Topic 10 Facility Design and Line Balancing

Facility Layout Design

Facility Layout: Determine the Relative Positions of each Unit (Department/Process Function/Machine Center) within the Facility (Plant/Shop). Facility Layout will determine the Work Flow Patterns (Job/Material/Worker) in the Facility.

Layout Design: has a significant impact on most Operational Performance Measures, especially on: --Materials Handling Costs --Production Cost --Production Leadtime --Inventory Level --Quality Control

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Major Objectives of Facility Layout Design

1. Simplify Work Flow Pattern within the Facility.

2. Reduce Material-Handling Costs.

3. Increase Utilization of Resources (Machine/Labor/Space/..)

4. Provide Flexibility that Required.

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Some Objectives of Facility Layouts

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Facility Layout
Facility layout means planning:
for location of all machines, utilities, employee workstations, customer service areas, material storage areas, aisles, restrooms, lunchrooms, internal walls, offices and computer rooms for the flow pattern of materials and people around, into and within buildings

Characteristics of the Facility Layout Decision

Location of these various area impacts the flow through the system The layout can affect productivity and costs generated by the system Layout alternatives are limited by o The amount and type of space required for various areas o The amount and type of space available] o The operations strategy Layout decisions tend to be: o Infrequent o Expensive to implement o Studied and evaluated extensively o Long-term commitments

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Material Handling in Layout Design

o o The central focus of most manufacturing layouts is to minimize the cost of processing, transporting, and storing materials throughout the production system. Materials used in manufacturing include: o Raw material o Purchased components o Work-in-process o Finished goods o Packaging material o Maintenance, repair, and operating supplies

A material-handling system is the entire network of transportation that: o Receives material o Stores material in inventories o Moves material between products into vehicles for delivery to customers Material-Handling Principles o Move directly (no zigzagging/backtracking) o Minimize human effort required o Move heavy/bulky items the shortest distance o Minimize number of times same item is moved o MH systems should be flexible o Mobile equipment should carry full load
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Material-Handling Equipment o Automatic transfer devices/Containers/pallets/hand carts o Conveyers/Cranes/Elevators/Pipelines/Turntables/AGVS

Types of Facility Layout

1. Process Layout: Similar Machines are Grouped together as Specific Work Centers (WC). (Functional/Departmental Layout) (e.g., Job Shop) 2. Product Layout: Machines are installed According to Operations Sequence through which designed Product is made. (Line Layout) (e.g., Assembly Line/Continuous Process) 3. Project Layout: Equipments are fixed at Specified Position. (Fixed Position Layout) (e.g., Project Shop: Aircraft Plant/Ship Building Yard) 4. Cellular Layout: Selected Machines are grouped to form several Manufacturing Cells, each produces a specific group of products. (GT Layout, GT- Group Technology) (e.g., Cellular Shop)
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What is Layout Planning?

Key Design Choices: a. What centers should we include? b. How much space and capacity for each center? c. How to configure the space? d. Where should each be located? Relative Location: can affect travel time, material handling cost, and communication Absolute Location: can affect cost to change layout and customer reactions Four Major Layout Types: a. Process layout: organizes resources around the process and groups workstations or departments according to function b. Product (Line) layout: dedicates resources to a product or closely related product family Challenge in designing product layoutsbalance tasks, equalize the workload assigned to resouces c. Hybrid layout (Cellular layoutGroup technology): combines elements of both a flexible flow and line flow facility with both fabrication and assembly operations d. Fixed-position layout: product is fixed in place; resources come to the product, minimizing number of times product must be moved Group Technology (GT)

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 Group parts into families that have identical processing steps Changeover from producing one part to another requires only

minor setup adjustments Product family volume justifies dedication of machines, which are arranged into flow lines called cells

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Group Technology/Cellular Manufacturing

o Group Technology o Each part produced receives a multi-digit code that describes the physical characteristics of the part. o Parts with similar characteristics are grouped into part families o Parts in a part family are typically made on the same machines with similar tools o Cellular Manufacturing o Some part families (those requiring significant batch sizes) can be assigned to manufacturing cells. o The organization of the shop floor into cells is referred to as cellular manufacturing o Flow of parts within cells tend to be more like productfocused systems. o Advantages (relative to a job shop) o Process changeovers simplified o Variability of tasks reduced (less training needed) o More direct routes through the system o Production planning and control simpler o Automation simpler

