1. Chapter 6
Facilities Layout

2. Layout - the arrangement or configuration of departments, work centers, and equipment within the confines of a building or area
Focuses on the movement of work (customers or material) through the system
May involve designing a completely new layout or redesigning an exiting layout
MTSU Management 362

3. The Need for Layout Decisions (1 of 2)
Inefficient operations
Changes in the design
of products or services
For Example:
High Cost
Bottlenecks
Accidents
The introduction of new products or services
Safety hazards
MTSU Management 362

4. The Need for Layout Designs (2 of 2)
Changes in
environmental
or other legal
requirements
Changes in volume of
output or mix of
products
Morale problems
Changes in methods
and equipment
MTSU Management 362

5. Basic Layout Types Product Process Fixed Position Combination Cellular
Other service layouts
warehouse and storage
retail
office
MTSU Management 362

6. Examples include production lines and assembly lines
Product Layout (1 of 3)
Uses standardized processing operations to achieve smooth, rapid, high-volume flow
Work stations or areas are arranged according to a fixed sequence of tasks required to produce a product
Examples include production lines and assembly lines
MTSU Management 362

7. Product Layout (2 of 3)
Work stations are arranged so that the output of one is an input to the next, i.e., a series connection
Layout design involves assigning one or more of the tasks (time) required to make a product to work stations
Raw materials
or customer
Finished item
Station 2 3 4
Material
and/or labor 1
MTSU Management 362

8. Product Layout (3 of 3) Advantages Disadvantages High rate of output
Low unit cost
Labor specialization
Specialized equipment
Low material-handling cost
High utilization of labor and equipment
Routing and scheduling designed initially
Accounting, purchasing, and inventory control fairly routine
Disadvantages
Dull, repetitive jobs
Unskilled workers
Fairly inflexible
Susceptible to shutdowns
PM, quick repairs, and spare equipment parts
Incentive plan impractical
MTSU Management 362

9. A U-Shaped Production Line
Figure 6-3
A U-Shaped Production Line
Out In
More compact than the straight production line
Permits increased communication among workers
Increased flexibility in work assignments
Materials enter at about the same place that finished products exit 10 1 9 2
Workers 8 3 7 4 6 5
MTSU Management 362

10. Layout that can handle varied processing requirements
Process Layout (1 of 3)
Layout that can handle varied processing requirements
each product/service may require a different sequence of operations (routing)
wide variety of products/services in small volumes
Work areas are arranged according to the processes being performed, i.e., like processes are located together
MTSU Management 362 10 10 9 9 9

11. Process Layout - work travels to dedicated process centers
Process Layout (2 of 3)
Milling
Assembly & Test
Grinding
Drilling
Plating
Process Layout - work travels to dedicated process centers
MTSU Management 362

12. Process Layouts (3 of 3) Advantages Disadvantages
Handles a variety of processing requirements
Not vulnerable to equipment failure
General-purpose equipment
Individual incentive systems possible
Disadvantages
In-process inventory can be high
routing and scheduling challenging
Equipment utilization low
Material-handling cost high
High supervision costs
High unit cost
Accounting, purchasing, and inventory control challenging
MTSU Management 362

13. Fixed-Position Layout
Layout in which the product or project remains stationary, and workers, materials, and equipment are moved as needed
Used in large construction projects
Scheduling of resources is an issue in this type of layout
MTSU Management 362

14. Combination Layout
Most real-world layouts are some combination or variation of product and process layouts
The mix that makes up the combination is determined by the needs of the customer
MTSU Management 362

15. Cellular Manufacturing
Cellular Layouts
Cellular Manufacturing
Layout in which machines are grouped into a cell that can process items that have similar processing requirements
Group Technology
The grouping into families of items(parts) with similar design or manufacturing characteristics
MTSU Management 362

16. Cellular Manufacturing Layout
Figure 6-5
Cellular Manufacturing Layout
Heat
treat
Gear
cut
-1111
Lathe
Mill
Drill
-1111
Heat
treat
Mill
Drill
Grind
- 2222
Assembly
Heat
treat
Lathe
Mill
Grind
- 3333
Gear
cut
- 4444
Mill
Drill
MTSU Management 362

17. Work Cells
A hybrid between a process-oriented and product-oriented layouts
Group technology identifies a family of items that require similar processing
The processes shared by the members of a family form a small product layout
Volume of the entire family justifies the dedication of resources
Requires a high level of training and flexibility on the part of the employees
MTSU Management 362

18. Cellular Layouts — Some Advantages
Reduced work-in-process inventory
Less floor space required
Reduced raw material and finished goods inventories required
Reduced direct labor costs
Heightened sense of employee participation
Increased utilization of equipment machinery
Reduced investment in machinery and equipment
MTSU Management 362

