FACILITY LAYOUT USING LAYOUT MODULES

DISSERTATION

Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor
of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University


By
Heng Huang, M.S.
*****

The Ohio State University
2003

Dissertation Committee: Approved by
Professor Shahrukh A. Irani, Advisor
Professor Clark A. Mount-Campbell Advisor
Professor Tito Homem-de-Mello Industrial and Systems Engineering
Graduate Program



ABSTRACT


The Functional, Flowline and Cellular Layouts are traditional facility layouts that
have been discussed in the literature and implemented in industry. Selection of an
appropriate layout for a multi-product facility poses a major challenge since the best
decomposition of its material flow network is usually achieved by a hybrid layout that
must combine the flow and machine grouping attributes of the three traditional layouts.
Unfortunately, the Systematic Layout Planning (SLP) design process does not describe
specific methods for product mix segmentation and department planning for design of
jobshop layouts. It lacks a systematic method for varying the manufacturing focus of the
different planning departments (or activities) into which the jobshop can be decomposed.
We enhance the SLP process by integrating Production Flow Analysis (PFA) into SLP.
Adoption of algorithms and principles of PFA in the process of SLP can eliminate the
two limitations of SLP: (a) incapability of using product routings, instead of the From-To
chart, as input data, and (b) incapability of generating layouts that are a hybrid
combination of Functional and Cellular layouts.
A review of the literature shows that a fundamental requirement for the design of
modern facility layouts is the distribution of identical machines at multiple locations in
the facility. Our research shows that the material flow network in any facility layout can
be decomposed into a network of layout modules, with each module representing a
ii
portion of the entire facility. A layout module is defined as a group of machines
connected by a material flow network that exhibits a flow pattern characteristic of a
specific type of layout, such as the Flowline, Cellular or Functional Layout. The concept
of layout modules extends current thinking on input data requirements and methods for
facility layout, and supports the need for a new generation of facility layouts beyond the
three traditional layouts that continue to be studied and implemented in industry. We
propose a group technology based heuristic approach as an alternative method for
generation of layout modules and design of modular layouts, based on a new similarity
measure for comparison of operation sequences.


iii












Dedicated to Huili Zhang, my dearest wife
iv



ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I wish to express my deepest appreciation to Professor Shahrukh A. Irani, my
advisor and mentor, for his excellent guidance and counseling which made this
dissertation possible, and for his financial support for my graduate study at The Ohio
State University.
I am grateful to Professor Clark A. Mount-Campbell and Professor Tito Homem-
de-Mello for their patience in correcting my scientific errors and their useful comments
on my research.
I would like to thank the Department of Industrial, Welding and Systems
Engineering for providing comfortable learning and research environment.
I also wish to thank my family, especially my wife, for their encouragement,
enthusiasm and emotional support.
This research was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation.
v



VITA
1994 B.S. Instrument and Its Automation, Tianjin University, China
1997 M.S. Systems Engineering, Tianjin University, China
1997 present Graduate Research Associate, The Ohio State University

Publication
1. Huang, H. and Irani, S.A. (2003). An enhanced systematic layout planning process
for high-variety low-volume (HVLV) manufacturing facilities. To appear in The 17
th

International Conference on Production Research, Blacksburg, VA, August 3-7.

2. Huang, H. and Irani, S.A. (1999). Design of facility layouts using layout modules: A
numerical clustering approach. Proceedings of the 8
th
Industrial Engineering
Research Conference, Phoenix, AZ, May 23-26.

3. Irani, S.A. and Huang, H. (2000). Custom design of facility layouts for multi-product
facilities using layout modules. IEEE Transactions on Robotics and Automation,
16(3), 259-267.

4. Irani, S.A. and Huang, H. (2000). A new approach for department planning to
minimize inter-departmental material handling traffic in a custom manufacturing
facility. Proceedings of the 6
th
International Colloquium on Material Handling
Research, York, PA, June 11-14.

5. Irani, S.A. and Huang, H. (2000). A pattern recognition approach for facility
compaction and selection of flexible automation. Proceedings of the North American
Manufacturing Research Conference, Lexington, KY, May 24-26.

6. Irani, S.A. and Huang, H. (2000). Facility layout using layout modules. Proceedings
of the Y2K NSF Design and Manufacturing Research Conference, Vancouver, BC,
Canada, January 3-6.

7. Irani, S.A. and Huang, H. (1998). Layout modules: A novel extension of hybrid
cellular layouts. Proceedings of the 1998 ASME International Mechanical
vi
Engineering Congress & Exposition and Winter Annual Meeting of the ASME,
Anaheim, CA, November 15-20.

8. Irani, S.A., Huang, H., Zhang, H. and Zhou, J. (2001). Computer methods for
implementation of production flow analysis. In Cellular Manufacturing: A Practical
Approach, Quarterman Lee (Editor), Institute of Industrial Engineers: Norcross, GA.

9. Irani, S.A., Zhang, H., Zhou, J., Huang, H., Tennati, K.U. and Subramanian, S.
(2000). Production flow analysis and simplification toolkit (PFAST). International
Journal of Production Research, 38(8), 1855-1874.

10. Irani, S.A., Zhou, J. and Huang, H. (2003). A pattern recognition approach for
facility compaction by machining function combination using flexible manufacturing
models. To appear in The ASME Journal of Manufacturing Science and Engineering.

11. Irani, S.A., Zhou, J. and Huang, H. (2001). Design of manufacturing facility layouts
by unification of matrix, string and graph representations of material flow networks.
Proceedings of the 2001 NSF Design, Manufacturing and Industrial Innovation
Research Conference (CD-ROM only), Tampa, FL, January 7-10.

12. Irani, S.A., Zhou, J. and Huang, H. (2000). Facility layout using operation sequences:
History, limitations and alternatives to the from-to chart. Submitted to IIE
Transactions.

13. Irani, S.A., Zhou, J. and Huang, H. (2000). Layout design for custom manufacturing
and assembly facilities using a single flow mapping tool. Newsletter of the Facilities
Planning and Design Division (FAPAD) of the Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE),
Fall, 1-4.

14. Irani, S.A., Zhou, J. and Huang, H. (2000). Integrated use of operation sequences and
from-to charts for analysis of material flow patterns. Proceedings of the 6
th

International Colloquium on Material Handling Research, York, PA, June 11-14.

15. Irani, S.A., Zhou, J., Huang, H. and Udai, T.K. (2000). Enhancements in facility
layout tools using cell formation techniques. Proceedings of the Y2K NSF Design and
Manufacturing Research Conference, Vancouver, BC, Canada, January 3-6.


Field of Study
Industrial and Systems Engineering
vii



TABLE OF CONTENTS


Page
ABSTRACT........................................................................................................................ii
DEDICATION....................................................................................................................iv
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ..................................................................................................v
VITA. ......................................................................................................................vi
LIST OF TABLE................................................................................................................x
LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................xii

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................................1

CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW: FACILITY LAYOUTS ...........................................................6
2.1. Traditional Types of Facility Layouts .......................................................... 6
2.2. Non-Traditional Types of Facility Layouts.................................................. 8
2.3. Trends in Facility Layouts observed in Industry........................................ 15

CHAPTER 3
SYSTEMATIC LAYOUT PLANNING WITH PRODUCTION FLOW
ANALYSIS.........................................................................................................................22
3.1. Department Splitting and Machine Duplication......................................... 22
3.2. History of From-To Chart .......................................................................... 24
3.3. Fundamental Limitations of the From-To Chart ........................................ 27
3.4. Limitations of Some Concepts and Assumptions....................................... 32
3.5. Systematic Layout Planning with Production Flow Analysis .................... 36




viii
CHAPTER 4
MERGER COEFFICIENT A NEW STRING MATCHING METHOD FOR
COMPARISON OF OPERATION SEQUENCES ............................................................46
4.1. Analysis of Differences between Operation Sequences............................. 47
4.2. Calculation of Distance/Similarity between Operation Sequences............ 52
4.3. Typical Distance/Similarity Measures for Comparison of Operation
Sequences ................................................................................................... 54
4.4. Merger Coefficient ..................................................................................... 59
4.5. Cluster Analysis using Merger Coefficient ................................................ 67

CHAPTER 5
DESIGN OF MODULAR LAYOUTS...............................................................................82
5.1. Layout Modules: A New Concept in Facility Layout ................................ 84
5.2. Problem Description for Designing A Modular Layout............................. 87
5.3. A Heuristic Procedure for Generation of Layout Modules ........................ 92
5.4. Comparison of Alternative Layouts ......................................................... 115
5.5. Case Study................................................................................................ 119

CHAPTER 6
DESIGN OF FLEXIBLE MACHINING MODULES USING LAYOUT
MODULES...................................................................................................129
6.1. Facility Compaction by An FMS ............................................................. 130
6.2. Impact of Flexible Machining Modules on Product Throughput Times.. 133
6.3. Feasibility of Multi-Function FMMs ....................................................... 135
6.4. Layout Modules as A Basis for Design of FMMs.................................... 137
6.5. An Illustration of Conceptual Design of FMMs and FMCs..................... 139

BIBLIOGRAPHY...............................................................................................................147

ix



LIST OF TABLE
Table Page
3.1 Departments in the Jobshop .........................................................................28
3.2 Operation Sequences and Batch Quantities of Parts produced in the
Jobshop.........................................................................................................29
3.3 From-To Chart for Facility Layout Design for the Jobshop ........................29
4.1 Comparison of Merger Coefficient with other Distance/Similarity
Measures.......................................................................................................66
4.2 Operation Sequences for the Sample of Parts ..............................................73
4.3 Levenshtein Distances for the Sample of Parts ............................................74
4.4 Askin and Zhous Similarity Coefficients for the Sample of Parts..............75
4.5 Merger Coefficients for the Sample of Parts................................................76
4.6 Levenshtein Distance based Similarity Coefficients for the Sample of
Parts ..............................................................................................................77
5.1 Comparison of Flow Complexity for Layout Modules ................................89
5.2 Operation Sequences for the Sample of Parts ..............................................93
5.3 Common Substrings between all Pairs of Operation Sequences..................96
5.4 Unique Common Substrings ........................................................................97
5.5 Merger Coefficients for All Pairs of Dominant Common Substrings
(DCS)............................................................................................................104
5.6 Basic Layout Modules..................................................................................106
5.7 Commonalities between Basic Layout Modules ..........................................107
5.8 Modular Sequences for the Sample of Parts ................................................109
5.9 Adjustment of Layout Modules....................................................................110
5.10 Adjusted Modular Sequences for the Sample of Parts .................................111
5.11 Machine Requirements in Layout Modules and as Residual Machines.......114
5.12 Comparison of the Alternative Layouts on Flow Complexity .....................117
5.13 Comparison of the Alternative Layouts on Flexibility.................................118
x
5.14 Routings of Parts ..........................................................................................119
5.15 Dominant Common Substrings ....................................................................120
5.16 Merger Coefficients for All Pairs of Dominant Common Substrings
(DCS)............................................................................................................121
5.17 Basic Layout Modules..................................................................................124
5.18 Commonalities among Basic Layout Modules ............................................125
5.19 Merger of Basic Layout Modules.................................................................125
5.20 Modular Sequences for the Parts..................................................................126
5.21 Adjusted Modular Sequences for the Parts ..................................................127
6.1 Examples of Facility Compaction by an FMS (Iwata, 1984).......................131
6.4 Unique Common Substring..........................................................................140
6.2 Routings for a Sample of Parts obtained from a Machining Jobshop..........141
6.3 Identification of Unique Routings in the Sample of Parts............................142
6.5 Directed Graph Representation of Overall Material Flows in the
Jobshop.........................................................................................................144

xi



LIST OF FIGURES
Figure Page
2.1 Traditional Types of Facility Layouts ..........................................................7
2.2 Classification of Traditional and Non-Traditional Layouts .........................8
3.1 Functional Layout generated using Tables 3.1 and 3.2................................30
3.2 Software Packages for Facility Layout ........................................................31
3.3 The Systematic Layout Planning Design Process (Muther, 1973)...............37
3.4 Algorithms for Production Flow Analysis (Irani et al, 2000) ......................40
3.5 Systematic Layout Planning with Production Flow Analysis ......................42
3.6 Overall Framework of Production Flow Analysis using PFAST.................43
3.7 Detailed Framework of Production Flow Analysis Using PFAST ..............44
3.8 Utilization of Various PFAST Modules for Department Planning ..............45
4.1 Layout Changes corresponding to Editing of an Operation Sequence.........48
4.2 Trace Analysis of Differences between Operation Sequences.....................49
4.3 Alignment Analysis of Differences between Operation Sequences.............50
4.4 Listing Analysis of Differences between Operation Sequences...................51
4.5 Comparison Process for Compliant Indexes ................................................58
4.6 Illustration of Calculating Merger Distance and Interruption Distance.......64
4.7 Average Linkage Clustering of the Sample of Parts using Levenshtein
Distance........................................................................................................78
4.8 Average Linkage Clustering of the Sample of Parts using Askin and
Zhous Similarity Coefficient.......................................................................79
4.9 Average Linkage Clustering of the Sample of Parts using Merger
Coefficient ....................................................................................................80
4.10 Threshold Trends of the Distance/Similarity Measures ...............................81
5.1 Illustration of Layout Modules.....................................................................87
5.2 Algorithm for Finding Common_Substrings in Two Operation
Sequences .....................................................................................................95
xii
5.3 Agglomerative Hierarchical Clustering of Dominant Common
Substrings .....................................................................................................105
5.4 Flow Diagram for the Modular Layout ........................................................112
5.5 Modular Layout for the Sample of Parts ......................................................115
5.6 Functional Layout for the Sample of Parts...................................................116
5.7 Flowline Cellular Layout for the Sample of Parts........................................117
5.8 Agglomerative Hierarchical Clustering of Dominant Common
Substrings .....................................................................................................122
5.9 Layout Module M5 after Absorption of Residual Machines .......................126
5.10 Flow Diagram for the Modular Layout ........................................................128
6.1 Five-Axis Machining Center with Tilting Contouring Spindle (Wick,
1987).............................................................................................................132
6.2 Four-Axis Turning Center Combined with a Five-Axis Machining
Head for Nine-Axis Machining (Wick, 1987)..............................................132
6.3 Examples of how Fumes help to eliminate Delay Elements in Product
Throughput Time (Warnecke and Steinhilper, 1983) ..................................134
6.4 Machine Tool Classification System for Design Feasibility of Multi-
Function FMMs (Ito and Shinno, 1982).......................................................136
6.5 Clusters of Similar Common Substrings converted into FMMs, an
FMC and Cell-type Layout Modules............................................................143
6.6 Decomposition of Overall Material Flow Network into Layout
Modules ........................................................................................................143
6.7 Facility Layout for the Jobshop based on Table 6.5.....................................145
6.8 Layout of Pilot Cell that was implemented by the Jobshop.........................145
6.9 Location of Pilot Cell in the Overall Layout of the Jobshop........................146



xiii



CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Production consists of a sequence of operations that transform materials from a
given to a desired form. The transformation may be done in one or in a combination of
the following ways (Eilon, 1962): (a) transformation by disintegration, having essentially
one ingredient as input and producing several outputs; (b) transformation by integration
or assembly, using several components as input and obtaining essentially one product as
output; (c) transformation by service, where virtually no change in the object under
consideration is perceptible but where certain operations are performed to change one of
the parameters which define the object. No matter what transformations are used in the
factory, there are four major measures for the output (Eilon, 1962): quality, quantity,
time, and price.
A facility layout can have a significant effect on these four measures. Phillips
(1997) described how these measures can be improved by a good facility layout:
1) Quality improvement. Manufacturing cell (single-part or very small batch
flow), product focused facility layouts tend to have high-quality output
when compared with functionally-segregated, large-scale, batch-process-

- 1 -
oriented layouts. It usually holds for some portion of products in most
companies engaged in light manufacturing.
2) Accurate quantity and time delivery as requested and scheduled. Focused
business units with cellular manufacturing can facilitate lower cycle time
through the factory, which can improve delivery performance. In a mixed
factory environment, with several business units competing for support
services, there needs to be balance. That balance revolves around the issue
of which functions should be centralized and serve all units and which
should be totally included within each factory business unit or cell.
3) Price reduction. To keep the product prices low, we need to consistently
minimize overhead and factory costs. Two major elements of the direct and
indirect costs equation are material handling and facility layout, where the
former can be improved by better location of equipment, reduced handling
distances, and better co-ordination of the entire handling activity.