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Process Layout vs. Product Layout

Process Layout Product Mix: Product Volume: Machine Type Flexibility Work Flow Pattern Automation: Initial Cost Variable Cost Plan & Control Leadtime WIP Level: MGT Concerns: Large & Dynamic Low to Medium General/NonDedicated High Batch Flow/Random Low Low High Order Based/Complex Very Long High Scheduling, Leadtime, Costs Product Layout Small & Stable High Special/Dedicated Low Continuous/Linear High High Low Flow Rate Based Short Very Low Efficiency, Line Balancing

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Layout Design in Service

Process Layout and Product Layout are also two major facility layout designs in Service operations.

Some Examples: Process Layout:

Product Layout:

Some Specific Considerations in Service Layout Design: Must provide entryways to customer. Must provide waiting space for customers.

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 Need separation of rooms for customer privacy.

Process Layout Design Procedure

1. Collect Required Data: (Product Mix/Production Volume/....) 2. Determine the Number of Work Centers. 3. Determine Space Requirement for Each Work Center. 4. Examine Relationships among Work Centers based on: Material Handling Costs, Transportation Capability, Supportive Factors (Loading & Unloading/Closeness to Computer Center/......) Specific Requirement. 5. Develop Layout Alternative Plans.

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Shipping

Receiving Finished Goods Storage

Machine Shop

Layout by Process

Raw Material Storage Plating Dept. Painting Dept.

6. Evaluate Alternative Plans and Make Final Selection.

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Foundry Dept..

Final Assembly Area

Inspection

Process Layout Design Methods

1. Small Size Problems (Theoretical): Optimizing Techniques. (Linear Programming/Integer Programming/Transportation Model/...) (N < 10)

2. Medium Size Problems (Practical): Computerized Software Packages of Various Solution Heuristics. (CRAFT/BDA/ALDEP/CORELAP/SLP/PLANPAK/..) (N = 10 - 50)

3. Large Size Problems (Most Practical): Computer Simulation. (Special Language: GPSS) (N > 50)

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Service Operations Layout

Office (Service) Layouts:
Recent Poll: a 1400 service worker poll revealed that 75% felt

a better layout would improve their productivity Management indirectly used layout as a spatial language to say: You are special/Out of supervisors watchful eyes/Satisfied social needs Proximity: a. The usual approach is to design office layouts around work flows and communication patterns b. The assumption is that proximity helps with understanding mutual interests, and even friendship Privacy: a. Crowding and noise can hurt performance and attitudes Options in office layout: Privacy is expensive; the capital investment in open-plan layouts is about 40% less; an open plan maximizes flexibility A trade-off between privacy and proximity is possible Traditional layouts Closed offices for some Open areas for others Office landscaping Everyone in the open: plants, screens, and portable partitions for semiprivate space Activity settings Home base: a personal nook; position no longer means place Multiple workplaces Telecommuting or electronic cottages

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Product Layout Design

Line Layout: All Work Stations (WS) are Located along Production Line in a Pre-Specified Sequence. A Series of Operations Performed in the Same Order. A Transportation Device Connecting all WSs to Form a Line. All Machines are dedicated to Perform certain operations tasks.

Design Questions: How Many Work Stations in the Line? How Operation Tasks are assigned to Each Work Station?

There is No "Relative Position" Issue in Line Layout Design.

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Why Line Need Be Balanced?

Example: (Assign 10 Operation Tasks to 5 Work Stations) Tasks: Operation Time: A 2 B 3 C 9 D 1 E 14 F 16 G 4 H 1 I 7 J 13

Work Station: (1), (2), (3), (4), (5) Precedence Requirement: (A) (B) (C) (D) (E) (F) (G) (H) (I) (J)

Initial Assignment: Tasks: (A,B) WSs : (1) (C,D) (2) (E,F) (G,H) (3) (4) (I,J) (5)

Question: How About the Performance of This Production Line?

