Facility Layout
“Layout : Layout planning is determining
the best physical arrangement of resources
within a facility
What Is Layout Planning
It refers to the configuration of
departments, work centers, and equipment,
with particular emphasis on movement of
work (customers or materials) through the
system.
Facility layout
refers to the specific arrangement of
physical facilities.
1. a new facility is constructed,
2. there is a significant change in demand or
throughput volume,
3. a new good or service is introduced to the
customer benefit package, or
4. different processes, equipment, and/or
technology are installed.
Importance (Objective) of
Facility Layout
To facilitate attainment of product or service
quality.
To use workers and space efficiently.
To avoid bottlenecks.
To minimize material handling costs.
To eliminate unnecessary movements of
workers or materials.
To minimize production time or customer
service time.
To design for safety.
Revision of Layout
1. Expansion
Increase in the output of the existing product
Introduction of a new product in the same line &
Diversification of the lines of activity
2. Technological Advancement
Replacement of labour by machines
Developments in fuel and energy
Development in process
Development in materials
Improvement in product design
Advancement in IT
3. Improvement in the layout
Types of Layouts
Process layouts:
Group similar resources together
Product layouts:
Designed to produce a specific product efficiently
Hybrid layouts:
Combine aspects of both process and product layouts
Fixed-Position layouts:
Product is two large to move; e.g. a building
Process Layouts
General purpose & flexible resources
Lower capital intensity & automation
Higher labor intensity
Resources have greater flexibility
Processing rates are slower
Material handling costs are higher
Scheduling resources & work flow is more
complex
Space requirements are higher
Process Layout for a Machine Shop
Product Layouts
Specialized equipment
High capital intensity & wide use of
automation
Processing rates are faster
Material handling costs are lower
Less space required for inventories
Less volume or design flexibility
Product Layout for Wine Manufacturer
Assembly Line Layout
Comparison of Product vs. Product Layouts
Process Layouts Product Layouts
Products: large #, different small # efficiently
Resources: general purpose specialized
Facilities: more labor intensive more capital intensive
Flexibility: greater relative to market lower relative to market
Processing slower faster
Rates:
Handling costs: high low
Space requirements: higher lower
Fixed Position layout
Resources have to be taken to the site
Size of product is huge and bulky
Fixed Position Layout
9-18
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
6-19
Cellular Manufacturing Layout
Machines are grouped into cells
Cell function like a product layout within a large
shop or process layout.
Each cell in the CM layout is formed to produce a
single parts family- a few parts, all with common
characteristics.
These relate to the grouping of equipment and
include faster processing time, less material
handling, less work-in-process inventory, and
reduced setup time.
Used when the operations system must handle a
moderate variety of products in moderate volumes
Cellular Layout
Process (Functional) Layout Group (Cellular) Layout
A cluster
or cell
T T T CG CG T T T
M
T T T SG SG M M T
D D M D
M M D D D
SG CG CG D
M M D D D SG
Similar resources placed Resources to produce similar
together products placed together
A machine-component incident matrix (MCIM)
Rearranged rows and columns