Facility layout design determines how to arrange, locate and distribute the
equipment and support services in a manufacturing facility to achieve minimization of
overall production time, maximization of operational and arrangement flexibility,
maximization of turnover of work-in-process and maximization of factory output in
conformance with production schedules. Systematic Layout Planning (SLP) (Muther,
1973) is an organized way to conduct layout design. SLP consists of a framework of
phases through which each layout design project passes, a pattern of step-by-step

- 2 -
procedures for layout planners to perform, and a set of conventions for identifying and
evaluating various activities and alternatives involved in any layout design procedure.
The Functional, Flowline and Cellular Layouts are traditional facility layouts that
have been discussed in the literature and implemented in industry. Selection of an
appropriate layout for a multi-product facility poses a major challenge since the best
decomposition of its material flow network is usually achieved by a hybrid layout that
must combine the flow and machine grouping attributes of the three traditional layouts.
Unfortunately, the Systematic Layout Planning (SLP) design process does not describe
specific methods for product mix segmentation and department planning for design of
jobshop layouts. It lacks a systematic method for varying the manufacturing focus of the
different planning departments (or activities) into which the jobshop can be decomposed.
We enhance the SLP process by integrating Production Flow Analysis (PFA) into SLP.
Adoption of algorithms and principles of PFA in the process of SLP can eliminate the
two limitations of SLP: (a) incapability of using product routings, instead of the From-To
chart, as input data, and (b) incapability of generating layouts that are a hybrid
combination of Functional and Cellular layouts.
A review of the literature shows that a fundamental requirement for the design of
modern facility layouts is the distribution of identical machines at multiple locations in
the facility. Our research shows that the material flow network in any facility layout can
be decomposed into a network of layout modules, with each module representing a
portion of the entire facility. A layout module is defined as a group of machines
connected by a material flow network that exhibits a flow pattern characteristic of a

- 3 -
specific type of layout, such as the Flowline, Cellular or Functional Layout. The concept
of layout modules extends current thinking on input data requirements and methods for
facility layout, and supports the need for a new generation of facility layouts beyond the
three traditional layouts that continue to be studied and implemented in industry. We
propose a group technology based heuristic approach as an alternative method for
generation of layout modules and design of modular layouts, based on a new similarity
measure for comparison of operation sequences.
Our research extends current thinking on input data requirements and methods for
facility layout. In addition, it supports the need for a new generation of facility layouts
beyond the three traditional layouts that continue to be studied and implemented in
industry. The concepts and methods discussed in this dissertation extend the state-of-the-
art in the theory and practice of facility layout techniques as follows:
The department in a facility is allowed to contain a combination of
multiple compatible processes, instead of a single process. Similarly, the
formation of a partial cell is allowed since the threshold values of
operation sequence similarity for grouping dissimilar products into
families are subjective and vary with each sample of product routings
specific to a particular jobshop.
Facility planners are allowed to take a logical approach to duplicating
machines of the same function at multiple locations in a facility based on
their occurrence in different combinations of operations required for
different families of routings.

- 4 -
More than one type of layout can be used to arrange the different
machines and resources in a facility.
This dissertation is organized as follows. Chapter 2 reviews the contemporary
literature on design of facility layouts, including both traditional and non-traditional
layouts, and discusses the trends in facility layout observed in industry. Chapter 3 points
out the limitations of the SLP process and presents an enhanced SLP process with
integration of PFA into SLP. Chapter 4 introduces a new similarity measure for
comparison of operation sequences, and compares it with other distance/similarity
measures. In chapter 5, the concept of layout modules and flow pattern characteristic of
each module are introduced. A group technology based heuristic approach is proposed for
the problem of designing modular layouts. A case study is studied using data from a local
sheet metal fabrication jobshop. Chapter 6 presents an application of concept of layout
modules to design of flexible machining modules.

- 5 -



CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW: FACILITY LAYOUTS

2.1. Traditional Types of Facility Layouts
Traditionally, three types of layout are considered appropriate for a manufacturing
facility Flowline (Product), Cellular (Group) and Functional (Process) as shown in
Figure 2.1. In a Functional Layout, machines with identical manufacturing capabilities
are grouped into a single department. The different process-specialized departments,
such as Turning, Grinding, Milling, Broaching and Heat Treatment, are located relative to
each other in order to increase machine utilization and production flexibility. In contrast,
in a Cellular Layout, each department in the Functional Layout could be split and the
machines in it allocated among two or more cells. Each cell is a group of machines
from different process departments co-located in a dedicated section of the shopfloor.
However, each cell is capable of producing some subset (also referred to as a part family)
of the complete product mix produced in the facility. In essence, a Functional Layout has
a process focus whereas a Cellular Layout has a part family focus. The Flowline Layout
combines the properties of the Functional and Cellular Layouts. All of the machines and
support services required to make a single part (or a family of variants of a product) are

- 6 -
located in a single department (Wolstenholme et al, 1980). The production capacity of
each type of equipment in a Flowline Layout is balanced against that of the others as
nearly as practicable, by using as many units of each type as are required to obtain the
desired capacity to satisfy demand volumes (Ireson, 1952).




Figure 2.1: Traditional Types of Facility Layouts


- 7 -

2.2. Non-Traditional Types of Facility Layouts
In an extension to the traditional layouts, many non-traditional layouts have been
introduced. Figure 2.2 presents a classification of traditional and non-traditional facility
layouts using a product vs. process focus as the basis for grouping and placement of
machines in a manufacturing facility layout. The prevailing new concepts that appeared
in recent literature on facility layout design include Agile, Flexible, Fractal, Holonic,
Hybrid Cellular, Modular, Multi-Channel Manufacturing, and Responsibility Networks
layouts. An overview on these layouts is given below.

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Increasing product focus Increasing process focus Next Generation Facility Layouts

Figure 2.2: Classification of Traditional and Non-Traditional Layouts

- 8 -


Agile Manufacturing Layouts (Kochhar and Heragu, 1999; Montreuil, 2000):
Intense global competition, rapid technological change and a growing responsiveness of
the manufacturing and service industries to a cost and quality conscious customer have
changed the dynamics of manufacturing systems planning. The new paradigm for facility
design must recognize that the character of design has to be essentially dynamic. Product
mix and demand are constantly in a state of flux. A manufacturing facility needs to be
agile and responsive to the frequent changes in product mix and demand. In the adaptive
manufacturing environment, the robustness of any design over a long planning horizon is
questionable and changes to the layout design must be made frequently. Simultaneously,
changes in the design of processing and material handling equipment are also inevitable.
An agile facility must be able to adapt to a new set of conditions in the next planning
period. It is important for the infrastructure in such a system to facilitate agility. For
example, a facility designed with embedded perpendicular tracks along the aisles helps
decrease the cost of moving equipment and facilitates agility during relayout. While
designing machine cells, it is necessary to take into consideration the relocation factor.
This will reduce the cost of reorganization. One can visualize a scenario where all the
interface devices for control systems are interchangeable and open. In such a case, plug
and play features may be implemented in the machine tools. This may require a
redesign of the machine tools, material handling equipment, interface devices and other
support functions. Support services such as compressed air, water or coolant lines may

- 9 -
have to be suitably designed to support this layout concept. The objective of agile facility
design is to permit a high degree of adaptability and responsiveness for the entire system,
along with the flexibility that is inherent in many current day facilities.
Flexible Plant Layouts (Benjaafar and Sheikhzadeh, 2000): Flexible layouts are
those that can effectively cope with variations in product demand and product mix. Their
effectiveness is measured by expected material handling cost over the various possible
demand scenarios. A flexible layout is, thus, one that would maintain low material
handling costs despite fluctuations in the product demand levels and fluctuations in the
resulting material handling flows. The approach for design of flexible layouts (1)
explicitly captures the stochastic nature of product demands and the resulting material
flows between different processing departments, (2) allows for the possibility of multiple
processing departments of the same type to exist in the same facility, and (3) lets material
flows between pairs of individual departments be determined simultaneously with the
layout, as a function of the demand scenarios. This approach to layout design departs
from conventional solution methods for both the static and stochastic layout problems in
several ways. Most important is the fact that the authors account for the possibility of
having multiple departments of the same type in the same facility. This is significant
since duplicating departments or disaggregating existing ones (e.g. not placing all
machines of a given type in the same location) is shown to be an effective mechanism for
enhancing layout flexibility. By strategically locating duplicate departments in different
areas of the plant floor, a facility can hedge against future fluctuations in job flow
patterns and volumes. It has been shown that having alternative processing departments

- 10 -
to which jobs can be routed can reduce and simplify material handling requirements in a
jobshop even in the absence of volume and/or mix variability.
Fractal Layout (Askin et al, 1996; Venkatadri et al, 1997): Fractal layout is an
extension of cellular layout. In fractal layout the manufacturing facility is divided into
multiple, nearly identical machine cells. Each cell contains a heterogeneous mix of
machines. A combination of machine types forming a cell is called a fractal. Arriving
jobs are assigned to the fractal with the largest available resource capability relative to the
job requirements. Based on typical routings and equipment compatibility, more than one
type of fractal may be defined. Fractals are replicated as needed to determine capacity of
the manufacturing facility. Fractal layout differs from cellular layout in that there is no
specialization to produce certain parts or family of parts in a fractal. Moreover, fractals
require a wider range of operation capabilities due to the unpredictable and time-varying
part mix and operation requirement.
Holonic layout (Askin et al, 1996; Askin et al, 1999): Holonic layouts appear as
random arrangement of machines. No specific cell boundaries exist; instead each
machine acts as an autonomous entity capable of broadcasting its availability and bidding
its services. The multiple machines of a type are spread throughout the facility. The intent
is that, for any possible part routing that may occur, such a job can be accommodated
with a routing of nearly adjacent machines somewhere in the facility. Routes not only can
be based on machine workloads and bids at the time of release, but can also be
dynamically updated for each successive operation during production. Machines can be
located either at random or strategically to ensure efficient paths for all possible routings.

- 11 -
Hybrid Cellular Layouts (Irani and Huang, 1998): A significant portion of the
literature compares the performance of Functional vs. Cellular Layouts. However, if the
design of cells requires significant duplication of identical machines in two or more cells,
it may be advisable to design a layout with properties that are intermediate between the
Functional and Cellular Layouts. This could be done primarily by (a) varying the extent
of machine duplication in the layout and (b) eliminating the requirement that a machine
group must process a complete family of parts. Examples of these intermediate layouts
are Cascading Cells, Remainder Cells, Hybrid Flowshops, Virtual Cells, Overlapping
Cells and Layout Modules (or Partial Cells). The primary design strategy for generating
these layouts is to form the cells. However, during the placement and floor-planning
phase, maximum closeness between all pairs of identical machines in different cells is
sought in order to retain each group of identical machines in a process department, as in a
Functional Layout. Figure 1 presents a classification of traditional and non-traditional
facility layouts using a product vs. process focus as the basis for grouping and placement
of machines in a manufacturing facility layout.
Modular Layouts (Irani and Huang, 2000): Most facility layout designers are
familiar with typical layout configurations such as machining centers, flowlines,
branched flowlines, cells, single or multi-process functional departments, flowshops,
jobshops, etc. Typically, a single type of layout configuration, usually Functional or
Cellular, is chosen for a new facility. What if each of these standard layout
configurations is viewed as a layout module within which the flow pattern corresponds to
a portion of the overall material flow network in the facility? In that case, a customized

- 12 -
facility layout could be generated which contains a combination of one or more of these
layout modules. This approach would decompose the overall material flow network for
the facility into a network of different manufacturing subsystems, each of which has well-
understood scheduling characteristics.
Multi-Channel Manufacturing (Meller, 2000): Facility design is important since it
is the substrate upon which the conceptual manufacturing system resides. Therefore,
when a manufacturing system is developed, we must design the facility to effectively
implement this system. There is a new awareness that jobshop, flowshop, and cellular
manufacturing system designs are not effective since they cannot respond to evolving
production requirements. Each of these systems has one characteristic in common: In
general, there is only one channel through the manufacturing system for each product.
Multi-Channel Manufacturing, or MCM for short, is based on the simple observation that
an effective manufacturing system provides multiple channels (or paths) for most
manufactured products as they flow through the system. This allows each product to
flow through the facility by choosing the channel that allows for the greatest
manufacturing system efficiency at that time. Designing facilities around this concept
will mean designing facilities that explicitly increase the channels available for each
product. This may mean an increase in the capital investment or an increase in the
routing flexibility for any product that is made in the facility. In either case, traditional
layout designs - process, product, and cellular layouts - have to adapt to this change by
expanding layout objective functions from departmental adjacencies and travel distances
to also consider work-in-process and throughput time.

