Plant layout and Material

Handling
Introduction – Classification –
Different Layouts – Layout Design
Procedures – Overview
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 Definitions
• Facilities layout describes the arrangement of
equipment, storage areas, and work areas,
usually within the confines of a physical
structure, such as a retail store, an office, a
warehouse, or a manufacturing facility.
• Factors that influence layout
– Volume, weight of items to be produced.
– Nature of the service to be provided.
– Cost of the building to house the operation.
– The product mix that must have a facility.
– The fragility of the product or component
 What is a “Layout?”
• The physical arrangement of economic activity
centers within a facility.
– A “center” can be anything that consumes space.
• The Layout decisions are:
– What centers?
– How much space and capacity?
– Configuration?
– Where to locate them?
 Why?
Arrangement of areas within a facility to:

• Minimize material-handling costs • Facilitate entry, exit, and placement

• Utilize space efficiently of material, products, and people
• Utilize labor efficiently • Incorporate safety and security
• Eliminate bottlenecks measures
• Facilitate communication and • Promote product and service
interaction quality
• Reduce manufacturing cycle • Encourage proper maintenance
time activities
• Reduce customer service time • Provide a visual control of activities
• Eliminate wasted or redundant • Provide flexibility to adapt to
movement changing conditions
• Increase capacity
 Three Basic Types of Layout
1. Product Layouts
2. Process Layouts
3. Fixed-position Layouts
 Types of Layout
 Fixed Position
Directly concerned
 Line-Flow (Product) with layout of the
transformation
 Flexible-Flow (Process) process.
 Hybrid
 Retail Not directly
 Warehouse concerned with
the transformation
 Office process.
 Product Layouts
• Product layouts employ standardized
processing operations to achieve smooth,
rapid, and high volume flow.
 Process Layout
• Process layouts group similar equipment
together according to the process they
perform.
RECEIVING
CUTTING
SHIPPING

PRINTING ASSEMBLY PACKING

 Process Layout
• Grouping together of machines and/or workers doing
similar tasks.
• Applicable to both manufacturing and non manufacturing
operations.
• Advantages
– Flexibility: equipment and personnel can be used where they are
needed.
– Smaller investment in equipment: duplication is not necessary
unless volume is large.
– Expertise: supervisors for each department become highly.
knowledgeable about their functions
– Diversity of tasks: changing work assignments make work more
satisfying for people who prefer variety.
 Process Layout
• Disadvantages
– Lack of process efficiency: backtracking and long movements may
occur in the handling of materials.
– Lack of efficiency in timing: workers must wait between tasks.
– Complication of production planning and control.
– Cost: workers must have broad skills and must be paid higher
wages than assembly line workers.
– Lowered productivity: because each job is different it requires
different setups and operator training.
 Fixed-position Layouts
• Fixed-position layouts place the products
stationary, and workers, materials, and
equipment are moved to the products.
EMPLOYEE STORAGE
MACHINE
TEAM 1 #1
GROUP 1

STORAGE
#2 MACHINE
GROUP 4

EMPLOYEE
TEAM 2 EMPLOYEE
TEAM 4

MACHINE STORAGE
GROUP 2 #4

STORAGE EMPLOYEE MACHINE

#3 TEAM 3 GROUP 3
 Fixed Position Layout
• Manufacturing and non-manufacturing operations of bulky
or fragile products, e.g., ships and planes.
• Move machines and/or workers to the site; products
normally remains in one location for its entire
manufacturing period.
• Advantages of fixed position layout
– Reduces movement of work items; minimizes damage or cost of
moving.
– More continuity of the assigned work force (since the item does
not go from one department to another). This reduces the
problems of re-planning and instructing people each time a new
type of activity is to begin.
 Fixed Position Layout
• Disadvantages of fixed position layout
– Since the same workers are involved in more operations, skilled
and versatile workers are required. The necessary combination of
skills may be difficult to find and high pay levels may be necessary.
– Movement of people and equipment to and from the work site
may be expensive.
– Equipment utilization may be low because the equipment may be
left at a location where it will be needed again in a few days rather
than moved to another location where it would be productive.
 Group Technology Layout
• Definition of Group Technology
“Group technology is the technique of
identifying and bringing together related or
similar parts in a production process in order
to utilize the inherent economy of flow
production methods.”
 Group Technology Layout
• Group Technology layout is also called manufacturing cell
layout.
• Example:
– A plant producing 10,000 part numbers may be able to group the
parts into 50 or 60 families. Each family would possess similar
design and manufacturing characteristics.
– Hence, the processing of each member of a given family would be
similar, and this results in manufacturing efficiencies in the form of:
• Reduced set-up,
• Lower in-process inventories,
• Better scheduling,
• Improved tool control,
• Standard process plan.
 Hybrid Layout
Hybrid layouts modify and/or integrate certain
characteristics of the three basic layout types.

