor dissatisfaction and health risks


Product layout
Layout that uses standardized processing
operations to achieve smooth, rapid, high-volume
flow
Process layout
Layout that can handle varied processing
requirements
Fixed Position layout
Layout in which the product or project remains
stationary, and workers, materials, and equipment
are moved as needed
Basic Layout Types
Product layout

Raw matl. Fabrication
Rec- storage line-part B
eiving Fabrication Planer
line-part A
Finished Lathe
goods Drill
storage Mill
Mill
Drill
Grinder
Mill

Assembly line Automatic


Small number
of
high volume
products
1 3
2
4
5
Product-Oriented Layout
Office
Belt
Conveyor
Operations
Raw
materials
or customer
Finished
item
Station
2
Station
3
Station
4
Material
and/or
labor
Station
1
Material
and/or
labor
Material
and/or
labor
Material
and/or
labor
Used for Repetitive or Continuous Processing
Product Layout
High rate of output
Low unit cost
Labor specialization
Low material handling cost
High utilization of labor and equipment
Established routing and scheduling
Fairly routine accounting and purchasing

Advantages of Product Layout

Creates dull, repetitive jobs
Poorly skilled workers may not
maintain equipment or quality of
output
Fairly inflexible to changes in volume
Highly susceptible to shutdowns
Needs preventive maintenance
Individual incentive plans are
impractical
Disadvantages of Product Layout
Dept. A
Dept. B Dept. D
Dept. C
Dept. F
Dept. E
Used for Intermittent processing
Job Shop or Batch Processes
Process Layout
(functional)
Process Layout
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
Process-Oriented Layout
Office
Tool Room
Drill Presses
Table Saws
1995 Corel Corp.
1995
Corel Corp.
Can handle a variety of processing
requirements
Not particularly vulnerable to equipment
failures
Equipment used is less costly
Possible to use individual incentive plans
Advantages of Process Layouts
In-process inventory costs can be high
Challenging routing and scheduling
Equipment utilization rates are low
Material handling slow and inefficient
Complexities often reduce span of supervision
Special attention for each product or customer
Accounting and purchasing are more involved
Disadvantages of Process Layouts
Cellular Production
Layout in which machines are grouped
into a cell that can process items that have
similar processing requirements
Group Technology
The grouping into part families of items
with similar design or manufacturing
characteristics
Cellular Layouts
Work Cell Floor Plan
Office
Tool Room
Work Cell
Saws Drills
Work Cell Advantages
Reduces:
Inventory
Floor space
Direct labor costs
Increases:
Equipment
utilization
Employee
participation
Quality
Machine
1
Machine
2
Machine
3
Machine
4
Machine
5
Materials in
Finished
goods out
One Worker,
Multiple Machines
Cellular Layout
(Work Cells)
Special case of process-oriented layout
Consists of different machines brought
together to make a product
May be temporary or permanent
Example: Assembly line set up to produce
3000 identical parts in a
job shop
Fixed Position Layouts
Fixed Position Layout: Layout in which the
product or project remains stationary, and
workers, materials, and equipment are
moved as needed.
Nature of the product dictates this type of
layout-nature, size and bulk
Large construction projects
Dimension Functional Cellular
Number of moves
between departments
many few
Travel distances longer shorter
Travel paths variable fixed
Job waiting times greater shorter
Throughput time higher lower
Amount of work in
process
higher lower
Supervision difficulty higher lower
Scheduling complexity higher lower
Equipment utilization lower higher
Functional vs. Cellular Layouts
Before Group Technology
Drilling
D D
D D
Grinding
G G
G G
G G
Milling
M M
M M
M M
Assembly
A A
A A
Lathing
Receiving and
shipping
L
L L
L L
L L
L
J umbled flows in a job shop without GT cells
Applied Group Technology
Line flows in a job shop with three GT cells
Cell 3
L M
G G
Cell 1 Cell 2
Assembly
area
A A
L M
D
L
L M
Shipping
D
Receiving
G
Designing
Flexible-Flow Layouts
Step 1: Gather information
Space requirements by center
Available space
Closeness factors: which centers need to be located close to one
another.
Closeness matrix: A table that gives a measure of the
relative importance of each pair of centers being located
close together.
Step 2: Develop a Block plan: A plan that allocates space
and indicates placement of each department.
Step 3: Design a detailed layout.
Gather Information
100'
150'
3 6 4
1 2 5
Current Block Plan
Department Area Needed (ft
2
)
1. Administration 3,500
2. Social services 2,600
3. Institutions 2,400
4. Accounting 1,600
5. Education 1,500
6. Internal audit 3,400
Total 15,000
Space Requirements
Example 8.1 Office of Budget Management
100'
150'
3 6 4
1 2 5
Closeness Matrix
Trips between Departments
Department 1 2 3 4 5 6
1. Administration
2. Social services
3. Institutions
4. Accounting
5. Education
6. Internal audit
3 6 5 6 10
8 1 1
3 9
2
1