- 13 -
Organization of Factories as Responsibility Networks (Montreuil and Lefrancois,
1996): Contemporary factory organization theory is built upon the categorization of
factories in terms of the type of responsibility that is to be assigned to each cell. From a
product orientation, product, group and fractal factories are differentiated. In a product
factory, each cell is devoted to a single product, for example, as a product line or a fixed
product cell. In a group factory, the products are divided into groups or families and each
cell is responsible for a specific group. In a fractal factory with, say, four fractal cells,
each cell is to be responsible for about one fourth of the production for almost every
product. From a process orientation, function, process and holographic factories are
differentiated. In a functional factory, every basic process has a cell devoted to it, so a
factory has welding cells, milling cells, etc. In a process cell, every cell is responsible for
a composite process of one or more subprocesses. For example, in a casting plant, the
melt shop is a process cell responsible for all melting-related operations for all alloys. In
a holographic factory, instead of having a single cell composed of the eight lathes
necessary for all turning operations, there could be, say, four holographic turning cells,
each composed of two lathes; these cells are strategically distributed throughout the
factory. Their research proposes a unifying framework modeling the factory organization
as a responsibility network. Such a network is composed of cells having clear sets of
responsibility assignments for combined sets of suppliers, input products, processes,
output products and clients, for a particular time window. This framework enables the
elaboration of a wide variety of factory organizations, each tailored to the specific
factory. It encompasses all contemporary factory types and all widely implemented so-

- 14 -
called hybrid factories. Forcing all cells of a factory to have the same type of
responsibility becomes an exception rather than the prescribed norm. A factory network
may include a combination of the contemporary types of cells, as well as new breeds such
as a cell devoted to treating a percentage of the production requirements for the early
shared processes required by a specific group of products. Time being explicitly
considered, the network may be planned to dynamically evolve. It may also be
dynamically reconfigured through the use of very short-term virtual cells devoted to
specific pools of product orders. The layout of the network may also be dynamically
reconfigured. This organizational framework generalizes easily to the extended enterprise
organization.


2.3. Trends in Facility Layouts observed in Industry
The modern manufacturing facility experiences significant changes in product
designs, process plans, demand volumes, product mix, product life cycles and production
routings. Flexible manufacturing machines and cells that possess process and product
mix flexibilities are being extensively used. Developments in shop floor control
technology and material handling systems have reduced the impact of travel distances
and inter-operation separation on the type of physical layout designed for a facility. Being
aware of that traditional facility layouts are usually not suitable for these changes,
manufacturers nowadays have been seeking for systematic and efficient methods to
layout their facilities that were previously developed using traditional design strategy of

- 15 -
process layout or the principle of place where space is available. Consequently, some
trends in facility layouts have emerged in industry:
Multi-Channel Manufacturing (MCM): MCM, as implemented at Electric Box &
Enclosures (E-Box), Trussville, AL, is based on the simple observation that in an
effective manufacturing system, multiple channels (or paths) are provided for each
manufactured products as it flows through the system (Meller and DeShazo, 2000).
Instead of having one channel through the manufacturing facility for each product,
multiple channels (or routes) are provided which allows the product to flow through the
facility by choosing the channel that allows for the greatest manufacturing system
efficiency at that time. In the particular application reported by the authors, three product
families GZ1 and GN are A-product families, GZ2 and P are B-product families, AL
and SS are C-product families were formed. The A-product families include
approximately 100-200 items, the B-product families include approximately 500-1000
items and the C-product families include many items, including most of the specialty
order items. The MCM concept was utilized in the design of three flexible cells such that
all cells could accommodate the A-products, two of the three cells could handle the B-
products and one cell could handle the C-products.
Modular Multi-Station CNC Machining Center: The TRIFLEX center, marketed
by Turmatic Systems, Inc., St. Louis, MO, allows simultaneous machining using up to 7
machining units and retrofitting of additional machining units. Automatic loading and
unloading systems can be fitted without difficulty with potential for full integration into
equal or other machine systems. Especially significant is the fact that a single machining

- 16 -
unit can be fitted to a long base slide which enables the machining of all sides of a
workpiece in one station and machining of the front face in another station. Therefore, 5-
side machining is possible, even with only 2 machining units fitted.
Modular Manufacturing Systems: The Industrial Automation Systems group of
UNOVA Inc. provides the automotive industry with durable, modular high-volume
flexible machining systems that can grow and change with global market conditions.
Modular system architecture could allow car makers to reconfigure lines and utilize 70%-
80% of their original manufacturing system investment. Further, the time to install
modular machines is reduced by 33% when compared to conventional manufacturing
lines. Lamb Technicon Machining Systems, a UNOVA company that designs and installs
agile manufacturing systems for smaller volumes of finished parts, has developed
modular designs with common base features, electronics, coolant, hydraulics and
computerized controls. Their high-productivity Mach I dual-spindle CNC machines and
flexible Jaguar machining modules are capable of operating in a full line or as stand-
alone machining centers.
Portable Cells: The TRAK QuikCell QCM-1 available from Southwestern
Industries, Inc. is a compact and mobile milling machine that has found application in
small lot jobshop machining. Specifically, it can be located in close proximity to the one
or two primary machining and/or turning centers dedicated to the production of a family
of parts that require preliminary or secondary operations to be performed on other
machines. The foundation of the machine tool consists of a base casting for easy moving
with a pallet jack from any side. The small footprint of the machine allows it to fit

- 17 -
through most doors and its rigid frame (2750 lbs.) does not require re-leveling after
moving. Quick disconnects are available for electrical supply, air for coolant sprayer,
power draw bar and air hose. Another example of a company that produces portable
machine tools is Climax Portable Machine Tools, Inc. Their portable machine tools do
the same job as stationary machine tools used for repairing turbines, paper machinery,
heavy equipment, etc. the portable machine tool goes to the workplace and it mounts on
the workpiece instead of the other way around.
Holonical Manufacturing System: The HG500II and HG400 III cells of Hitachi
Seiki USA, Inc. consist of HG Series machining centers and a traverse type pallet loader.
Their modular system configuration allows easy system expansion on the production site.
The cell controller, which uses Hitachi Seikis own high-grade high-speed sequencer,
provides a variety of routing and machine loading functions to fulfill the production plan
and product mix.
Reconfigurable Manufacturing Systems (RMS): An RMS is a new class of
manufacturing system that combines the high throughput of a Dedicated Manufacturing
Line (DML), or Transfer Line, with the product mix flexibility of Flexible Manufacturing
Systems (FMS), but also is able to react to changes quickly [Koren et al, 1999]. This is
achieved through:
Design of a system and its machines for adjustable structure that enable
system scalability in response to market demands and system/machine
adaptability to new products. Structure may be adjusted at the system level
ex. by addition of machines and at the machine level ex. by changing machine

- 18 -
hardware and control software, adding spindles and axes, changing tool
magazines and integrating advanced controllers; and,
Design of a manufacturing system around the part family (and cellular layout)
with the customized flexibility required for producing all parts of this part
family.

Once the best part families are determined, machine designers will use a library of
generic modules to create a customized but flexible machine that can machine a family of
parts. To illustrate this concept, the reconfigurable factory could begin with an arch-type
milling machine with a single spindle unit on one side for a specific part family, that
expands to a two-spindle machine handling two product lines.
Manufacturing Segmentation: A project implemented in 1984 at Showa
Manufacturing Company, a maker of radiators and boilers, proves the effectiveness of
Manufacturing Segmentation (Womack and Jones, 1996). The project was to convert coil
making and assembly from a batch process to single-piece flow by creating a cell for the
pipe-cutting, fin-press, expansion, cleaning, brazing, leak testing, and final assembly
steps. High-speed machines that were hard to change over were replaced by designs
created in the companys tool shop, so that the cell could convert from one coil design to
another in only a few minutes before resuming operations. The output of the cell was then
fed directly into a simplified and shortened final assembly track. In less than a week, it
was possible to eliminate half the plant space, 95 percent of the WIP, half of the human
effort, and 95 percent of the throughput time needed to make a coil.

- 19 -

Flow Manufacturing Linked Cells: With the objective of producing the highest
quality product in a customer-responsive flow process, Flow Manufacturing is based
upon a production flow process that uses Kanbans to pull material into and through the
process as the material is consumed (Costanza, 1996). In Flow Manufacturing, material is
pulled from a nearby point of supply into the rated-based production flow process. It is a
flexible pull system that views a product as a pile of parts that is pulled through a
sequence of events where work is performed by people or machines to create the product.
The flow process in the system may resemble an inverse tree with individual processes,
with assembly line or cell branches, which are always designed at the highest required
rate and the corresponding shortest required cycle time, feeding into the main flow at the
points at which their components are needed.
Tailored Business Streams (TBS): The concept of TBS was introduced and
implemented by Boeing Co. in order to meet the challenge of balancing market
requirements with simplified design, and establish market-driven options that reflect
customers need TBS divides Boeings parts and processes into three streams to arrive
at simpler, reusable, more cost-effective processes and solutions:
TBS1 - Parts and processes that go into every airplane in a major model.
These parts and processes are basic and stable because they do not require
new design, customer decisions or replanning for each new customer
introduction.


- 20 -
TBS2 - Parts and processes that are reusable, including options that are
common to a minor model and options that are available for a customer to
order. TBS2 parts are available for reuse and compatible with other option
combinations, which allows customers greater opportunities to make decisions
about options closer to the delivery date
TBS3 - Parts and processes that are unique, custom designed or need special
tooling, whose design is not meant to be reused. A TBS3 part requires
additional flow time compared to a similar TBS2 part

- 21 -



CHAPTER 3

SYSTEMATIC LAYOUT PLANNING WITH PRODUCTION FLOW ANALYSIS

3.1. Department Splitting and Machine Duplication
The division and distribution of machines in a process department into several
cells when converting from a Functional Layout into a Cellular Layout is referred to as
the Machine Duplication problem in the literature on Cellular Manufacturing Systems.
From a historical perspective, Ireson (1952) stated that the combination method of
departmentalization is accomplished by a Functional Layout of machines and equipment
in long, narrow departments, with the products flowing at right angles to the departments
. (but) there must be sufficient similarity in the products and the steps of production
so that such a plan can be followed without excessive backtracking of parts as they are
processed through the several departments. Hence, depending on the part mix and
production volumes, a facility layout may need to adopt one or more options for machine
duplication. The pioneering paper on Production Flow Analysis by Burbidge (1963) was
the first to specifically discuss machine duplication to divide and distribute the
departments in a Functional Layout in order to design a Cellular Layout. As regards
machine duplication to create independent cells, Prof. Burbidge wrote compare the

- 22 -
plant requirements for the different packs (or part families) and reintegrate to produce the
desired number of groups, with the minimum number of work center duplication between
groups. Burbidge converted the part routings into a 0-1 machine-part matrix and used
manual sorting of this matrix to identify the part families and machine groups to
constitute the various cells. McAuleys (1972) Single Linkage Cluster Analysis method
and Kings (1980) Rank Order Clustering algorithm were the first computer methods to
automate this manual process using a 0-1 machine-part matrix representation of the
original operation sequences. However, the machine-part matrix representation of the
operation sequences has several drawbacks: (a) it loses the flow directions and (b) it does
not have the structure of an adjacency or planar graph that could be used for layout
design. Therefore, the cluster analysis and matrix decomposition methods for cell
formation are not directly usable for design of a facility layout with machine duplication.
The From-To Chart is the standard input to algorithms for the design of
Functional Layouts - Quadratic Assignment Problem (Armour and Buffa, 1963),
Maximum Weight Planar Graph Embedding (Seppanen and Moore, 1970), Cut Tree
(Montreuil and Ratliff, 1989), Space Filling Curve (Bozer et al, 1994). Unfortunately,
these algorithms are unsuitable for the design of facility layouts with machine duplication
(or department decentralization) since the routings of the individual products are lost due
to aggregation in the From-To Chart. In contrast, the algorithms for design of Cellular
Layouts address the machine duplication problem because they use the operation
sequences as input data. Vakharia and Wemmerlov (1990) present a cell formation
method based on analysis of the operation sequences of the parts. Their method

- 23 -
duplicates machines to create a system of flowline-type cells with minimum intercell
flows. Ho et al (1993) present a layout design technique that exploits the similarity of
product assembly sequences in a product family to design a network-type layout for a
multi-products flowline. Moodie et al (1994) discuss the case of design of a network of
manufacturing cells using product sequence similarity analyis where all cells have a
flowline layout. The literature review revealed an interesting dichotomy in layout design
methods layout planners have either used the From-To Chart to design Functional
Layouts or the operation sequences to design Cellular Layouts. But, the operation
sequences have never been used to design layouts that distribute machines from the same
department at multiple locations in the facility i.e. layouts that do not have a rigid part
family or process focus as a basis for machine grouping and location.

3.2. History of From-To Chart
Ireson (1952) does not specifically generate a From-To Chart when utilizing the
routings of a sample of parts to generate an arrangement of departments, essentially a
Functional Layout, to minimize material handling in a 10-department facility. However,
he did use the standard principles for facility layout in his manual analysis:
P-Q analysis to select the sample of products that contribute to 75-90% of the
total material flows
Minimization of travel distances and provision of direct routes for material
handling for the major products (and longer hauls for the minor products)


- 24 -
In addition, he refers to a comparison of the process charts for the major products to
seek similarities in the sequence of operations to give some indication of the best
arrangement of the departments.
To understand the origin of the total reliance in facility layout on the From-To
Chart instead of the original operation sequences (or routings) from which it is generated,
a review of the earliest papers on From-To Charts (also referred to as Cross Charts)
(Buffa, 1955; Cameron, 1952; Farr, 1955; Smith, 1955; Lundy, 1955; Weiss and Smith,
1955; Schneider, 1957; Bolz and Hagemann, 1958; Llewellyn, 1958; Cameron, 1960;
Reis and Andersen, 1960; Schneider, 1960) - was conducted. In addition, the earliest
textbooks on Facility Layout (Apple, 1950; Immer, 1950; Muther, 1955; Reed, 1961;
Moore, 1962) were studied. The following conclusions were made about why the
From-To Chart, and not the original operation sequences from which it is generated, has
always been used for facility layout:
The operation sequences for all the products were initially entered into a
Multi-Product Process Chart (Muther, 1955). However, no analyses were
done using this chart. Instead, the routings were consistently aggregated into
a From-To Chart and a Flow Diagram for visual/manual layout design (Farr,
1955).
The From-To Chart was used to reduce a large quantity of data into a very
compact form so that it may be more readily analyzed (Smith, 1955). Pareto
Analysis and sampling techniques were recommended to select a subset of
parts where the parts are too numerous (Buffa, 1955). Schnieder (1960)

- 25 -
suggested that the reason for using a From-To Chart was that much layout
work is being performed by people who do not have the training nor the
background to understand and apply higher mathematics.
Smith (1955) felt that it was a suitable charting technique for the design of
Process (Functional) and Line (Product) layouts by indicating how to
minimize backtracking by changing the operation sequences of the offending
part. Although, Lundy (1955) did not consider direction of movement
important in the design of a Process (or Functional) Layout.
Buffa (1955) did suggest that the Block Diagram could be used to identify
. combinations of work centers for practical departmentalization . based
upon workcenter sizes and similarity of work performed .
Cameron (1960) does report an analysis to divide manufacturing facilities
between buildings to eliminate inter-building transport and increase percent
of product self-sufficiency of each building. In essence, each building could
be viewed as a Focused Factory or Product Cell.