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1. Shortest Time Interval a Finished Product out off Line = ? (Cycle Time Maximum of Individual Task Operation Time) 2. Stable Output Rate of this Line = ? 3. Idle (Slack) Time at Each WS = ? 4. Total Slack Time of the Line = ? 5. Is this Line Balanced ?

Objectives of Line Balancing: To Minimize Total Slack Time (Two Types of Problems)

1. Given the Number of WS - Minimize the Cycle Time (Maximize Output Rate) 2. Given the Cycle Time - Minimize the Number of WS (Maximize Utilization)
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Elements of Line Balancing Problem

1. Task: Smallest Work Element. 2. Task Processing Time: Time Required to Complete a Task. 3. Work Station (WS): A Location along the Line Where Tasks Are Processed. (Operator/Machine/Robotic/....) 4. Work Load of A WS: The Sum of the Processing Times of All Tasks Assigned to A Work Station. 5. Cycle Time: A Fixed Time Interval for Feeding Two Consecutive Units into the Line. 6. Production Rate: (Output Rate = Input Rate) At Which Work Materials (RM/Subassemblies/Parts) are Fed into the Line. (Production Rate = 1/Cycle Time)

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Line Balancing: Constraints & Assumptions

Constraints: 1. Precedence Requirements: Technical Processing Requirements (e.g., Task B only can be processed after Task A is completed.) (Represented by a Precedence Network/Diagram) 2. Zoning Limitations: Certain Tasks can not be processed at Same Work Station (e.g., Welding vs. Painting). 3. Other Constraints: (Engineering/Behavioral/Environmental).

General Assumptions: 1. A Task can not be Split Among Two or More Work Stations. 2. All Tasks must be processed to complete a Finished Product. 3. Processing Time for a Task will be same at All Work Stations.

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How to Balance a Production Line

1. Collect All Required Information: (Tasks/Processing Times/Precedence Requirements/WS/.....) 2. Draw A Precedence Network/Diagram. 3. Determine: a) The Number of Work Stations - Under Given Cycle Time, or b) The Cycle Time - Under Given Number of Work Stations 4. Select Task-Assignment Methods: (Optimizing: LP/Heuristics/Computer Simulation/.....) 5. Assign Tasks to Work Stations. 6. Evaluate Assignment Solution: (Efficiency/Total Slack Time/Utilization Level/ Production Rate)

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Planning Product (Line) Layouts

Line Balancing Procedure 1. Determine the task involved in completing I unit 2. Determine the order in which tasks must be done 3. Draw a precedence diagram 4. Estimate task times 5. Calculate the cycle time 6. Calculate the minimum number of workstations 7. Use a heuristic to assign tasks to workstations Line Balancing Heuristics Heuristic methods, based on simple rules, have been developed to provide good (not optimal) solutions to line balancing problems Heuristic methods include: Shortest-Task-Time (SPT) method Longest-task-time (LPT) method .. and many others Rebalancing a Production Line Changes that can lead to production lines being out of balance or having insufficient/excess capacity are: Change in demand
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 Machine modifications Variations in employee learning and training

Task Assignment Heuristics

1. LPT (Next Longest Processing Time Task first): Select the Task that has the Largest Processing Time but still fit to the WS Available Time.

2. SPT (Next Shortest Processing Time Task first): Select the Task that has the Shortest Processing Time and still fit to the WS Available Time.

3. MSF (Most Successors Task first): Select the Task that has the Most Successors and still fit to the WS Available Time.

4. LSPT (Largest Successor's Processing Time Task First): Select the Task that has the Largest Successor's Processing Time and still fit to the WS Available Time.
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How to Select Line Balancing Heuristics

For a specific problem - How to select? Random? Try all heuristics?

Guidelines: 1. Job Structure: More branches, high flexibility for assignment, and a large task available pool. 2. Task Processing Time distribution: Small Variation, Easy to Balance. Computer Expert Systems have been developed for Line balancing problems.

