1. Process Selection and Facility Layout
Chapter 6
Process Selection
and Facility Layout
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Copyright © 2012 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

2. Chapter 6: Learning Objectives
You should be able to:
Explain the strategic importance of process selection
Describe the influence that process selection has on the organization
Compare the basic processing types
Explain the need for management of technology
List some reasons for redesign of layouts
Describe the basic layout types, and the main advantages and disadvantages of each
Solve simple line-balancing problems
Instructor Slides
6-2

3. I. Process Selection Process selection
Refers to deciding on the way production of goods or services will be organized. How will we produce?
It has major implications for
Capacity planning
Layout of facilities
Equipment
Design of work systems
Instructor Slides
6-3

4. Process Selection and System Design
Forecasting
Product and Service Design
Technological Change
Capacity Planning
Process Selection
Facilities and Equipment
Layout
Work Design
6-4
Instructor Slides

5. Process Strategy Key Aspects of Process Strategy: Capital Intensity
The mix of equipment and labor that will be used by the organization
Process flexibility
The degree to which the system can be adjusted to changes in processing requirements due to such factors as
Product and service design changes
Volume changes
Changes in technology
Instructor Slides
6-5

6. Process Selection Process choice is demand driven: Variety
How much?
Equipment flexibility
To what degree?
Volume
Expected output?
Job Shop
Repetitive
Batch
Continuous
6-6
Instructor Slides

7. Process Types Job shop Batch Repetitive/assembly line Continuous
Small scale; customizable; craft
Batch
Moderate volume of related items.
Repetitive/assembly line
High volumes of standardized goods or services
Continuous
Very high volumes of non-discrete goods

8. Types of Processing Job Shop Batch Repetitive/ Assembly Continuous 6-8
Description
Customized
goods or
services
Semi-
standardized
Standardized
Highly standardized
Goods or services
Advantages
Able to handle a
wide variety
of work
Flexibility; easy
to add or change products or services
Low unit
cost, high volume, efficient
Very efficient, very
high volume
Disadvantages
Slow, high cost
per unit,
complex
planning and
scheduling
Moderate cost
moderate
complexity
Low flexibility,
high cost of downtime
Very rigid, lack of
variety, costly to change, very high cost of downtime
6-8
Instructor Slides

9. Product-Process Matrix
6-9
Instructor Slides

10. Process Choice Effects
Activity/
Function
Job Shop
Batch
Repetitive
Continuous
Projects
Cost estimation
Difficult
Somewhat routine
Routine
Simple to complex
Cost per unit
High
Moderate
Low
Very high
Equipment used
General purpose
Special purpose
Varied
Fixed costs
Variable costs
Very low
Labor skills
Low to high
Marketing
Promote
capabilities
capabilities; semi-standardized goods and services
standardized goods/services
Scheduling
Complex
Moderately complex
Complex, subject
to change
Work –in-process
inventory
6-10
Instructor Slides

11. Product and Service Profiling
Process selection involves
Substantial investment in equipment
Has a very specific influence on layout
Product or service profiling
Linking key product or service requirements to process capabilities
Key dimensions relate to
Range of products or services that will be processed
Expected order sizes
Pricing strategies
Expected frequency of schedule changes
Order-winning requirements
Instructor Slides
6-11

12. Selecting a Process
Selecting your process depends upon the characteristics of your product. For the following examples, what is the BEST process? Why?
(1)Upscale, gourmet restaurant serving French cuisine, each meal prepared by hand by the Chef.
(2)Cheesecake company specializing in 13 varieties of cheesecakes, shipped to individual customers and restaurants.

13. Technology Technological Innovation Technology
The discovery and development of new or improved products, services, or processes for producing or providing them
Technology
The application of scientific discoveries to the development and improvement of products and services and/or the processes that produce or provide them
Instructor Slides
6-13

14. Automation Automation
Machinery that has sensing and control devices that enable it to operate automatically
Fixed automation
Programmable automation
Flexible automation
6-14
Instructor Slides

15. Programmable Automation
Involves the use of high-cost, general-purpose equipment controlled by a computer program that provides both the sequence of operations and specific details about each operation
Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAM)
The use of computers in process control, ranging from robots to automated quality control
Numerically Controlled (N/C) Machines
Machines that perform operations by following mathematical processing instructions
Robot
A machine consisting of a mechanical arm, a power supply, and a controller
6-15
Instructor Slides

16. Flexible Automation Flexible automation
evolved from programmable automation. It uses equipment that is more customized than that of programmable automation. A key difference between the two is that flexible automation requires significantly less changeover time.
FMS (Flexible Manufacturing System)
A group of machines designed to handle intermittent processing requirements and produce a variety of similar products
CIM (Computer Integrated Manufacturing)
A system for linking a broad range of manufacturing activities through an integrated computer system
6-16
Instructor Slides

17. II. Facilities Layout Layout
the configuration of departments, work centers, and equipment, with particular emphasis on movement of work (customers or materials) through the system
Facilities layout decisions arise when:
Designing new facilities
Re-designing existing facilities
6-17
Instructor Slides

18. Does Layout Matter? Read……
“Designing Supermarkets”, page 258/186.
Does the layout of the supermarket influence customers purchasing habits?
Identify specific layout strategies supermarkets use to get you to spend more.
What are the most profitable items?
Where are they? Why?
What is “the prison”?

