Introduction

 Layout planning is determining the best

physical arrangement of resources within a
facility.
 It may be defined as a technique of locating
machines, processes and plant services
within the factory so as to achieve the right
quantity and quality of output at the lowest
possible cost of manufacturing.
Objective of a good Layout
 Provide enough production capacity.
 Reduce material handling costs.
 Reduce congestion that impedes the
movement of people or material.
 Reduce hazards to personnel.
 Increase employee morale.
 Reduce accidents.
 Utilize available space effectively & efficiently.
 Provide for volume & product flexibility.
 Provide ease of supervision.
 Facilitate co-ordination and face-to-face
communication where appropriate.
 Provide for employee safety and health.
 Allow ease of maintenance.
 Allow high machine/equipment utilisation.
 Improve productivity.
Factor influencing Layout
 Materials
 Product
 Worker
 Machinery
 Location
 Type of industry
- Synthetic – assembling industries. E.g. Watch
making or paper making industry
- Analytical- converts raw material into
various elements. E.g. Oil refinery yields
gasoline, tar, kerosene, paraffin etc
- Conditioning-change in form or physical
properties. E.g. metal working industries
- Extractive- separation of one element
from another. E.g. Metal from ore
 Managerial Policies
- The volume of production & provision of
expansion.
- The extent of automation.
- Making or buying a particular component.
- Desire for rapid delivery of goods to consumers
- Purchasing policy
- Personnel policies.
Principles of Layout
 Principle of Minimum Travel
 Principle of Sequence
 Principle of Usage
 Principle of Compactness
 Principle of Safety & Satisfaction
 Principle of Flexibility
 Principle of Minimum Investment
Types of Layout
 Process Layout, Functional Layout or Job shop
Layout.
 Product Layout, Line processing layout or Flow
Line Layout.
 Fixed Position Layout or Static Layout.
 Cellular manufacturing Layout or Group
Technology Layouts.
 Combination Layout or Hybrid Layout
Process Layout
 Group similar resources together.
 For job lot manufacturer or batch production.
 Involves grouping together of like machines in
one department.
 E.g. machines performing drilling operations
installed in the drilling department.
Principles
a) The distance between departments should be
as short as possible for avoiding long distance
movement of materials
b) The departments should be in sequence of
operations
c) The arrangement should be convenient for
inspection and supervision
Advantages:
a) Lower initial capital investment in machines and equipments. There is high
degree of machine utilization, as a machine is not blocked for a single product
b) The overhead costs are relatively low
c) Change in output design and volume can be more easily adapted to the
output of variety of products
d) Breakdown of one machine does not result in complete work stoppage
e) Supervision can be more effective and specialized
f) There is a greater flexibility of scope for expansion.
Disadvantages:
a. Material handling costs are high due to backtracking
b. More skilled labour is required resulting in higher cost.
c. Time gap or lag in production is higher
d. Work in progress inventory is high needing greater
storage space
e. More frequent inspection is needed which results in
costly supervision
Suitability:
1. Products are not standardized
2. Quantity produced is small
3. There are frequent changes in design and
style of product
4. Job shop type of work is done
5. Machines are very expensive
Product Layout
 Involves the arrangement of machines in
one line, depending upon the sequence of
operations.
 Materials are fed into the first machines
and finished products come out of the last
machine.
Principles
a) All the machine tools or other items of equipments must
be placed at the point demanded by the sequence of
operations
b) There should no points where one line crossed another
line.
c) Materials may be fed where they are required for
assembly but not necessarily at one point.
d) All the operations including assembly, testing packing
must be included in the line.
Advantages:
a) Low cost of material handling, due to straight and short route and
absence of backtracking
b) Smooth and uninterrupted operations
c) Continuous flow of work
d) Lesser investment in inventory and work in progress
e) Optimum use of floor space
f) Shorter processing time or quicker output
g) Less congestion of work in the process
h) Simple and effective inspection of work and simplified production
control
i) Lower cost of manufacturing per unit
Disadvantages:
a. High initial capital investment in special purpose
machine
b. Heavy overhead charges
c. Breakdown of one machine will hamper the
whole production process
d. Lesser flexibility as specially laid out for
particular product.
Suitability:
1) Mass production of standardized products
2) Simple and repetitive manufacturing process
3) Operation time for different process is more or
less equal
4) Reasonably stable demand for the product
5) Continuous supply of materials
Circumstances when Product &
Process Layout can be used.
 One or few standard  Many types or kinds of
products. products or emphasis on
special orders.
 Large volume of  Relatively low volume of
production of each item production of individual
over a considerable items
period of time.
 Minimum inspection  Many inspections
required during the required during a
sequence of operation. sequence of operations.
 Materials & products  Materials or products too
permit bulk or continuous bulky to permits bulk or
handling by mechanical continuous handling by
means. mechanical means.
 Little or no occasion to  Frequent need for using
use the same machine or the same machine or
work station for more work station for two or
than one operation. more different operations.
Comparison of Product & Process
Layout
 Mechanisation of Material Handling
 Avoidance of botttlenecks
 Economy in manufacturing time
 Minimisation of investment in work in process
 Better production control
 Early detection of bad workmanship.
 Greater incentive to a group of workers to raise
the level of their performance.
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 Reduced investment on machines
 Flexibility in production
 Scope of expansion
 Handling of breakdowns is easy.
 Greater incentive to individual workers to raise
the level of their performance.
 Better utilisation of workers and equipment
 Specialisation in supervision
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Comparison of Process vs.
Product Layouts
Process Layouts Product Layouts

Products: Large , Different Small , Efficiently

Resources: General Purpose Specialized

Facilities: More Labor intensive More capital intensive

Processing Slower Faster

Rates:

High Low
Handling costs:

Space requirements: Higher Lower

Fixed Position Layout
 Involves the movement of men and
machines to the product which remains
stationary.
Advantages:
a) It saves time and cost involved on the movement of work
from one workstation to another.
b) The layout is flexible as change in job design and
operation sequence can be easily incorporated.
c) It is more economical when several orders in different
stages of progress are being executed simultaneously.
d) Adjustments can be made to meet shortage of materials
or absence of workers by changing the sequence of
operations.
Disadvantages:
a. Production period being very long, capital
investment is very heavy
b. Very large space is required for storage of
material and equipment near the product.
c. As several operations are often carried out
simultaneously, there is possibility of confusion
and conflicts among different workgroups.
Suitability:
1. Manufacture of bulky and heavy products such
as locomotives, ships, boilers, generators,
wagon building, aircraft manufacturing, etc.
2. Construction of building, flyovers, dams.
3. Hospital, the medicines, doctors and nurses are
taken to the patient (product).
Cellular Manufacturing Layout
 In this machines are grouped into cells
and the cells function somewhat like
product layout within a larger shop or
process layout.
 A product layout is visible inside each cell.
 Machine
2
Machine
3
Machine
1

Materials in

Finished
goods out

Machine
Machine 4
5
Advantages
 Reduced material handling and transit time
 Reduced setup time
 Reduced work-in-process inventory
 Better use of human
resources
 Easier to control
 Easier to automate
Disadvantages
 Inadequate part families
 Poorly balanced cells
 Expanded training and scheduling of
workers
 Increased capital investment
Combination Layout
Combination of three pure types:
Product , Process, and Fixed Position
Layout
Example:
Hospital: process and fixed position.