Based on this study of the history of the From-To Chart, it was concluded that the
use of the From-To Chart as the primary input for facility layout was driven by two
factors in the 1950s:
The need to keep the problem size small to facilitate manual analysis (the
number of departments in a large facility could range from 20-50 whereas the
number of unique product routings could range from 250-5000+)

- 26 -
The overwhelming preference for the Functional Layout in industry at that
time
It is an interesting coincidence that, Burbidge (1963) proposed his ideas for machine
duplication to design a Cellular Layout whereas Armour and Buffa (1963) introduced
their CRAFT program to design a Functional Layout.

3.3. Fundamental Limitations of the From-To Chart
In a typical facility layout project, initial (raw) data consisting of (a) the
departments in the facility and the approximate area of each department, as shown in
Table 3.1, and (b) the operation sequences and batch quantities for the parts (or products)
being produced in that facility, as shown in Table 3.2, is obtained. This data in Tables 3.1
and 3.2 is transformed into a From-To Chart, as shown in Table 3.3. This chart captures
the cumulative volume of material flow between any pair of departments. The From-To
Chart is input to a standard commercial facility layout package, such as
FACTORYFLOW, STORM, SPIRAL, PLANOPT and BLOCPLAN, to generate the
Functional Layout in Figure 3.1. In the ideal case, if the operation sequence of each part
in the sample of parts used to generate the From-To Chart is decomposed into moves
between consecutive pairs of departments, then each of these moves should be between
two adjacent departments. However, in the Functional Layout designed using a From-To
Chart, several flows will occur between non-adjacent departments i.e. departments that
do not share a common boundary. If it were possible to identify the particular parts whose
operation sequences contain the non-adjacent flows, then they could be eliminated,

- 27 -
simplified or reduced using any of several material flow simplification strategies.
Unfortunately, in the process of aggregating all the operation sequences into a From-To
Chart, the routings of the individual parts are lost. Thereby, if a department is split and
machines from it placed at several locations on the shopfloor, then the analyst cannot
determine which products will get routed to each department copy. This difficulty was
experienced by Holstein and Berry (1970) when they attempted to identify the few major
paths in a jobshop along which large volumes of flow occur by taking successive powers
of the transition matrix generated from the From-To Chart. This method failed because
(a) it could not account for backtracking and (b) it generated meaningless routings. Their
alternative method, which enumerated paths directly from routing data, did not suffer the
difficulties of the earlier statistical path-finding method.





Department Symbol Description of the Department Area*
F Foundry 3
B Deburring 3
M Milling 2
D Drilling 2
G Grinding 1
A Assembly 3
I Inspection 2
R Robot Welding 1
P Plating 2
S Packaging 3
* Expressed in Number of Grid Squares

Table 3.1: Departments in the Jobshop


- 28 -


Part # Operation Sequence Batch Quantity
1 FBDGIS 6
2 FBMIGPIS 8
3 FBMIPIS 7
4 FBDGPIS 7
5 FBDMPIS 7
6 FBMRPAIS 3
7 FRPAIS 3
8 FBMRPAIS 3
9 FBMAIS 3
10 FBDMAIS 7
11 FBDAIS 4
12 FBDAIS 3
13 FBDSAIS 4

Table 3.2: Operation Sequences and Batch Quantities of Parts produced in the Jobshop








F B D G I S M P R A
F - 62 3
B - 38 24
D - 13 4 14 7
G - 6 15
I 8 - 65 7
S - 4
M 15 - 7 6 10
P 29 - 9
R 9 -
A 30 -

Table 3.3: From-To Chart for Facility Layout Design for the Jobshop






- 29 -
B
R F
D
A
G
M
P
I
S

Figure 3.1: Functional Layout generated using Tables 3.1 and 3.2



The above limitation of the From-To Chart was recognized as early as 1955. In
response to Wayland P. Smiths article (1955), Paul E. Weiss (1955) wrote in the Readers
Comments section of the Journal of Industrial Engineering . We found that 30% of
our material handling was to a central inspection station and it became obvious that
decentralization was worthwhile. One can tell from the chart data how many parts will
go to each new inspection station but one does not know where parts will go after this
station without compiling new data . In his reply, Smith concurred that it is
certainly frustrating, as well as time-consuming, to search through the original data all
over again when this is necessary because the data in each block is mixed, and it is
impossible to tell where the parts will go after they reach the newly established station. It
is also impossible to be sure which of the newly established stations should receive the
parts since the station that they would be sent to under the new system depends not only
on where they come from but, also, where they will go next . Smith did not favor
running through a large number of routings by hand to implement decentralization
which, in essence, is core to the idea of the machine duplication observed in the non-
traditional layouts shown in Figure 2.2.

- 30 -
-

3
1

-

TOOLS FOR DESIGN OF
FACILITY LAYOUTS
MATERIAL FLOW ANALYSIS
y FACTORYFLOW (in VISFACTORY)
y PFAST
MULTI-CRITERION EVALUATION OF LAYOUT ALTERNATIVES
y EXPERT CHOICE
y SUPER TREE
VISUALIZATION AND PERFORMANCE EVALUATION
y MPX
y PROMODEL
y ARENA
y TAYLOR II
y QUEST
y FACTORYPLAN (in VISFACTORY)
y FACTORYFLOW
CAPACITY PLANNING AND SIZING OF LAYOUT ALTERNATIVES
y LINDO
y CPLEX
y GAMS
y MPX
y FACTORYMODELER
PROCESS FLOW MAPPING
y VISIO
y OPTIMA
y SIMUL8
y ARENA (BPR Template)
BLOCK LAYOUT
y WINSABA
y FACTORYOPT (in VISFACTORY)
y SPIRAL
y CRIMFLO
y MALAGA
y MATFLO
y PLANOPT
y STORM
GROUP TECHNOLOGY
y PROFILER
y MINITAB
y SAS
y PDM Products
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF LAYOUT ALTERNATIVES
y EASYABC


Figure 3.2: Software Packages for Facility Layout


3.4. Limitations of Some Concepts and Assumptions
Figure 3.2 presents a potential toolkit of existing software packages that could be
used to support a design process for facility layout. However, there is no formal
methodology that systematically incorporates these tools into an effective design process
suitable for jobshops. The reason is that all existing Block Layout programs are based
on the following three classical research themes: (1) The Systematic Layout Planning
(SLP) view of layout design, (2) The Quadratic Assignment Problem (QAP)
formulation of the Facility Layout Problem (FLP), and, (3) The CRAFT software for
computer-assisted design of a block layout for a facility. However, experience with a
variety of industry-sponsored projects has raised the following doubts about the universal
validity of the concepts and assumptions that are the foundation of the majority of
research on layout design:
Use of the Travel Chart as input data: The traditional input data for layout
design has been the Travel Chart. But, this chart aggregates the routings and
production quantities of all the products produced in a facility. Being a simple
graph, it prevents machine duplication analysis. Thereby, it limits the
facilities planner to the design of a single type of layout the Functional
layout. Instead, the Multi-Product Process Chart is better suited for jobshop
layout since it captures the machines (or departments in a facility, as does the
From-To Chart) and shows the unique routing of each product being produced
in the facility. The chart is essentially a hypergraph representation of the
facility since it treats each routing as a hyperedge that connects a sequence of

- 32 -

machines (or departments) in the layout. This representation of the layout
problem is standard practice in the domain of VLSI CAD. With routing
information embedded in the layout, the design of layout configurations, other
than the Functional layout, becomes possible because partitioning the edge list
will allow duplication of machines in several locations in the facility.
Number of part samples used to design a layout: The traditional practice has
been to use the 80-20 rule (or ABC Analysis) to select one sample of products
that is used for design of the facility layout. However, a single sample is not
an accurate representation for the part mix processed by a jobshop. A method
is required to integrate the layouts generated for several samples of routings
since the final layout must be robust to changes in the product mix over time.
Sampling criteria used to select the part samples used to design a layout: The
80-20 rule used for P-Q Analysis uses essentially a single criterion for
selecting the sample of products for layout design - production volume.
However, minimization of total material handling distance has been the
classical objective in facility layout. However, given a population of
products, if one changes the selection criteria1, then the samples of products
chosen could differ from the one chosen based purely on production volume.
Differences in the layouts generated using such competing criteria have never
been evaluated. Hence, there is need for developing multi-criterion sampling
techniques to select several samples of products for designing a robust layout,
instead of relying only on material handling as the sole design criterion.

- 33 -

- 34 -

Use of a single annual production quantity for each product: In a typical
facility layout, one aggregates the monthly demands for a product into a single
annual demand quantity which is factored into the single aggregate From-To
Chart used for layout design. However, this use of a single aggregate From-
To Chart may be acceptable only in the case of low mix-high volume
facilities. Instead, it may be more correct to use the monthly order quantities
(the sampling frequency can be changed) for all the products, generate a
From-To Chart for each months product mix and then generate a block layout
for the facility for each month. This would possibly show a different location
for a department from period-to-period in comparison with its layout based on
a single aggregate From-To Chart. Clearly, there is a need for methods to
design dynamic/reconfigurable layouts that metamorphose and adjust to
monthly, even quarterly, changes in the production volumes and mix of active
products.
Choices for layout configurations for a facility: The traditional set of layout
configurations that are discussed in any textbook and are the focus of most
research are: Functional, Cellular and Flowline. New configurations such as
Holonic, Fractal, Hybrid, Flexible, Virtual Cells, Modular, Reconfigurable,
etc. have been discussed in the research literature. However, it is unclear if
these novel configurations have been implemented in industry and have
shown to have a better performance compared to the classic layouts.

1
Other criteria for sample selection could be Annual Revenue, Frequency of Ordering, Weight, Volume,
Shape Complexity, Profit Margin and Routings.

Measures and criteria used to design and evaluate a facility layout: Measures
such as Total Adjacency Score or Total Material Handling Distance are static
i.e. they do not relate to the dynamic performance of a facility. Also, these
measures relate only to the material handling component of the cycle time of a
product, ignoring the impact of setup, loading/unloading, processing and
queuing delays that occur at the individual workcenters. The fundamentally
incorrect assumption underlying the static measures is that all jobs are
transferred instantaneously and concurrently between all workcenters.
Whereas, the reality is just the opposite - pallets and unit loads wait to be
picked up and may travel distances larger than the shortest distance in the
optimal or existing layout. Lastly, there is no economic value embedded in
these static measures. A decision to change the layout of a facility should
compute the benefits of reductions in WIP and increases in order fulfillment
achieved. Clearly, there is a need a single time-based cost model that attaches
an economic value to every value-adding, as well as non-value adding, delay
in the throughput time of every product produced in a facility.

This research focuses on two of the above limitations of Systematic Layout
Planning (SLP): (1) it lacks a method to use product routings, instead of the From-To
chart, as input data, and (2) it does not have the ability to generate layouts that are a
hybrid combination of Functional and Cellular layouts.

- 35 -

3.5. Systematic Layout Planning with Production Flow Analysis
Systematic Layout Planning (SLP) (Muther, 1973) is an organized way to conduct
layout design. SLP consists of a framework of phases through which each layout design
project passes, a pattern of step-by-step procedures for layout planners to perform, and a
set of conventions for identifying and evaluating various activities and alternatives
involved in any layout design procedure. Figure 3.3 presents the overall structure of the
SLP design process.
SLP is based on aggregation of an Activity Relationship Chart and/or a From-To-
Chart into an Activity Relationship Diagram. This is followed by the determination of the
amount of space to be assigned to each activity and the availability of space for it. Based
on modifying considerations and practical limitations, a number of layout alternatives are
developed and evaluated. The preferred alternative is then implemented. The SLP
procedure can be used sequentially to develop first a block layout and then a detailed
layout for each planning department. In the latter application, relationships between
workstations, storage locations and entrances to and exits from the department are used to
determine the relative locations of activities.
As stated by Muther (1973), in process-dominated industries often the most
significant aspect of layout planning is Flow of Materials. Flow of Materials analysis
is the heart of layout planning wherever movement of materials is a major portion of the
process. SLP uses the From-To Chart as the input for Flow of Materials analysis.
However, in the process of aggregating all the operation sequences into a From-To Chart,
the routings of the individual parts are lost.

- 36 -



Input Data and Activities
Evaluation
Develop Layout Alternatives
Practical Limitations Modifying Considerations
Space Requirements Space Available
Space Relationship Diagarm
Flow of Materials Activity Relationship
Relationship Diagram

Figure 3.3: The Systematic Layout Planning Design Process (Muther, 1973)

- 37 -


The simple weighted directed graph structure of the From-To Chart may be
suitable for the design of a single classic type of layout for a manufacturing facility the
Functional (or Process) Layout - since a department does not have to be split and
duplicated at multiple locations. If it is desired to design a layout that necessitates
department splitting, such as a Cellular Layout, then it may be more appropriate to use
the original operation sequences from which the Travel Chart was generated. Therefore,
we propose an improved way to conduct layout planning, in which principles and
algorithms for Production Flow Analysis are used for Flow of Materials analysis.
Production Flow Analysis (PFA) is a set of methods that helps manufacturers to
identify causes of delay in material flows such as complex operation sequences, high
volume and variety of parts, variety of machines, ineffective facility layout, and
inappropriate assignment of machines for operations. When applied to a single factory,
the classical framework for manual implementation of PFA consists of four stages, each
stage achieving material flow reduction for a progressively reducing portion of the
factory: Factory Flow Analysis (FFA), Group Analysis (GA), Line Analysis (LA) and
Tooling Analysis (TA), which can be automated by a set of algorithms (Figure 3.4).
In FFA, dominant material flows between shops (or buildings) are identified.
In addition, if parts are observed to backtrack between any of the shops, these
flows are eliminated by a minor redeployment of equipment. FFA may often
be redundant for a factory that essentially consists of a single machine or
fabrication shop.