1. Cellular layouts group different machines into

cells that process parts with similar shapes or
processing requirements.
2. Flexible Manufacturing Systems (FMS)
integration of several flexible cells making up a
cellular layout, which is capable of
producing a large variety of products
 Flow-Line Layout
• Applicable to both manufacturing and non manufacturing
operations.
• Arrange machines and/or workers in accordance with the
sequence of operations for a given product or service.
• Advantages of flow-line layout
– Reduces materials handling.
– Accommodates small amounts of work in process.
– Reduces transit times.
– Simplifies production planning and control systems.
– Simplifies tasks, enabling unskilled workers to learn task quickly.
 Flow-Line Layout
• Disadvantages of flow-line layout
– Lack of process flexibility.
– Lack of flexibility in timing: the product can not flow through the
line faster than the slowest task can be accomplished unless that
task is performed at several stations.
– Large investments: special-purpose equipment and duplication is
required to offset lack of flexibility in timing.
– Dependence of the whole on each part: a breakdown of one
machine or absence of enough operators to staff all work stations
may stop the entire line.
– Worker fatigue: workers may become bored by the endless
repetition of simple tasks.
Classification
 Process Layout
Milling
Lathe Department Department Drilling Department
M M D D D D
L L

M M D D D D
L L

G G G P
L L

G G G P
L L
Grinding Painting Department
Department
L L
Receiving and A A A
Shipping Assembly
 Product Layout

In

Out
 Factors To Be Considered For Selection Of
Region
• Primary Factors • Secondary Factors
– Market nearness – Climate suitability
– Raw-material availability – Character of the
– Labor availability inhabiting community
– Transport availability – State and local taxation-
– Power and fuel supply rates
– Existence of similar firms – Expansion facility
– Decentralization
suitability
 Facility Location Study
Category Factors
Process Input Raw Material, Personnel, Transportation of Raw Material,
work force availability, Availability of water and power, Road
Transport, Railways etc.
Process Output Market nearness
Process Characteristics Environmental factors such as pollution, noise etc., weather
(e.g. knitting industry), level of humidity and season, rainfall.

Personal Preference Preference of executives and entrepreneur

Government Policy Tax exemptions, legal requirements, Incentives, Availability of
Loan/Land etc.
Local Conditions Community culture and attitude. Past history of industry
located in the area, incidents of labour unrest in the area,
Political Interference etc.
Cost Factors Cost of land, cost of transportation, Wages of unskilled labour

Competition Location of other industries in the area, Market forces for

competition etc.
Intangible Factors International considerations, Possibility for expansion and
growth, School, Churches, Medical, Recreation Facilities etc.
Comparative study of Rural and Urban Sites
Factors Urban/ Sub- Rural/
City site Urban Country
site
Availability of land Less Moderate Plenty

Cost of land High Moderate Low

Connected by rail/road etc. Well Moderate Poor

Availability of labour Less Moderate More

Wages of labour More Moderate Less

 Comparative study of Rural and Urban Sites

Factors Urban/City Sub- Rural/

site Urban Country
site
Communication network like internet, Very good Moderate Poor
facsimile, telephone, e-mail etc.

Power and water availability Good Moderate Poor

Supporting industries and ancillaries units Near by Moderate Far

Quality of life, such as recreation, school, Very good Moderate Poor

hospital etc.

Market and consumer Near by Moderate To be built

Building for site May be rented or Rented Poor
build
Comparative study of Rural and Urban Sites

Factors Urban/ Sub- Rural/

City site Urban Country
site
Availability and retaining potential for Better Not available
professional like manger and engineers outside

Training of workers and foreman In local May or may Less

institutions not

Security Better Moderate Less

Expansion of site Difficult Moderate Easy
Taxes More Moderate Less
Government support Less More
Union problem and industrial relation Poor Better
 Comparative study of Rural and Urban Sites

Factors Urban/City Sub- Rural/

site Urban Country site
Pollution and environmental More Less
constraints
Waste disposal Difficult Easy
Location of sub contractors, retailers, Nearby Far
etc.
Incentives from financial institutions Less More
like banks, IDBI, IFCI etc.
 A Good Layout ...
• Reduces bottlenecks in moving people or material.
• Minimizes materials-handling costs.
• Reduces hazards to personnel.
• Utilizes labor efficiently.
• Increases morale.
• Utilizes available space effectively and efficiently.
• Provides flexibility.
• Provides ease of supervision.
• Facilitates coordination and face-to-face
communication where appropriate.
 Computer Packages (Unit 2)
• Heuristic, improvement algorithms.
• CRAFT (Computerized Relative Allocation of Facilities
Techniques) is the best known of the heuristics approaches;
attempts to minimize materials-handling cost by calculating cost,
pair-wise interchanging departments, calculating more costs until a
good solution is obtained.
• ALDEP (Automated Layout Design Program) and CORELAP
(Computerized Relationship Layout Planning) attempt to maximize
a nearness rating within the facility dimension constraints.
• PREP (Plant Re-layout and Evaluation Package) analyzes
multilevel structures and is based on actual footage traveled by
materials-handling equipment.