19. The Need for Layout Planning
Inefficient operations
High cost
Bottlenecks
Accidents or safety hazards
Changes in product or service design
Introduction of new products or services
Changes in output volume or product mix
Changes in methods or equipment
Changes in environmental or other legal requirements
Morale problems
6-19
Instructor Slides

20. Layout Design Objectives
Basic Objective
Facilitate a smooth flow of work, material, and information through the system
Supporting objectives
Facilitate product or service quality
Use workers and space efficiently
Avoid bottlenecks
Minimize material handling costs
Eliminate unnecessary movement of workers or material
Minimize production time or customer service time
Design for safety
Instructor Slides
6-20

21. Basic Layout Types Product layouts Process layouts
Fixed-Position layout
Combination layouts
6-21
Instructor Slides

22. Repetitive Processing: 1. Product Layouts
Layout that uses standardized processing operations to achieve smooth, rapid, high-volume flow
Raw materials
or customer
Finished item
Station 2 3 4
Material
and/or labor 1
Used for Repetitive Processing
Repetitive or Continuous
6-22
Instructor Slides

23. Product Layouts: Advantages & Disadvantages
High rate of output
Low unit cost
Labor specialization
Low material handling cost per unit
High utilization of labor and equipment
Established routing and scheduling
Routine accounting, purchasing, and inventory control
Disadvantages
Creates dull, repetitive jobs
Poorly skilled workers may not maintain equipment or quality of output
Fairly inflexible to changes in volume or product or process design
Highly susceptible to shutdowns
Preventive maintenance, capacity for quick repair and spare-parts inventories are necessary expenses
Individual incentive plans are impractical
Instructor Slides
6-23

24. Non-repetitive Processing: 2. Process Layouts
Layouts that can handle varied processing requirements
Dept. A
Dept. B
Dept. D
Dept. C
Dept. F
Dept. E
Used for Intermittent processing
Job Shop or Batch
6-24
Instructor Slides

25. Process Layouts: Advantages & Disadvantages
Can handle a variety of processing requirements
Not particularly vulnerable to equipment failures
General-purpose equipment is often less costly and easier and less costly to maintain
It is possible to use individual incentive systems
Disadvantages
In-process inventories can be high
Routing and scheduling pose continual challenges
Equipment utilization rates are low
Material handling is slow and inefficient
Reduced spans of supervision
Special attention necessary for each product or customer
Accounting, inventory control, and purchasing are more involved
Instructor Slides
6-25

26. 3. Fixed Position Layouts
Layout in which the product or project remains stationary, and workers, materials, and equipment are moved as needed
6-26
Instructor Slides

27. 4. Combination Layouts
Some operational environments use a combination of the three basic layout types:
Hospitals
Supermarket
Shipyards
Some organizations are moving away from process layouts in an effort to capture the benefits of product layouts
Cellular manufacturing
Flexible manufacturing systems
6-27
Instructor Slides

28. Service Layout
Service layouts can be categorized as: product, process, or fixed position
Service layout requirements are somewhat different due to such factors as:
Degree of customer contact
Degree of customization
Common service layouts:
Warehouse and storage layouts
Retail layouts
Office layouts
Instructor Slides
6-28

29. Cellular Layouts Cellular production
Layout in which workstations are grouped into a cell that can process items that have similar processing requirements
Groupings are determined by the operations needed to perform the work for a set of similar items, part families, that require similar processing
The cells become, in effect, miniature versions of product layouts
6-29
Instructor Slides

30. Group Technology Group technology
The grouping into part families of items with similar design or manufacturing characteristics
Design Characteristics:
Size
Shape
Function
Manufacturing or processing characteristics
Type of operations required
Sequence of operations required
Requires a systematic analysis of parts to identify the part families
6-30
Instructor Slides

31. Service Layouts Two key factors: Layouts: Customer contact
Degree of customization
Layouts:
Warehouse and storage layouts
Retail layouts
Office layouts
6-31
Instructor Slides

32. III. Line Balancing Line balancing
The process of assigning tasks to workstations in such a way that the workstations have approximately equal time requirements
Goal:
Obtain task grouping that represent approximately equal time requirements since this minimizes idle time along the line and results in a high utilization of equipment and labor
Why is line balancing important?
It allows us to use labor and equipment more efficiently.
To avoid fairness issues that arise when one workstation must work harder than another.
Instructor Slides
6-32

33. Line Balancing is the process of assigning
tasks to workstations in such a way that the workstations have approximately equal time requirements.
***** Open the Word file on the course website for Chapter 6 for specific notes on line balancing that we will use in class and examples we will work.

34. Cycle Time
Cycle time
The maximum time allowed at each workstation to complete its set of tasks on a unit
Cycle time also establishes the output rate of a line
6-34
Instructor Slides

35. How Many Workstations are Needed?
The required number of workstations is a function of
Desired output rate
Our ability to combine tasks into a workstation
Theoretical minimum number of stations
Instructor Slides
6-35

36. Precedence Diagram Precedence diagram
A diagram that shows elemental tasks and their precedence requirements
6-36
Instructor Slides

37. Assigning Tasks to Workstations
Heuristic Rules for Line Balancing that we will use in the class, and must be used on homework and exams:
Assign task with no predecessors (or where proceeding tasks have already been assigned).
Assign tasks in order of most following tasks
Count the number of tasks that follow
Assign tasks in order of longest processing time.
YOU MUST KNOW THESE RULES.
6-37
Instructor Slides

38. Measuring Effectiveness
Balance delay (percentage of idle time)
Percentage of idle time of a line
Efficiency
Percentage of busy time of a line
Instructor Slides
6-38

39. Homework Finish any examples in class notes
Page 277, problem 1, a,b,c,d,e
Page 278, problem 4, a (1,2,3,4)
Page 278, problem 5, a, b, c (based on min. cycle time), d (use line balancing rules for this class)
Line Balancing Rules for this class
1. Assign tasks with no predecessors (or tasks have been assigned)
2. Assign tasks with greatest number of following tasks
3. Assign tasks with longest processing time.