- 38 -

In GA, the flows in each of the shops identified by FFA is analyzed. GA
analyzes operation sequences of the parts being produced in a particular shop
to identify manufacturing cells. Loads are calculated for each part family to
obtain the equipment requirements for each cell. Each cell usually contains
all the equipment necessary to satisfy the complete manufacturing
requirements of its part family. Due to sharing and non-availability of
equipment, some intercell material flows and flows to/from vendors may
arise.
In Line Analysis (LA), a linear or U-layout is designed for the machines
assigned to each cell. The routings of each part assigned to the cell and the
frequency of use of each routing are used to develop a cell for efficient
transport as well as minimum material handling and travel by operators.
In Tooling Analysis (TA), the principles of GA and LA are integrated with
data on the shape, size, material, tooling, fixturing, etc. attributes of the parts.
TA helps to schedule the cell by identifying families of parts with similar
operation sequences, tooling and setups. It seeks to sequence parts on each
machine and to schedule all the machines in the cell to reduce setup times and
batch sizes. This increases available machine capacity on bottleneck work
centers in the cell.


- 39 -
-

4
0

-

Input Data for Parts
- Route Sheets
- Demand Volumes
- Frequency of Ordering
Machine-Part
Matrix
Single
Operation Sequence
Complete Set of
Operation Sequences
Travel Chart
Symmetric
Travel Chart
Set of
Travel Charts
Asymmetric
Travel Chart
- Maximum Common
Subgraphs
- Isomorphism in
Directed Graphs
- Strong Components
- Circuits
- Maximum Spanning
Arborescence
- Quadratic Assignment
Problem
- Optimal Linear Layout
- Reachability Digraphs
- Minimum Equivalent
Digraph
- Cycles
- Spanning Tree
- Optimum Communication
Spanning Tree
- Cut Tree
- Maximum Planar Graph
- Quadratic Assignment
Problem
- Longest Common
Sequence
- Shortest Supersequence
- Sequence Clustering
- Sequence Alignment
- Optimal Linear Layout
- Frequencies of Visitation
- Loops (Repeating machines)
- Crossovers between Loops
- Repeating Subsequences
- Reachability Digraphs
- Reaching Digraphs
- Minimum Equivalent Digraph
- Permutation Generation
- Cluster Analysis
- K-Means Cluster Analysis
- Graph Partitioning
- Multivariate Statistics
- Detection of Bottleneck
Machines
Similarity
Coefficients
Weighted
Similarity
Coefficients
Input Data for Products
- Product Families
- Demand Profile for each Product
- BOM, Parts List for each Product
Assembly Precedence
Trees for all Products
- Common Nodes
- Common Branches
- Common Subtrees


Figure 3.4: Algorithms for Production Flow Analysis (Irani et al, 2000)

As discussed earlier, the classical framework of SLP is inadequate for design of
jobshop layouts due to the two limitations in the stage of Flow of Materials analysis: (a)
incapability of using product routings, instead of the From-To chart, as input data, and (b)
incapability of generating layouts that are a hybrid combination of Functional and
Cellular layouts. Adoption of algorithms and principles of PFA in this stage can eliminate
these limitations. Figure 3.5 shows the enhanced SLP design process after incorporation
of PFA into the classical framework of SLP.
The integration of PFA in the enhanced SLP design process can be done using the
Production Flow Analysis and Simplification Toolkit (PFAST) (Irani et al, 2000). Figure
3.6 and Figure 3.7 demonstrate the overall and detailed frameworks, respectively, for
using PFAST to generate a variety of facility layouts for a multi-product jobshop.
Depending on the particular type of layout being generated, the methodology for
department planning changes. Therefore, in addition to the use of From-To charts for
department planning, the program modules in PFAST use several other types of input
data, such as (a) operation sequences, (b) machine-part matrices (or bipartite graphs)
generated from operation sequences, and (c) hypergraphs generated from operation
sequences and machine-part matrices, as shown in Figure 3.8. Our research mainly
contributes to modular layout function in PFAST. Hence, this dissertation will focus on
the design methodology of layout modules and its underlying algorithms.

- 41 -



Product Related:
Product Mix, Quantity, Revenue, Demand Distribution,
Growth Patterns, Frequency of Orders, Stability of
Demand, Setup Times and Process Times for all
Operations
Generate the Block Layout
Department Planning and Generation of Appropriate Layout Alternatives
based on Different Types of Manufacturing Focus
Practical Limitations
Facility Related:
Size, Floorplan, Manufacturing
Equipment, Support Services, Life Cycle
Additional Data:
Material Handling and Storage
Characteristics
Production Flow Analysis
Analysis for Product Mix Segmentation
y Volume Analysis ?
y Volume Vs. Variety Analysis ?
y Volume Vs. Revenue Vs. Variety Analysis ?
Evaluation of Layout Alternatives to Select the Final Layout
Modifying Considerations
Total Material Handling Cost
Value Stream Mapping
Finite Capacity Scheduling
Inventory Models Multi-Criterion Methods
Simulation
Queuing Theory
Data Collection
N
Y
Number of parts is large?
Implement the Block Layout
Sampling from Parts Population based on
Design and Manufacturing Attributes of Parts
Flow of Materials between Departments
Relationship Diagram of Flow and Other-Than-Flow Relationships
Activity Relationships between Departments
Space Relationship Diagram
Space Requirements Space Available
Group Technology
Feasibility Evaluation of Planned Departments and Layout Alternatives
y Capacity Requirements Planning
y Machine Allocation
y Robustness Analysis for Changes in Mix and Demand
Total Adjacency Score
Acitivity Based Costing
Throughput Accounting
S
L
P
S
L
P
P
F
A


Figure 3.5: Systematic Layout Planning with Production Flow Analysis

- 42 -



Product Mix, Routings, and Annual Production Quantities
From-To Chart M-P Matrix String Matching String Clustering
Matrix Clustering
Functional Layout Modular Layout Cascading Flowlines Cellular Layout Flowline Layout
Generate the Block Layout
Evaluate the Block Layout
Dendrogram
K-means Clustering Modules
Common_Substrings
QAP/MIP
Clustering, Absorbing & Merging of Substrings Linear Embedding of Dendrogram
Design Skeleton



Figure 3.6: Overall Framework of Production Flow Analysis using PFAST

- 43 -


Delete all singleton operation sequences
In the routings, assign a single workcenter code to
different workcenters that have identical processing
capabilities
Cluster operation sequences using Levenshtein
Distances
Eliminate identical operation sequences
Find cycles and strong components in individual
operation sequences
Absorb strong components of cardinality=2 into
"super-workstations"
Rewrite operation sequences
Cluster operation sequences using Merger
Coefficients
Generate initial dendrogram for cluster
analysis
Linear embedding of dendrogram using
tree manipulation algorithm
Alignment of operation sequences to
generate the Modified Multi-Product
Process Chart (MM-PPC)
Match strings to find common_substrings
Cluster common_substrings using Merger
Coefficients
Generate layout modules from clusters
Modular Layout
Cascading Flowlines
Operation sequences and production quantities for sample of parts
M-P Matrix
Similarity Coefficients
Matrix Clustering
Cellular Layout
Detection and "absorption" of cycles and
strong components in operation sequences
Merge common_substrings with consideration of
cycles and strong components
Compute frequency of occurrence of each
common_substring
Flexible Manufacturing Modules (FMM)
Absorb common_substrings that are completely
contained in other common_substrings
From-To Chart
Functional/Process Layout
Maximum Weight
Planar Graph
Design Skeletons
y MST
y MSA
y Cut Tree
QAP/MIP
Flowline Layout


Figure 3.7: Detailed Framework of Production Flow Analysis Using PFAST

- 44 -
-

4
5

-

Design Blackboard for Department Planning
Design for Flow
y Maximize directed flow (or Minimize backtracking)
y Minimize cross flows
y Minimize Total Travel Distance
y Minimize Total Travel Cost
Form machine groups
Minimize machine duplication
Honor the fixed location (and non-duplicatability) of all
"monuments"
Match each m/c group
with its part family
Minimize dispersion (non-
adjacencies) of locations
that contain machines of
the same type
String Matching and Alignment
Identify common_substrings of operations in
routings
Align common_substrings of operations
between similar routings
Aggregrate clusters of substrings into layout
modules
Linear orderings - or to eliminate backtracking/bypass flows
Strong components
Block layout
Flows between bottleneck/shared machines in the BDF
Flows from-to other non-bottleneck machines in the BDF
MSA to prevent m/c duplication by increasing adjacencies among parallel flowlines
From-To Chart Analysis
Matrix Clustering (Bipartite Graph
Partitioning)
Number of clusters
Shared machines that may need to be duplicated
Bottleneck parts that link two or more clusters
Potential exception operations between clusters
Adjacencies that will be required between different
pairs of cells because they have machines in
common and appear consecutively in the BDF
Machine Sharing
y Specific to a single cell
y Shared by only two cells
y Shared by more than two cells
Assignment of Parts
y Clearly unique assignment to one cell
y Has at least 1-2 exception operations in one or
more other cells
y Ambiguous - could belong in two or more cells
Cluster Analysis and Multivariate Statistics
Verify the cluster compositions in the BDFobtained using matrix
clustering
Generate a linear ordering for all machines in each cluster and
sequence these strings one after the other in the machines
permutation of the BDF
and part families


Figure 3.8: Utilization of Various PFAST Modules for Department Planning




CHAPTER 4

MERGER COEFFICIENT A NEW STRING MATCHING METHOD FOR
COMPARISON OF OPERATION SEQUENCES

The Group Technology (GT) approach to manufacturing systems, introduced by
Burbigde (1975), has been recognized as an efficient way to reduce setup times, flow
times, inventories, work-in-process and throughput time. The basic idea of GT is the
decomposition of the manufacturing system into subsystems, by grouping parts into
families and classifying machines into cells, based on the similarity of part processing
requirements. A family of parts is composed of parts that have similar operation
sequences and require a set of functionally dissimilar machines to dedicatedly
manufacture these parts. These machines are then grouped into a manufacturing cell, thus
forming a subsystem of the manufacturing system. The effectiveness of the cell formation
depends on the measure of part routing similarity used to generate it. In this chapter, we
discuss the calculation of similarity between two operation sequences using the theory of
sequence comparison and propose a new similarity coefficient that is specifically
constructed for comparing operation sequences for manufacturing parts.

- 46 -

4.1. Analysis of Differences between Operation Sequences
The theory of sequence comparison (Sankoff. and Kruskal, 1983) is a
methodology that attempts to compare two or more sequences or strings for identifying
differences and determining relationships. It deals with sequence comparison problems
in which the correspondence between sequences is unknown in advance, i.e., some
underlying corresponding relationships may be disrupted by the unmatched orders of
elements in both sequences. The applications of sequence comparison fall into two
categories: (1) discrete situations, such as molecular biology, string matching and editing
and text collation; and (2) continuous cases such as human speech, bird song and
handwriting recognition. Here, we focus on its application to the comparison of operation
sequences.
When comparing two operation sequences, the most obvious type of difference
between them is the substitution of one operation for another at the same position in the
sequence. Such differences are called substitutions or replacements. There are other
important types of differences, however, such as deletion of operations and insertion of
operations. Dealing with differences between sequences due to substitution, deletion and
insertion, is the central theme of operation sequence comparison. The editing of an
operation sequence based on one of the three differences is called an edit operation. The
three types of edit operations, from a facility layout design viewpoint, may result in
corresponding changes of layout. As illustrated in Figure 4.1, a deletion or insertion edit
operation means the addition of a bypass flow, while a substitution edit operation creates
a branched flow.

- 47 -



Editing of Operation Sequences Corresponding Layout Change
A X B C
A Y B C
Substitution

A X B C
Y

A X B C
A B C
Deletion (Insertion)

A X B C



Figure 4.1: Layout Changes corresponding to Editing of an Operation Sequence



For analysis of differences between operation sequences, the following three
types of presentation are commonly used:
Trace (Figure 4.2). The trace analysis consists of the source sequence and the
target sequence, usually with lines from some operations in the source to some operations

- 48 -

in the target. An operation can have no more than one line, and the lines must not cross
each other (specifically, the source operations with lines must correspond in order to the
target operations with lines). The lines provide a correspondence, often partial, between
source sequence and target sequence, in forward or backward direction. If the operations
connected by a line are the same, the pair of operations is referred as an identity or a
continuation; if they are different, the pair constitutes a substitution. A source operation
having no line shows a deletion while a target operation having no line shows an
insertion.





Figure 4.2: Trace Analysis of Differences between Operation Sequences

- 49 -


Alignment (Matching). The alignment (or matching) analysis, as shown in Figure
4.3, consists of a matrix of two rows. The upper row consists of the source sequence,
possibly interspersed with null characters. The lower row consists of the target sequence,
also possibly interspersed with null characters. The column of null characters is not
permitted. A column having a null character below indicates deletion while a column
having a null character above indicates insertion. A column without a null character is
called a match, in which if the two operations are the same, it is a continuation;
otherwise, it is a substitution.





Figure 4.3: Alignment Analysis of Differences between Operation Sequences

- 50 -



Listing (Derivation). The listing (or deviation) analysis consists of an alternating
series of sequences and transformations (such as substitutions, deletions and insertions),
starting with the source sequence and ending with the target sequence, where two
adjacent sequences must differ only as provided by the operation of one of the three
differences. As illustrated in Figure 4.4, the listing analysis is actually a sequence of edit
operations that traces the transformation of the source sequence into the target sequence.





Figure 4.4: Listing Analysis of Differences between Operation Sequences


- 51 -


Based on the definitions of the three types of analyses, it is obvious that, for any
given type, many analyses of the same total difference may be available for comparison
of the same pair of sequences. Each of these three types of analysis has its own
advantages. From the presentation viewpoint, Trace and Alignment are more favorable
than Listing thanks to their simplicity and comprehensiveness. From the analysis
viewpoint, however, Listing is more important because it can be generalized more
broadly than Alignment and Trace. Listing contains richer information than the other two
methods because it allows many successive changes to be made in a single position and
Alignment and Trace permit only one. In addition, Listing makes distinctions based on
the order in which changes are made, while Alignment and Trace do not.