"Bottleneck" of the Line: Improving on the "bottleneck" work stations will improve the entire production line.
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LINE BALANCING PROBLEM

(Single-Model vs. Mixed-Model)

1. Single-Model Line: Only one product is processed on the line. All items are Identical - No Job Sequencing Issue. Major Management Concern: Balancing the Line Only. (Advantages: Simple and Easy to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling)

2. Mixed-Model Line: More than two products are processed on the same Line. Items are Different. Major Management Concern: Both Item Sequencing & Line Balancing are to be Considered together to Achieve Better Performance. (Advantages: High Utilization/Eliminate line Changeovers/...) Why Mixed: Capacity of Line > Demand of A Single Product

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Subjective Considerations in Assembly Line Balancing Problems

Job enlargement vs. Job specializationemployee motivation Choice of cycle timespeed of line vs. balance delay Reliability of time estimates for work tasks Space requirements Task decompositioncan a major task be broken down? Segregation of worker skills Special materials handling considerations Supervision problems Safety Quality control Special equipment or services Flexibility of design Interface with schedulingcritical if products can vary Task relatedness

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 In-process inventory

Production Lines: Western versus Japanese

Western Top Priorities; line balance Strategy: stability- long production runs so that the need to rebalance seldom occurs Assume fixed labor assignments Japanese Top priority: flexibility Strategy: flexibility- expect to rebalance often to match output to changing demand Flexible labor: move to the problems or to where the current workload is Use inventory buffers to cushion Employ maximal preventive effects of equipment failure maintenance to keep equipment from breaking down Need sophisticated analysis (e.g., Need human ingenuity to provide using computers) to evaluate and flexibility and ways around cull the many options bottlenecks Planned by staff Supervisor may lead design effort and will adjust plan as needed Plan to run at fixed rate; send Slow for quality problems, speed quality problems off line up when quality is rights Linear of L-shaped lines U-shaped or parallel lines Conveyorized material Put stations close together and movement is desirable avoid conveyors Buy supermachines and keep Make (or buy) small machines, them busy add more copies as needed Applied on labor-intensive final Applied even to capital-intensive assembly subassembly and fabrication work Run mixed models where labor Strive for mixed-model content is similar from model to production, even in subassembly
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model

and fabrication

Line Balancing Problems

1. The Baud Electronics Company produces electronic calculators and is planning to begin production of a new model. An assembly line is to be developed that will produce 500 units per 7.5 hour workday. The tasks, task times, and precedence requirements are given below. Task A B C D E F G H I J Time (seconds) 32 35 15 22 35 38 12 16 31 20 Predecessor None A A A B B D G G I

a) Group the tasks into work stations by selecting the shortest remaining time, from the available list at each selection, so long as that time will fit within the remaining available time at the work station. b) How well balanced is the line? How many work stations are used? c) Balance the line by selecting the longest task time that will fit within the available time for the work station. Is this assignment much different from a)? Why, or why not?

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2. The Montana Appliance Company is installing as assembly line to produce one of its small appliances, and you have been asked to balance the line. The tasks that are to be performed are listed below, along with the time required to perform each task and its immediate predecessor(s). The line is to produce 300 units in a full 8 hours of work. Task A B C D E F G H I J K L M N Time (seconds) 51 22 28 32 39 20 20 16 12 42 44 20 20 12 Predecessor(s) None A A A A B C D E F, G H, I J K I, M

a) Assign tasks to work stations by selecting the longest task that can be assigned at each opportunity. b) Assign tasks to work stations by selecting the shortest task that can be assigned at each opportunity. c) Assign task to work stations by incremental utilization heuristic d) Compare the performance of the above three heuristics.