19. Warehouse and storage layouts
Other Service Layouts
Warehouse and storage layouts
frequency of order an important factor
number and width of aisles
height of storage racks
material-handling methods
Retail layouts
an objective is to maximize profitability per square foot of shelf space
traffic patterns, traffic flow and product placement are important factors
Office layouts
MTSU Management 362

20. Information Needed to Design a Good Layout
an understanding of capacity of the area and the space and other requirements for processes
identification of the cost of moving materials between the various work areas
selection of appropriate material handling equipment
identification and understanding of the requirements for information flow to support the flow of work
decisions regarding environment and aesthetics
MTSU Management 362

21. Designing Product Layouts (1 of 3)
Required tasks are assigned to work stations
The objective is to minimize the workers’ idle time therefore idle time costs, and meet the required production rate for the line
Raw materials
or customer
Finished item
Station 2 3 4
Material
and/or labor 1
MTSU Management 362

22. Designing Product Layouts (2 of 3)
Ideally, each workers would be assigned the same amount of work (time), i.e., the required work would be balanced among the work stations
all workers would complete their assigned tasks at the same time (assuming they start their work simultaneously)
this would result in no idle time
MTSU Management 362

23. Designing Product Layouts (3 of 3)
Unfortunately there are conditions that can prevent the achievement of a perfectly balanced line
The estimated times for tasks
The precedence relationships for the tasks
The combinatoric nature of the problem
MTSU Management 362

24. Inputs Needed To Design a Product Layout (1 of 2)
The production rate required from the product layout or the cycle time.
The cycle time is the reciprocal of the production rate and visa versa
All of the tasks required to make the product
It is assumed that these tasks can not be divided further
MTSU Management 362

25. Inputs Needed To Design a Product Layout (2 of 2)
The estimated time to do each task
The precedence relationships between the tasks
determined by the technical constraints imposed by the product design
displayed as a network known as a precedence diagram
MTSU Management 362

26. Line Balancing Procedure (1 of 6)
If not provided, find the cycle time. Remember the cycle time is the reciprocal of the production rate. The cycle time is expressed in the same time units as the estimated task times
Determine the selection heuristic (rule of thumb) that may be used to help with the assignments
MTSU Management 362

27. Line Balancing Procedure (2 of 6)
Some Heuristic (Intuitive) Rules
Assign tasks in order of longest task time
Assign tasks in order of most following tasks
Assign tasks in order of greatest positional weight
Positional weight is the sum of each task’s time and the times of all following tasks
MTSU Management 362

28. Line Balancing Procedure (3 of 6)
Open a new station with the full cycle time remaining
Determine which unassigned tasks are feasible, i.e., can be assigned to this station at this time
MTSU Management 362

29. Line Balancing Procedure (4 of 6)
For a task to be feasible, two conditions must be met
All tasks that precede that task must have already been assigned
The estimated task time must be equal to or less than the remaining cycle time for that work station
MTSU Management 362

30. Line Balancing Procedure (5 of 6)
If there is only one feasible task, assign it to the station. If there is more than one feasible task, use the heuristic (step 2) to determine which task to assign. Reduce the station’s remaining cycle time by the estimated time for the assigned task. Return to step 4.
MTSU Management 362

31. Line Balancing Procedure (6 of 6)
If there are no feasible tasks, assignments to that station are complete. Go back to step 3.
Stop when all tasks have been assigned to stations
MTSU Management 362

32. Line Balancing Relationships
MTSU Management 362

33. The Precedence Diagram Problem 2, page 299
0.5
1.4
0.5
0.6 c f a b
0.5
0.7 h d
1.0 g
0.8 e
Return
MTSU Management 362

34. Parallel Workstations
1 min.
2 min.
30/hr.
Bottleneck
1 min.
2 min.
60/hr.
30/hr.
Parallel Workstations
1 min.
MTSU Management 362

35. Designing Process Layouts
Determine the relative positioning of the departments
Arrangement can be influenced by external factors
Typically when one department is moved at least one other department will have to move
This results in a combinatoric problem, i.e., a large number of possible arrangements
MTSU Management 362

36. Measures of Effectiveness
A major objective is to find an arrangement which minimizes material-handle cost, distance, or time
Other concerns include
cost of changing an existing layout
expected operating costs
amount of effective capacity created
ease of modifying the system
MTSU Management 362

37. Information Requirements
Dimensions of departments; dimension of building
Forecast of flows between each pair of work centers
Distance between locations and material-handling cost/unit of distance
Financial resources
Special considerations
MTSU Management 362

38. Interdepartmental Work Flows for Assigned Departments
Figure 6-10
Interdepartmental Work Flows for Assigned Departments 30
170
100 1 3 2 A B C
MTSU Management 362

39. Alternative Approaches
Closeness ratings
ranks the importance that each pair of departments be close together
rating can incorporate qualitative and quantitative information
allows the consideration of areas not in the flow of “material”
Computer analysis
MTSU Management 362

40. MTSU Management 362