4.2. Calculation of Distance/Similarity between Operation Sequences
Distance between two operation sequences is defined as the minimum length of
any acceptable analysis of the difference between these two sequences. Usually, the
length is calculated as the number of elementary edit operations performed to transform
one sequence into the other. The shorter the distance between two operation sequences,
the more similar they are; and vice versa. The distance between two operation sequences
that have the highest similarity, namely two identical sequences, should be zero.
Different definitions of distance/similarity between two operation sequences can be
described in terms of the following three parts:

- 52 -


Elementary edit operations. Types of the edit operations allowed to perform
sequence transformation are the key to the distance/similarity calculation.
Each distance/similarity definition is based on certain set of edit operations,
called elementary edit operations. Most commonly, the elementary edit
operations are insertions, deletions and substitutions.
Acceptable analyses. Each distance/similarity definition is based on certain
class of acceptable analyses of the difference between two operation
sequences, where the acceptable analyses are based on the elementary edit
operations. Among the three types of analysis discussed in the previous
section, alignment and trace distances are more acceptable to calculate
distance/similarity between two operation sequences, since use of listing
distance would be too time-consuming. However, in many cases, listing
distance is the conceptual starting point and the mathematical equivalence of
listing distance with alignment and trace distance is used as a vital foundation
for comparison of operation sequences.
Length of acceptable analysis. Each distance/similarity definition is based on
a function for calculating the length of the acceptable analysis. The function
can be as simple as the number of edit operations performed to transform one
operation sequence into the other. It may also incorporate a system of weights
and/or parameters.


- 53 -

The computational complexity of calculation of distance between two sequences
has been discussed in many literatures. Wagner and Fischer (1974) presented an
algorithm for minimizing the sequence of edit transformations that changes one string
into the other. The computational complexity of their algorithm is proportional to the
product of the lengths of the two strings. For the problem of calculating the optimal
alignment between two sequences of length n, Wong and Chandra (1976) proved that the
computational complexity is proportional to n
2
based on some general assumptions, and
the best lower bound is linear in n. For the same problem, Masek and Patterson (1980)
presents an O(n
2
/log(n)) algorithm based on the assumption that the sequence elements
come from a finite alphabet and the weights of edit operations are all rational. When
applied to sequences with lengths of m and n (m<n), the computing time of this algorithm
is proportional to mn/min(m,log(n)).

4.3. Typical Distance/Similarity Measures for Comparison of Operation
Sequences
For the typical distance/similarity measures discussed in this section, the same set
of elementary edit operations for transformation between two operation sequences are
used, namely (1) insertion of an operation into a sequence; (2) deletion of an operation
from a sequence; and (3) substitution of an operation of a sequence with an operation in
the other sequence. Hence, the differences of these measures lie in their rules of
acceptable analysis and definitions of function for calculating the length of the acceptable
analysis.

- 54 -


1. Levenshtein Distance
Levenshtein distance has been the most commonly used measure for comparison
of the difference (similarity) of two operation sequences. Levenshtein distance is defined
as the smallest number of substitutions, deletions and insertions required to change
source sequence into target sequence (Levenshtein, 1966). It uses listings as the
acceptable analyses of sequence difference and a simple length function without weights
or parameters. Considering all listings from source sequence to target sequence, let the
length of each listing be the number of transformations it contains, then the distance is the
minimum length of any listing.

2. A Dissimilarity Coefficient integrated with Operation Commonality
Tam (1990) presented a dissimilarity coefficient method, based on the difference
between operation sequences, for part grouping. In the method used, the dissimilarity
coefficient, denoted by , of two operation sequences i and is defined as follows:
c
S j
| | | | | | ( ) j i c w j i d w j i S
c n n c
, 1 , , + =
1 = +
c n
w w and 0 ,
c n
w w
| j i d
n
,
i
| is the normalized weighted Levenshtein distance between operation
sequences and j :

- 55 -

| |
| |
| | { } parts of number , , 1 , max
,
,

=
y x y x d
j i d
j i d
w
w
n

| | ( )
i i d d s s w
n w n w n w j i d + + = min ,
where are non-negative weights assigned to substitutions, deletions
and insertions respectively; are number of substitutions, deletions and
insertions respectively.
i d s
w w w and ,
i d s
n n n and ,
| j i c , | is a coefficient representing the commonality of operations between
operation sequences i and j . It is defined as the number of common operations between
operation sequences i and j divided by the total number of the distinct operations in
these two sequences.

3. A Compliant Index based Similarity Coefficient
Ho et al (1993) proposed a heuristic pattern matching algorithm for multi-
flowlines layout design. In the proposed algorithm, a similarity coefficient approach is
used to compare the difference (similarity) between an operation sequence and a flow
path. In order to calculate the sequence similarity coefficient, a compliant index based on
trace analyses of differences between operation sequences is defined first.
The compliant index of the sequence of a part compared with a flow path is
determined by the number of operations in the sequence that have either in-sequence or
bypassing relationship with the sequence of the flow path. There are two kinds of

- 56 -

compliant indexes: forward compliant index and backward compliant index. These two
compliant indexes can be calculated by comparing the operation sequence of the part
with the sequence of the flow path forwards and backwards. The process of calculating
these two compliant indexes is illustrated in Figure 4.5.
Once the compliant indexes of both directions have been calculated, the sequence
similarity coefficient of this part can be calculated by dividing the sum of both compliant
indexes by twice the number of operations in this part:
N
CB CF
CO
2
+
=
where
CO

Sequence similarity coefficient of part
CF Compliant index of the part in forward direction
CB Compliant index of the part in backward direction
N Number of operations in the sequence of the part
Obviously, a part with higher sequence similarity coefficient means its sequence
is more similar to the sequence of the flow path.



- 57 -

Flow Path: OP1 - OP2 - OP3 - OP2 - OP4 - OP5 - OP6
Part i: OP1 - OP3 - OP4 - OP5 - OP2
Comparing Forwards
The forward compliant
index of part i is 4
Flow Path: OP1 - OP2 - OP3 - OP2 - OP4 - OP5 - OP6
Part i: OP1 - OP3 - OP4 - OP5 - OP2
Comparing Backwards
The backward compliant
index of part i is 3

Figure 4.5: Comparison Process for Compliant Indexes

4. An LCS based Similarity Coefficient
Askin and Zhou (1998) proposed a similarity coefficient based on the longest
common subsequence (LCS) between parts for forming flowline manufacturing cells.
Like Ho et als similarity measure, this coefficient is also based on trace analyses of
operation sequence differences. The similarity coefficient s
ij
between two operation
sequences O
i
and O
j
is defined as:

=
j
ij
i
ij
ij
O
LCS
O
LCS
s , max
where LCS
ij
is the longest common subsequence between O
i
and O
j
, and |x| is the number
of operations in sequence x.


- 58 -


4.4. Merger Coefficient
The majority of numerical measures of similarity or dissimilarity (distance)
between operation sequences, such as the Levenshtein distance and Tams dissimilarity
coefficient mentioned in the previous section, seek only the dissimilarities between two
strings ignoring their common substrings or common subsequences. These techniques,
however, are not efficient in situations where the numbers of operations in two sequences
differ significantly. In such cases, the matching segments in the two sequences are
overwhelmed by the unmatched residual segments in the longer sequence. In particular,
one sequence could be completely contained in another sequence and yet the two
sequences could be dissimilar according to the Levenshtein string edit distance measure.
Consider the following operation sequences:
O
1
= (A, J)
O
2
= (A, K)
O
3
= (A, J, B, C, D, E)
O
4
= (A, F, G, H, I, J).
If using the Levenshtein measure, the distance between O
1
and O
2
is 1, the
distance between O
1
and O
3
is 4, and the distance between O
1
and O
4
is 4. Accordingly,
O
1
is more similar to O
2
than to O
3
and O
4
. O
1
would therefore be grouped with O
2
but
not with O
3
or O
4
, although O
1
is a substring of O
3
and a subsequence of O
4
. This
grouping of operation sequences could result in unnecessary duplication of machines

- 59 -

between clusters. Although Tams dissimilarity coefficient takes into account operation
commonality, the generalization of the commonality measure based on the number of
total distinct operations in the two operation sequences still brings in the influence of
unmatched operations. Besides, it has two drawbacks. Firstly, the commonality of
operations between two sequences loses the track of the order of the common operations,
i.e. two operation sequences having high operation commonality may have very
dissimilar routings; secondly, the weights for the distance and commonality are chosen
subjectively.
There are some similarity/distance measures, like Ho et als compliant index
based similarity and Askin and Zhous LCS based similarity coefficient, capture the order
of common operations between two sequences, and thus eliminate the unintended
influence of long unmatched residual subsequences. However, as pointed out by Sankoff
and Kruskal (1983), no subsequence measure can provide substring information. These
measures focus on the order of operations in the sequences but ignore the gaps between
matching operations in the sequences. This could result in grouping of parts that will
experience significant bypass travel distance between consecutive operations in their
routings if they are produced on the same flowline. For example, both Ho et als and
Askin and Zhous similarity measures show that the similarity between O
1
and O
3
is equal
to the similarity between O
1
and O
4
. This means O
1
and O
4
may be grouped together
although the travel distance from operation A to operation B will increase significantly if
the two parts are produced on the same flowline.


- 60 -

To avoid such undesirable clustering due to the numerical similarity/dissimilarity
measures discussed earlier, we propose a new similarity measure called Merger
Coefficient for string clustering. This measure is capable of evaluating the feasibility of
merging or absorbing one operation sequence completely into another operation
sequence. Like most of the similarity/distance measures, Merger Coefficient use the same
set of elementary edit operations for transformation between two operation sequences, i.e.
substitutions, deletions and insertion. Proved to be effective in detecting common
subsequences and common substrings, trace analysis is chosen as the acceptable analysis
of differences between operation sequences. In preparation for calculation of the Merger
Coefficient between two operation sequences, the following two distances need to be
defined first:
Merger Distance. The Merger Distance for the absorption of sequence x into
sequence y is defined as the smallest number of substitutions and insertions of operations
in sequence y required to derive x from y using trace analysis, based on the set of trace
analyses of the differences between x and y, denoted by {T
i
(x, y)}:
{ } ) , ( ) ( min ) , ( y x T i I S y x md
i i i
i
+ =
where
md(x, y) Merger Distance for the absorption of sequence x into
sequence y


- 61 -

S
i
Number of substitutions of operations in sequence y required in the
i
th
trace analysis
I
i
Number of insertions of operations in sequence y required in the i
th

trace analysis

Interruption Distance. The Interruption Distance for the absorption of x into y is
defined as the smallest number of non-ending deletions required, with md(x, y) fixed.
Non-ending deletions are defined as the deletions of one operation or several consecutive
operations whose position in sequence y is neither the start nor the end. A non-ending
deletion appear either between two consecutive insertion(s) and/or substitution(s), or
between two consecutive matching operations, or between an insertion (or substitution)
and a matching operation. The non-ending deletions in a trace analysis can be calculated
by subtracting the number of ending deletions from the total number of deletions. Here,
the ending deletions are defined as the deletions of one operation and/or several
consecutive operations that are the start or the end of sequence y. The formulation of the
Interruption Distance is given as follows:
{ } )] , ( [ ) ( min ) , ( y x md I S i D D y x id
i i
e
i i
i
= + =
where
id(x, y) Interruption Distance for the absorption of sequence x into
sequence y

- 62 -

D
i
Number of deletions of operations in sequence y required in the i
th

trace analysis
e
i
D Number of ending deletions of operations in sequence y required in
the i
th
trace analysis

Note that the Merger Distance and the Interruption Distance are asymmetric, i.e.
md(x, y) and id(x, y) may not equal to md(y, x) and id(y, x) respectively. Actually, it is
highly unlikely that md(x, y) = md(y, x) and id(x, y) = id(y, x), when the lengths of the two
operation sequences are not the same. The calculation of these two distances is illustrated
in Figure 4.6.


- 63 -

Sequence x
A C D E F G
Sequence y
G C B F H
Optimal edit operations to absorb x into y:
y 2 total deletions including an ending deletion
of A and a non-ending deletion of E.
y a substitution of D by B.
y an insertion of H between F and G.
Therefore, md(x, y)=2 and id(x, y)=1.
A C D E F G
Sequence y
B H

Figure 4.6: Illustration of Calculating Merger Distance and Interruption Distance


We use a dynamic programming algorithm to calculate these two distances. The
computational complexity of the method is proportional product of the numbers of the
two operation sequences. This algorithm has been programmed into our PFAST
(Production Flow Analysis and Simplification Toolkit) software package, which is in the
process of patent application. Due to this restriction, we will not describe the detail of the
algorithm.

- 64 -

Once the Merger Distance and Interruption Distance between any two operation
sequences x and y are identified, the Merger Coefficient between x and y, denoted by
mc(x, y), can be calculated as follows:

=
|
|
|
|
.
|

\
|
+

<
|
|
|
|
|
.
|

\
|
+ +

>
|
|
|
|
|
.
|

\
|
+ +

=
y x
y x
y x
x
x y
y x
y
y x
N N
N
N
x y id
x y md
N
N
y x id
y x md
N N
N
N
N N
N
y x id
y x md
N N
N
N
N N
N
x y id
x y md
y x mc
if 0 ,
) , (
) , (
1 ,
) , (
) , (
1 max
if 0 ,
) , (
) , (
1 max
if 0 ,
) , (
) , (
1 max
) , (
max max
2
max max
2
max max


where N
max
is the number of operations in the longest operation sequence in the sample;
N
x
and N
y
represent the number of operations in sequences x and y, respectively. We can
see that the higher the Merger Coefficient between two operation sequences, the more
similar the sequences are. Based its definition, the Merger Coefficient has the following
properties:
1) 0 mc(x, y) 1;
2) mc(x, y) = mc(y, x);
3) mc(x, y) = 1, if and only operation sequences x and y are identical;
4) mc(x, y) = 0, if and only if operation sequences x and y have no
common operation.

- 65 -


Unlike the distance/similarity measures discussed in the previous section, the
Merger Coefficient not only identifies common operations between two operation
sequences with labeling the order of these common operations in each of the sequence,
but takes into consideration the gap between each pair successive common operations in
the original sequences. This feature allows the Merger Coefficient to correctly measure
the similarity between operation sequences. Still using the example of the four operation
sequences discussed earlier, we can see that only the Merger Coefficient can identify the
right similarity relationships between sequence O
1
and sequences O
2
, O
3
, and O
4
(Table
4.1).