Departments 1 and 6 have the most interaction.
Departments 3 and 5 have the next highest.
Departments 2 and 3 have next priority.
Example 8.1 Office of Budget Management
100'
150'
100'
150'
3 6 4
1 2 5
Proposed Block Plan
First put departments 1 and 6 close together
1
6
Next put departments 3 and 5 close together
5
3
Then put departments 2 and 3 close together
2
4
Weighted-distance method: A mathematical model used
to evaluate flexible-flow layouts based on proximity
factors.

Euclidean distance is the straight-line distance, or
shortest possible path, between two points.

Rectilinear distance: The distance between two points
with a series of 90 degree turns, as along city blocks.
Applying the
Weighted- Distance Method
Distance Measures
Rectilinear Distance
d
AB
= |x
A
x
B
| + |y
A
y
B
|
Euclidian Distance
d
AB
= (x
A
x
B
)
2
+ (y
A
y
B
)
2

Application 8.1
Rectilinear Distance
d
AB
= |20 80| + |10 60| = 110
Euclidian Distance
d
AB
= (20 80)
2
+ (10 60)
2

= 78.1
What is the distance between (20,10) and (80,60)?
2007 Pearson Education
Example 8.2 Load Distance Analysis
Current Plan Proposed Plan
Dept Closeness Distance Distance
Pair Factor, w d wd Score d wd Score
1,2 3 1 3 2 6
1,3 6 1 6 3 18
1,4 5 3 15 1 5
1,5 6 2 12 2 12
1,6 10 2 20 1 10
2,3 8 2 16 1 8
2,4 1 2 2 1 1
2,5 1 1 1 2 2
3,4 3 2 6 2 6
3,5 9 3 27 1 9
4,5 2 1 2 1 2
5,6 1 2 2 3 3
ld = 112 ld = 82
Calculating the WD Score
Excel Solver
evaluation of
solution
First Proposed Plan
Excel Solver
improved solution
Second Proposed Plan
Application 8.2
Application 8.2
Application 8.2
Other Decision
Support Tools
Automated layout design program
(ALDEP): A computer software package
that constructs a good layout from scratch,
adding one department at a time.
Computerized relative allocation of
facilities technique (CRAFT): A heuristic
method that begins with the closeness
matrix and an initial block layout, and
makes a series of paired exchanges of
departments to find a better block plan.
Warehouse Layout
Design balances space (cube)
utilization & handling cost
Similar to process layout
Items moved between dock
& various storage areas
Optimum layout depends on
Variety of items
stored
No. items picked
1995 Corel Corp.
Warehouse Flow
Receiving
Shipping
Warehouse Layout
Try to organize storage in such a way that order pickers
can move through the product in a logical and timely
manner.
Warehouse Layout
Fastest near the front
Fastest within easy reach
Bulk storage vs. Single item picking
Serpentine vs. oval picking order
Restocking: frequency, safety stock