Facility Layout

• Facility layouts are the arrangements of

production, support, customer service and
other work centres that support the
operational strategies of an organization.
• Layouts affect material handling, capital
equipment utilization, inventory storage
levels, worker productivity and even group
communications & employee morale.
 Concerns in a Layout design
• What types of concerns are addressed in a Layout
design ?
 Relative importance,
 Size – space in each work area,
 Proximity,
 Effectiveness – achieve maximum efficiency,
 Support – electronic, storage & distribution
facilities.
 Performance criteria

• Some key differences in the objectives of :

 Manufacturing – minimize the cost of
transporting, processing & storing;
 Warehouse - maximize the efficiency of receiving,
storing, shipping &tracking;
 Retail ((service) – appeal of the product &
comfort/convenience of the customers;
 Office – employee effectiveness thru’ proper
communication & efficient flow of work.
 Reasons For Layout decision
• In effect, there is a double pressure on the layout decision :
 Changing layout is difficult & expensive, cannot be
done too often,
 At the same time, they have to get it right – hence any
msadjustment has a long-term effect.
• Thus key questions are :
 What is layout design trying to achieve ?
 What are the basic layout types used ?
 What type of layout should an operation choose ?
 How should each basic layout type be designed ?
 Layout
Broad Objectives
• Cost of materials handling and material movement to
be minimum,
• Minimization of congestion and delay,
• Maximum utilization of space, facilities & labour,
• Hence, layout planning techniques will reflect
importance of:
a) minimum physical movement & handling
and b) maximization of capacity utilization.
Factors determining type of Layout

 Type of Product,
 Type of Process,
 Volume of Production.
 Layout Procedure
Guiding fundamentals to successful layout:

 Collect all the detailed information about the product,

process, etc. and record the data systematically ;
 analyze the data using various techniques of analysis ;
 select the general flow pattern for the materials ;
 design the individual work stations ;
 assemble the individual layout into the total layout in
accordance with general flow patterns & the building
facilities ;
 coordinate the plan with plan for handling materials ;
 complete the plant layout ;
 plan the building around the layout.
 Marks of Good Layout for Face-to-Face Services
 Easily understood service flow pattern ;
 Adequate waiting facilities ;
 Easy communication with customers ;
 Easily maintained customer surveillance ;
 Clear exit & entry points with adequate checkout
capabilities ;
 Departments & processes arranged so that customers see
only what you want them to see ;
 Balance between waiting areas & service areas ;
 Minimum walking & material movement ;
 Lack of clutter ;
 High sales volume per square foot of facility.
 Types of Layout

• Layout by Process or Functional layout,

• Layout by Product or Flow line layout or
Assembly line,
• Layout by Fixed position,
• Hybrid layout,
• Cell layout.
 Process Layout
•Process layout is so called, because the needs &
convenience of the transforming resources, which constitute
the processes in the operation, dominate the layout decision.
•Group similar machines together in departments or work
centers according to to the process or function they perform.
•A variety of customers are served with different needs and
volume of each customer is low.
•Equipment is general purpose & workers are skilled.
•Examples:
 Manufacturing – machine shop,
Services – cardiac units, x-ray units,etc in hospital
- university keep records as per ‘colleges’.
 Product Layout
• Product layout involves locating the transforming resources
entirely for the convenience of the transformed resources.
Each product follows a pre-arranged route in which the
sequence of activities that are required, matches the sequence
in which the processes have been located.
•The transformed resources ‘flow’ along a ‘line’ of process.
This is why, this type of layout is called ‘flow’ or ‘line’
layout.
• Suitable for mass production, layouts are more automated,
generally utilize lower level skill of workers, W-I-P is low
compared to FG.
•Example, Automobile assembly, self-service cafeteria, etc.
 Layout by Fixed position
• Transformed resources do not move between the
transforming resources.
•Instead of materials flowing thru’ an operation, the
recipient of the processing is stationery and the
equipment, machinery, plant & people who do the
processing move, as necessary.
•Product is too large to be moved, the equipments are
leased or subcontracted, fixed cost is low & variable cost
is high,etc.
•Examples, Construction. Shipbuilding, mainframe
computer maintenance, etc.
 Hybrid or Mixed Layout
• Use of combination of classical layouts.
•Some of the products have low demand volumes, but may
contain common components needed in high volume.
•High volume of common component requires a flow line.
•Within a facility, some areas with ‘layout by process’ and
others with ‘layout by product’.
• Example, a hospital;
X-ray --- process layout
Surgical theatre --- Fixed position layout and
Blood processing --- Product layout.
 Cell layout or Manufacturing cell
• A close grouping of equipments for performing sequence of
operations on multiple units of a component or a family of
similar components or products is called a manufacturing cell
or cell layout.
•Layout not of an entire plant, but of only a portion of it as a
‘flow line’.
•Items are routed & scheduled for the appropriate cells rather
than for each individual operation.
•Parts are processed one by one thru’ the steps of production,
making input time short,WIP low and enhances JIT
production methods.
Advantages & disadvantages of basic layout
types
Layout Advantages Disadvantages
•Very high mix & product
•Very high unit cost
Fixed flexibility
Position •Product or customer not
•Scheduling of space &
activities can be difficult
moved or disturbed
•Can mean much
•High variety of tasks for staff
movement of plant &
stuff

•High mixed product flexibility

•Relatively robust if in the case
of disruptions
Process
•Relatively easy supervision of
equipment or plant
•Low facilities utilisation
•Can have very high
W-I-P or customer
queuing
•Complex flow can be
difficult to control
 Contd.

Layout Advantages Disadvantages

•Can give good compromise between •Can be costly to
cost & flexibility for relatively high rearrange existing layout
Cell variety operations •Can need more plant &
•Fast throughput equipment
•Can give lower plant
utilization
•Low unit costs for high volume •Can have low mix
flexibility
•Gives opportunities for
Product specialization of equipment •Not very robust if there
is disruption
•Materials or customer movement is
convenient •Work can be very
repeatitive