O
2
(A, K)
O
3
(A, J, B, C, D, E)
O
4
(A, F, G, H, I, J)

1 4 4 Levenshtein Distance
0.29 0.67 0.67
Tams Dissimilarity
Coefficient
(w
n
=w
c
=0.5; w
s
=w
d
=w
i
=1)
0.5 1 1
Ho et als Similarity
Coefficient
0.5 1 1
Askin and Zhous Similarity
Coefficient
O
1
(A, J)
0.5 0.94 0.61 Merger Coefficient

Table 4.1: Comparison of Merger Coefficient with other Distance/Similarity Measures



- 66 -


4.5. Cluster Analysis using Merger Coefficient
The purpose of comparison of operation sequences using similarity/distance
measures is to guide the cluster analysis of these operation sequences and accordingly
group similar ones. In this section, we will compare Merger Coefficient with other
similarity/distance measures on their effectiveness in cluster analysis.
The objective of cluster analysis is to group either the data units or the variables
into clusters such that the elements within a cluster have a high degree of natural
association among themselves while the clusters are relatively distinct from one
another (Anderberg, 1973). Normally, cluster analysis pursues one of the two directions
of forming clusters: Homogeneity and separation. Homogeneous cluster analysis
emphasizes on the similarity among the data units or the variables within the same
cluster, and separated cluster analysis focuses on that the data units or the variables
belonging to different clusters should differ from one another. In same cases, both of
them are taken into consideration.
According to Hansen and Jaumard (1997), there are five types of commonly used
clustering: Subset, partition, packing, covering and hierarchy. Given a sample of N
objects denoted by S = {S
n
}, n = 1, 2, .., N, these five types of clustering can be described
as follows:
1) Subset B of S, B ;
2) Partition P = {B
i
} of S into T clusters, i = 1, 2, .., T;

- 67 -

where B
i
B
j
= i j;
S
i
= ;
3) Packing K = {B
i
} of S with T clusters, i = 1, 2, .., T;
where B
i
B
j
= i j;
4) Covering C = {B
i
} of S with T clusters, i = 1, 2, .., T;
where ; S
i
=
5) Hierarchy H = {P
m
} of M (M N) partitions of S, m = 1, 2, .., M;
where B
i
B
j
or B
i
B
j
= when B
i
P
k
, B
j
P
l
and k>l.

For cluster analysis of operation sequences, the most used type of clustering is the
homogeneous hierarchical clustering method. There are two major approaches to the
hierarchical clustering problem: Agglomerative and divisive. Agglomerative algorithms
start from a partition in N clusters, i.e. each object forming a cluster, and then
successively merge the clusters until all N objects belong to the same cluster. On the
contrary, divisive algorithms start from a cluster containing all N objects and then
successively bipartition one cluster at a time until each object belongs to a distinct
cluster. Agglomerative hierarchical clustering algorithms are more frequently used and
better explored than divisive ones. Hence, in our research, we use an agglomerative
hierarchical clustering method for homogeneous cluster analysis of operations sequences.

- 68 -

At the first step of the agglomerative hierarchical clustering algorithm, when each
object represents its own cluster, the similarity/distance between each pair of objects is
defined by the chosen similarity/distance measure. However, once several objects have
been linked together, the similarity/distances between those new clusters need to be
identified. In other words, we need a linkage rule to determine whether two clusters are
sufficiently similar to be linked together. For example, we could link two clusters
together when any two objects in the two clusters are closer together than the respective
linkage distance. In other words, the nearest neighbors" across clusters determine the
distances between clusters; this method is called Single Linkage. Contrarily, we may use
the farthest neighbors across clusters to determine the distances between clusters, i.e.
the distances between clusters are determined by the greatest distance between any two
objects in the different clusters. This method is called Complete Linkage. The single
linkage method is suitable for forming clusters that are expected to be chain-like, and the
complete linkage method tend to form clusters that are naturally distinct. In between
these two extremes, there are numerous other linkage rules such as those proposed by
Sneath and Sokal (1973):
Unweighted Pair-Group Average Linkage. In this method, the distance
between two clusters is calculated as the average distance between all pairs of
objects in the two different clusters. This method performs equally well in
forming both chain-like and naturally distinct clusters.
Weighted Pair-Group Average Linkage. This method is identical to the
unweighted pair-group average linkage method, except that in the

- 69 -

computations, the size of the respective clusters (i.e., the number of objects
contained in the clusters) is used as a weight. Thus, this method is preferable
to the unweighted pair-group average linkage method when the cluster sizes
are expected to be greatly uneven.
Unweighted Pair-Group Centroid Linkage. The centroid of a cluster is the
average point in the multidimensional space defined by the dimensions. In a
sense, it is the center of gravity for the respective cluster. In this method, the
distance between two clusters is determined as the difference between
centroids.
Weighted Pair-Group Centroid Linkage. This method is identical to the
unweighted pair-group centroid linkage method, except that weighting is
introduced into the computations to take into consideration differences in
cluster sizes. Thus, this method is preferable to the unweighted pair-group
centroid linkage method when cluster sizes are expected to be considerably
different.

Ward (1963) proposed a linkage method that is totally distinct from all the above
linkage methods because it uses an analysis of variance approach to evaluate the
distances between clusters. In Ward's method, the distance between two clusters is
defined so that the sum of squares from the objects to the joint cluster mean minus the
sum of squares from the objects to their individual cluster means. This method is efficient
in forming clusters of small size.

- 70 -

Based on the characteristics of these linkage methods, we choose the unweighted
pair-group average linkage algorithm, which is more suitable for general clustering, as
the linkage method in our homogeneous agglomerative hierarchical cluster analysis of
operation sequences. Detailed discussion of the cluster analysis method will be described
in next chapter. Here, we only show the results of the homogeneous agglomerative
hierarchical cluster analysis of a sample dataset based on different similarity/distance
measures, using the unweighted pair-group average linkage algorithm. From Table 4.1,
we can see that Levenshtein distance and Tams dissimilarity measure have similar
results, and so do Ho et als and Askin and Zhous similarity measures. Therefore, we
only choose Levenshtein distance and Askin and Zhous similarity coefficient to be
compared with Merger Coefficient on cluster analysis performance.


Given a sample of parts shown in Table 4.2, we calculate Levenshtein distance,
Askin and Zhous similarity coefficient and Merger Coefficient for each pair of parts as
shown in Tables 4.3, 4.4 and 4.5 respectively. Now that Askin and Zhous coefficient and
Merger Coefficient are both similarity measures, for the convenience of comparison, a
Levenshtein distance d
i
can be converted into its corresponding similarity coefficient s
i

using the following normalization formula:
i
i
i
i
d
d
s
max
1 =

- 71 -

Accordingly, the Levenshtein distance matrix in Table 4.3 is converted into its
corresponding similarity coefficient matrix as shown in Table 4.6.
Based on the similarity coefficient matrices in Tables 4.6, 4.4 and 4.5, the
agglomerative hierarchical clusterings of the sample of parts are generated using average
linkage method as shown in Figures 4.7, 4.8 and 4.9 respectively. Figure 4.10 shows the
trend of the clustering threshold for each measure. It is observed that both Levenshtein
distance and Askin and Zhous similarity coefficient produce many ties during the
clustering procedure. This is because that these two measures often inappropriately assign
the same distance/similarity value to different pairs of operation sequences t, like the
results shown in Table 4.1. Ties may pose a serious problem in the clustering procedure
because they force the clustering algorithm to make arbitrary decisions on the order in
which clusters are merged (Coggins, 1983) A clustering method with too many arbitrary
mergers is inefficient and more likely generate incorrect clusters.
Therefore, it is concluded that Merger Coefficient is preferable to the other
distance/similarity measures in that it can correctly calculate the similarity/dissimilarity
between operations sequences, and is more efficient for cluster analysis by eliminating
unnecessary ties of clustering thresholds.

- 72 -



Part # Operation Sequence
1 1,4,8,9
2 1,4,7,4,8,7
3 1,2,4,7,8,9
4 1,4,7,9
5 1,6,10,7,9
6 6,10,7,8,9
7 6,4,8,9
8 3,5,2,6,4,8,9
9 3,5,6,4,8,9
10 4,7,4,8
11 6
12 11,7,12
13 11,12
14 11,7,10
15 1,7,11,10,11,12
16 1,7,11,10,11,12
17 11,7,12
18 6,7,10
19 12


Table 4.2: Operation Sequences for the Sample of Parts


- 73 -



-

7
4

-
Part # 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
1 - 3 2 1 3 3 1 4 3 3 4 4 4 4 5 5 4 4 4
2 - 3 3 5 4 4 5 4 2 6 5 6 5 5 5 5 5 6
3 - 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 6 5 6 5 5 5 5 5 6
4 - 2 3 2 5 4 3 4 3 4 3 5 5 3 3 4
5 - 2 3 5 4 5 4 4 5 4 4 4 4 3 5
6 - 2 5 4 4 4 4 5 4 6 6 4 3 5
7 - 3 2 3 3 4 4 4 6 6 4 3 4
8 - 1 5 6 7 7 7 7 7 7 6 7
9 - 4 5 6 6 6 6 6 6 5 6
10 - 4 3 4 3 5 5 3 3 4
11 - 3 2 3 6 6 3 2 1
12 - 1 1 4 4 0 2 2
13 - 2 4 4 1 3 1
14 - 4 4 1 1 3
15 - 0 4 4 5
16 - 4 4 5
17 - 2 2
18 - 3
19 -


Table 4.3: Levenshtein Distances for the Sample of Parts
-

7
5

-




Part # 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
1 - 0.75 1 0.75 0.5 0.5 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.5 0 0 0 0 0.25 0.25 0 0 0
2 - 0.67 0.75 0.4 0.4 0.5 0.33 0.33 1 0 0.33 0 0.33 0.33 0.33 0.33 0.33 0
3 - 1 0.6 0.6 0.75 0.67 0.5 0.75 0 0.33 0 0.33 0.33 0.33 0.33 0.33 0
4 - 0.75 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0 0.33 0 0.33 0.5 0.5 0.33 0.33 0
5 - 0.8 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.25 1 0.33 0 0.33 0.4 0.4 0.33 0.67 0
6 - 0.75 0.6 0.6 0.5 1 0.33 0 0.33 0.2 0.2 0.33 0.67 0
7 - 1 1 0.5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.33 0
8 - 1 0.5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.33 0
9 - 0.5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.33 0
10 - 0 0.33 0 0.33 0.25 0.25 0.33 0.33 0
11 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
12 - 1 0.67 0.67 0.67 1 0.33 1
13 - 0.5 1 1 1 0 1
14 - 0.67 0.67 0.67 0.67 0
15 - 1 0.67 0.67 1
16 - 0.67 0.67 1
17 - 0.33 1
18 - 0
19 -



Table 4.4: Askin and Zhous Similarity Coefficients for the Sample of Parts
-

7
6

-


Part # 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
1 - 0.67 0.92 0.75 0.46 0.50 0.75 0.74 0.74 0.50 0 0 0 0 0.24 0.24 0 0 0
2 - 0.64 0.74 0.40 0.37 0.49 0.33 0.33 0.99 0 0.31 0 0.31 0.33 0.33 0.31 0.31 0
3 - 0.92 0.57 0.60 0.70 0.64 0.50 0.74 0 0.31 0 0.31 0.33 0.33 0.31 0.31 0
4 - 0.71 0.46 0.50 0.49 0.49 0.50 0 0.33 0 0.33 0.49 0.49 0.33 0.33 0
5 - 0.80 0.50 0.39 0.40 0.25 0.92 0.32 0 0.32 0.40 0.40 0.32 0.65 0
6 - 0.71 0.59 0.60 0.50 0.92 0.32 0 0.32 0.20 0.20 0.32 0.65 0
7 - 0.99 0.99 0.50 0.94 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.33 0
8 - 0.97 0.49 0.88 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.31 0
9 - 0.49 0.90 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.31 0
10 - 0 0.33 0 0.33 0.24 0.24 0.33 0.33 0
11 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.96 0
12 - 0.92 0.67 0.65 0.65 1 0.33 0.96
13 - 0.49 0.96 0.96 0.92 0 0.98
14 - 0.65 0.65 0.67 0.67 0
15 - 1 0.65 0.60 0.90
16 - 0.65 0.60 0.90
17 - 0.33 0.96
18 - 0
19 -


Table 4.5: Merger Coefficients for the Sample of Parts

-

7
7

-



Part # 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
1 - 0.57 0.71 0.86 0.57 0.57 0.86 0.43 0.57 0.57 0.43 0.43 0.43 0.43 0.29 0.29 0.43 0.43 0.43
2 - 0.57 0.57 0.29 0.43 0.43 0.29 0.43 0.71 0.14 0.29 0.14 0.29 0.29 0.29 0.29 0.29 0.14
3 - 0.71 0.57 0.57 0.57 0.43 0.43 0.43 0.14 0.29 0.14 0.29 0.29 0.29 0.29 0.29 0.14
4 - 0.71 0.57 0.71 0.29 0.43 0.57 0.43 0.57 0.43 0.57 0.29 0.29 0.57 0.57 0.43
5 - 0.71 0.57 0.29 0.43 0.29 0.43 0.43 0.29 0.43 0.43 0.43 0.43 0.57 0.29
6 - 0.71 0.29 0.43 0.43 0.43 0.43 0.29 0.43 0.14 0.14 0.43 0.57 0.29
7 - 0.57 0.71 0.57 0.57 0.43 0.43 0.43 0.14 0.14 0.43 0.57 0.43
8 - 0.86 0.29 0.14 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.14 0.00
9 - 0.43 0.29 0.14 0.14 0.14 0.14 0.14 0.14 0.29 0.14
10 - 0.43 0.57 0.43 0.57 0.29 0.29 0.57 0.57 0.43
11 - 0.57 0.71 0.57 0.14 0.14 0.57 0.71 0.86
12 - 0.86 0.86 0.43 0.43 1.00 0.71 0.71
13 - 0.71 0.43 0.43 0.86 0.57 0.86
14 - 0.43 0.43 0.86 0.86 0.57
15 - 1.00 0.43 0.43 0.29
16 - 0.43 0.43 0.29
17 - 0.71 0.71
18 - 0.57
19 -


Table 4.6: Levenshtein Distance based Similarity Coefficients for the Sample of Parts

-

7
8

-

1
6
1
5
1
9
1
3
1
1
1
8
1
4
1
7
1
2 9 8
1
0 2 6 5 3 4 7 1
31.59
54.39
77.20
100.00
Similarity Coefficient (%)
Levenshein Distance based
Part #

Figure 4.7: Average Linkage Clustering of the Sample of Parts using Levenshtein Distance

-

7
9

-

1
9
1
7
1
3
1
2
1
6
1
5
1
4
1
8
1
1 6 5 9 8 7 4 3 1
1
0 2
15.71
43.80
71.90
100.00
Similarity Coefficient (%)
Askin and Zhou's
Part #

Figure 4.8: Average Linkage Clustering of the Sample of Parts using Askin and Zhous Similarity Coefficient
-

8
0

-

2
1
0 1 3 4 5 6
1
1
1
8 7 9 8
1
2
1
7
1
3
1
9
1
5
1
6
1
4
100.00
71.72
43.45
15.18
Part #
Merger Coefficient (%)