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Line-Balancing Solution Sheet Problem: #1 (Supplement) a) Assign Tasks by <SPT> Heuristics Work Station Task Available Task Assigned Given: Cycle-Time = 54 Task Time Time Remaining

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Number of Work Stations = Total Slack Time =

Efficiency = (Total Time Total Slack Time)/Total Time = Problem: #1 (Supplement) a) Assign Tasks by <LPT> Heuristics Work Station Task Available Task Assigned Given: Cycle-Time = 54 Task Time Time Remaining

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Number of Work Stations = Total Slack Time =

Efficiency = (Total Time Total Slack Time)/Total Time = Problem: #2 (Supplement) a) Assign Tasks by <LPT> Heuristics Work Station Task Available Task Assigned Given: Cycle-Time = 96 Task Time Time Remaining

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Number of Work Stations = Total Slack Time =

Efficiency = (Total Time Total Slack Time)/Total Time = Problem: #2 (Supplement) a) Assign Tasks by <SPT> Heuristics Work Station Task Available Task Assigned Given: Cycle-Time = 96 Task Time Time Remaining

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Number of Work Stations = Total Slack Time =

Efficiency = (Total Time Total Slack Time)/Total Time = Example: Line-Balance in Service Operations
State Automobile License Renewals Operations
Jessica, the manager of an Atlanta branch office of the state Department of Motor Vehicles, attempted to perform an analysis of the driver's license renewal operations. Several procedural steps were to be performed in the process. After examining the license renewal process, she identified the six steps and associated times required to perform each step, as shown in the following table: State Automobile License Renewals Process Times STEP AVERAGE TIME (in seconds) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1. Review renewal application for correctness 15 2. Process and record payment 30 3. Check file for violations and restrictions 60 4. Conduct eye test 40 5. Photograph applicant 20 6. Issue temporary license 30 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Jessica found that each step was assigned to a different person. Each application was through a same process in the sequence shown above. Jessica determined that her office should be prepared to accommodate the maximum demand of processing 120 renewal applicants per hour. She observed that the work was unevenly divided among the clerks, and the clerk who was responsible for checking violations tended to shortcut her task to keep up with the other clerks. Long lines built up during the maximum demand periods. She also found that first 4 steps were handled by general clerks who were each paid $6.00 per hour, while Step-5 was performed by a photographer paid $8 per hour. Step 6, the issuing of a temporary license, was required by state policy to be handled by a uniformed motor

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vehicle officer. Officers were paid $9.00 per hour, but they could be assigned to any other job except photography. A review of the jobs indicated that Step-1, reviewing the application for correctness, must be performed before any other step could be taken. Similarly, Step-6, issuing the temporary license, could not be performed until all the other steps were completed. The branch offices were charged $5 per hour for each camera to perform photography. Jessica was under severe pressure to increase productivity and reduce costs, but she was also told by the regional director of the Department of' Motor Vehicles that she had better accommodate the demand for renewals. Otherwise, "heads would roll." DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: 1. What is the maximum number of applications per hour that can be handled by the present configuration of the process? 2. How many applications can be processed per hour if a second clerk is added to check for violations? (Make the assumptions you need for your answer.) 3. Assuming the addition of one more clerk, what is the maximum number of applications the process can handle? 4. How would you suggest modifying the process in order to accommodate 120 applications per hour?

Review Questions for Topic - 10 <Facility Layout Design>

Be prepared to discuss the following cases: (a) State Auto License Renew Operations (Supplement: p.10-33) (1) Define product layout vs. process layout. What is a departmental layout? A project layout? (2) Describe the quantitative approach (using flow matrix) that was used in the process analysis. What is SLP? (3) Define the objective function and constraints in assembly line balancing. How is the cycle time computed? Using the heuristic algorithm given in class, be prepared to balance an assembly line configuration and compute the efficiency of your solution. (4) Describe several non-quantitative considerations in the assembly line balancing problem. (5) What is meant by the term "heuristic?" Provide an example of a heuristic algorithm used in operations management. (6) Explain the use of "balance delay" in determining the efficiency of an assembly line design. Explain the relationship between the "balance delay" and the "efficiency" of an assembly line design. (7) What is "over-cycling" in assembly line design? How can over-cycling be related to the sequencing of products on the assembly line during operation? (8) Explain the group technology approach to facility layout. (9) Based on p.10-26 (Supplement), summarize a few key differences in U.S. and Japanese production line management. 10) Explain the description of the differences in product and process layout in the services. 11) What is the essential requirement for mixed-model production lines to be practical?

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