Figure 4.9: Average Linkage Clustering of the Sample of Parts using Merger Coefficient

-

8
1

-

0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
No. of Clusters
T
h
r
e
s
h
o
l
d

V
a
l
u
e
(
%
)
Levenshtein Distance based Similarity Coeffcient
Askin and Zhou's Similarity Coefficient
Merger Coefficient

Figure 4.10: Threshold Trends of the Distance/Similarity Measures





CHAPTER 5

DESIGN OF MODULAR LAYOUTS

A review of the literature shows that a fundamental requirement for the design of
modern facility layouts is the distribution of identical machines at multiple locations in
the facility. As early as 1952, Ireson (1952) recognized that a manufacturing facility
layout may need to have a combination of the product grouping and process
specialization characteristic of Cellular and Functional layouts, respectively. From a
historical perspective, the pioneering paper on Production Flow Analysis by Burbidge
(1963) was the first to specifically discuss machine duplication to divide and distribute
the departments in a Functional layout in order to design a Cellular layout. Holographic
layouts (Montreuil and Lefrancois, 1996) and Fractal layouts (Venkatadri, Rardin and
Montreuil, 1997) extend the idea of the traditional Functional layout since they distribute
identical machines at multiple locations on the factory floor. A related idea, that of giving
flexibility to a jobshop layout by distributing identical machines at several non-adjacent
locations on the shopfloor, is discussed in (Webster and Tyberghein, 1980). Hybrid
Cellular Layouts (Irani, 1990; Shukla, 1995) represent a fusion of several ideas of partial
conversion to a Cellular layout, functional grouping of several shared machine types,

- 82 -

limited physical duplication of shared machines and intercell flows. In one variation of
hybrid layouts, an existing layout is replaced by a combination of both manufacturing
cells and individual workcenters (Harhalakis et al, 1996). Cascading Cells (Tilsley et al,
1977) and Remainder Cells (Shunk and Reed, 1975) are other examples of hybrid
layouts. Holonic layouts (Askin et al, 1996) have random arrangements of machines with
no specific cell boundaries and distribute multiple machines of any type throughout the
facility.
However, the literature also indicates that the strategic duplication of machines in
the facility can be achieved only by using the operation sequences of the products as
input. If the operation sequences are aggregated and the resulting From-To chart used as
input, then at best a single type of layout Functional Layout can be designed for a
facility. Vakharia and Wemmerlov (1990) presented a method to design a set of
independent or interacting Flowline cells with minimum intercell flows. Askin and Zhou
(1998) proposed an enhanced algorithm to solve the same problem using Longest
Common Subsequences. Ho et al (1993) presented a layout design technique that exploits
the similarity of product assembly sequences in a product family to design a network-
type layout for a multi-product flowline. Moodie et al (1994) discussed the case of design
of a network of manufacturing cells using product sequence similarity analysis where all
cells have a flowline layout.
In this chapter, we will propose a novel idea design of any facility layout as a
network of layout modules. The idea of layout modules is equivalent to that of
directed graph primitives which originated during a feasibility study to design a cellular

- 83 -

layout for a semiconductor fab (Irani, 1997). Layout modules automatically group
machines that occur together in different operation sequences, allowing for the same
machines to be duplicated in several locations, depending on the placement of the
modules in the final layout. In essence, the layout module expands the ideas of cells in
a cellular layout and departments in a functional layout by allowing a module to have a
product, process or part family focus (Irani and Huang, 1998).

5.1. Layout Modules: A New Concept in Facility Layout
Experience from several machining and fabrication jobshop layout projects
undertaken in industry has shown that the traditional layouts are inadequate for layout
design. The overall material flow network corresponding to the operation sequences of
the products being produced by the facility may not be appropriately represented by any
one of the traditional layouts. Instead, our research asserts that the material flow network
in any facility layout can be decomposed into a network of layout modules, with each
module representing a portion of the entire facility. A layout module is essentially a
group of machines connected by a material flow network that exhibits certain flow
pattern characteristic of a specific type of layout, such as the Flowline or Functional
Layout. Layout modules are categorized as follows:
Flowline Module (Figure 5.1a): A Flowline module is a linear arrangement of
machines such that all inter-machine moves for consecutive pairs of
operations on any product moving through the line would be in-sequence
flows.

- 84 -

Branched (Convergent/Divergent) Flowline Module (Figure 5.1b): A
Branched Flowline module results when a set of products have operation
sequences with one or more substrings of operations common to all of them.
At several points, the flowline will split into parallel branches, each branch
containing machines unique to a particular product (or products). These
branches will merge later into a single line wherever all product(s) require the
same substring of operations.
Patterned Flow Module (Figure 5.1c): The material flow network in a
Patterned Flow module exhibits a flow dominance and precedence hierarchy.
It is a directed cyclic graph of which each cycle is formed by two vertices.
This module could be further decomposed into a network of Flowline modules
and Branched Flowline modules.
Functional Layout Module (Figure 5.1d): A Functional Layout module is
analogous to the process-focused department in a traditional Functional layout
in which material flows are random. The random flows are due to the absence
of any flow dominance or patterns in the sequences in which the different
machines within the module are used by different parts.

The concept of layout modules extends current thinking on input data
requirements and methods for facility layout, and supports the need for a new generation
of facility layouts beyond the three traditional layouts that continue to be studied and

- 85 -

implemented in industry. Our research on layout modules could extend the state-of-the-
art in the theory and practice of facility layout techniques as follows:
The department in a facility is allowed to contain a combination of multiple
compatible processes, instead of a single process. Similarly, the formation of
a partial cell is allowed since the threshold values of operation sequence
similarity for grouping dissimilar products into families are subjective and
vary with each sample of product routings specific to a particular jobshop.
Facility planners are allowed to take a logical approach to duplicating
machines of the same function at multiple locations in a facility based on their
occurrence in different combinations of operations required for different
families of routings.
More than one type of layout can be used to arrange the different machines
and resources in a facility.
Design of Modular Layouts using operation sequences is a flexible method
that could also be used to design any facility layout.
An approach is proposed for defining the multi-function capabilities of
flexible automated machines by identifying strings of consecutive operations
common to a large number of similar products.


- 86 -

A B C D E
A B
C
G H
D
E F
(a) Flowline Module
(b) Branched Flowline Module
(d) Functional Layout Module
A
B
C
D
E
(c) Patterned Flow Module
A
B C D
E

Figure 5.1: Illustration of Layout Modules



5.2. Problem Description for Designing A Modular Layout
A layout module is a group of machines with assigned flows. Let each machine be
a vertex and each flow be an edge, a layout module M can be represented by a directed
graph G(M). And when we treat each layout module as a vertex and each inter-module
flow as an edge, a modular layout can be represented by a directed graph G(L). For
discussion of the problem for designing a modular layout, the following concepts about
directed graphs are introduced first:

- 87 -


Weakly Connected Graph: A directed graph is weakly connected if every pair of
vertices can reach each other by ignoring the direction
of edges.
Strongly Connected Graph: A directed graph is strongly connected if there is a
directed path between every pair of vertices.
Strongly Connected Components: A group of vertices in a directed graph are
called strongly connected components if there
is a directed path between every pair of vertices
in the group. The degree of the strongly
connected components is defined as the
number of vertices in the group.
Topological Sort (Linear Extension): Given a directed acyclic graph G = (V, E), a
topological sort or linear extension of G is a
linear ordering of the vertices of V such that
for each edge (i, j)E, vertex i is to the left
of vertex j.

The directed graphs corresponding to flowline and branched flowline modules are
directed acyclic graphs, therefore they have linear extensions. For a directed graph
corresponding to a patterned flow module, a linear extension can be constructed if each

- 88 -

group of strongly connected components is treated as a supernode. Since each supernode
contains only two vertices, the ordering of vertices remains linear and the flows have a
dominant left to right pattern with exception in each supernode. In terms of flow
dominance and degree of strongly connected components, the flow complexity of the
four types of layout module is shown in Table 5.1.

Flowline
Module
Branched
Flowline Module
Patterned
Flow Module
Functional
Layout Module
Dominant Flow
Pattern
Yes Yes Yes None
In-Sequence
Flow
Yes Yes Yes N/A
Bypass Flow None Yes Yes N/A
Backtracking
Flow
None None Yes N/A
Strongly
Connected
Components
None None
Yes. Highest
degree is 2.
Yes. Highest
degree 3.

Table 5.1: Comparison of Flow Complexity for Layout Modules


The problem of designing a modular layout is a multi-criteria decision problem.
The objective is to simplify factory flows with consideration of machine purchasing
costs. Based on the above discussion, it is observed that number of groups of strongly
connected components contained in a directed graph and their degrees can be used to
measure flow complexity of the graph. The description of the problem is as follows:

- 89 -

Given
Production volume of each product in the planning period
Operation sequences for each product, in form of routing of
machines, and processing time for each operation
Unit purchasing cost and capacity of each type of machine
Current number of each type of machine
Determine
Number of layout modules, denoted by m
To which module each machine is allocated
To which machine each operation for each product is assigned
To Minimize
Machines purchasing cost
Highest degree of strongly connected components contained in

m
i
i
M G
1
) (
=
Sum of degrees of strongly connected components contained in

m
i
i
M G
1
) (
=


- 90 -

Highest degree of strongly connected components contained in
G(L)
Sum of degrees of strongly connected components contained in
G(L)
Such that
Each operation is assigned to one and only one machine
Machine capacity constraints are satisfied


This problem consists of several NP-complete sub-problems. For example,
determining the size and number of each layout module that will comprise the new layout
is analogous to the Clustering, Capacitated Clustering, Graph Partitioning and Partition
into Cliques problems (Garey and Johnson, 1979; Mulvey and Beck, 1984). Given the
digraph connecting the set of machines assigned to a module, determining which type of
layout module it best represents is the Subgraph Isomorphism problem (Garey and
Johnson, 1979). For example, the simplest case where the population of routings is
clustered into K modules with the same configuration Flowline is analogous to the
Shortest Common Superstring problem. Having obtained a decomposition of the existing
facility into a network of modules, determining the optimal layout for this network is
analogous to the Quadratic Assignment problem or the Maximum Weight Planar
Subgraph problem of designing a block (or Functional) layout for a facility.

- 91 -


5.3. A Heuristic Procedure for Generation of Layout Modules
In this section, we present a heuristic procedure for solving the problem for design
of a modular layout based on production flow analysis and group technology. The
proposed approach is a hybrid method that integrates the methods for design of
Functional and Cellular layouts. The underlying algorithms are based on group
technology for machine grouping and similarity analysis of product routings, and the
string matching methods used extensively in genetics, molecular chemistry and the
biological sciences (Sankoff and Kruskal, 1983). The heuristic procedure developed to
generate layout modules is described below. The sample of data studied by Irani and
Ramakrishnan (1995), shown in Table 5.2, is used to demonstrate the method.

Stage 1: Identification of common_substrings, if any, between all pairs of
operation sequences. A layout module is a essentially a group of machines connected by
a material flow network that exhibits a flow pattern characteristic of a specific type of
layout, and thus could have a product, process or part family focus. A part may go
through multiple layout modules with each module processing a subset of operations for
the part. In other words, a layout module is responsible for a set of similar partial routings
of parts. Hence, naturally, we start constructing layout modules with capturing partial
routings that are common among parts, i.e. the common substrings among operation
sequences. A common substring is defined as a sequence of consecutive operations that is
common to two or more operation sequences. These operation sequences, in turn, are the

- 92 -

superstrings of the substring. In each superstring, an operation that does not belong to the
common substring is called a residual operation with respect to the common substring.


Part # Sequence Total Time (minutes/unit)
1 1,4,8,9 96-36-36-72
2 1,4,7,4,8,7 36-120-20-120-24-20
3 1,2,4,7,8,9 96-48-36-120-36-72
4 1,4,7,9 96-36-120-72
5 1,6,10,7,9 96-72-200-120-72
6 6,10,7,8,9 36-120-60-24-36
7 6,4,8,9 72-36-48-48
8 3,5,2,6,4,8,9 144-120-48-72-36-48-48
9 3,5,6,4,8,9 144-120-72-36-48-48
10 4,7,4,8 120-20-120-24
11 6 72
12 11,7,12 192-150-80
13 11,12 192-60
14 11,7,10 288-180-360
15 1,7,11,10,11,12 15-70-54-45-54-30
16 1,7,11,10,11,12 15-70-54-45-54-30
17 11,7,12 192-150-80
18 6,7,10 108-180-360
19 12 60

Table 5.2: Operation Sequences for the Sample of Parts

The common substrings of operations in a set of n operation sequences can be
identified in linear time using a suffix tree. First, construct a suffix tree that contains the n
operation sequences, with each leaf labeled with its original operation sequence. Then,
the common substrings of operations can be identified using a depth-first search on this
suffix tree with labeling each node with both the length of its common prefix and the

- 93 -

number of distinct operation sequences that are its children. The algorithm for finding
common substrings between two operation sequences is shown in Figure 5.2.
Using the algorithm described in Figure 5.2, the common substrings between each
pair of operation sequences in Table 5.2 are found, as shown in Table 5.3. Then we need
to identify each unique common substring, and calculate how frequent it occurs in the
original routings, i.e. the number of original routings which are the superstrings of the
common substring. It is observed that, among the all the common substrings in Table
5.3, there are 17 unique ones. The 17 unique common substrings and their frequencies of
occurrence in the original routings are listed in Table 5.4.


- 94 -
-

9
5

-

i=1, j=1, len=0;
x i = y j ?
i=i+1, j=j+1,
len=len+1;
i>m?
Y
N
len>1?
Y
j=j+1, len=0;
N
j>n?
len>1?
Y
N
End
Y
N
N
Y
len>1?
N
Y
i=i+1, j=1,
len=0;
OUTPUT
Com_Substr
OUTPUT
Com_Substr
OUTPUT
Com_Substr
Com_substr: Sequence of matching consecutive operations in sequences X and Y.
X
i
: The i
th
operation in sequence X.
Y
j
: The j
th
operation in sequence Y.
len: Number of matching consecutive operations in sequences X and Y.


Figure 5.2: Algorithm for Finding Common_Substrings in Two Operation Sequences


-

9
6

-
Part# 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16171819
1 -
2 {1,4},
{4,8}
-
3 {8,9} {4,7} -
4 {1,4} {1,4,7} {4,7} -
5 {7,9} -
6 {8,9} {7,8,9} {6,10,7} -
7 {4,8,9} {4,8} {8,9} {8,9} -
8 {4,8,9} {4,8} {8,9} {8,9}{6,4,8,9} -
9 {4,8,9} {4,8} {8,9} {8,9}{6,4,8,9} {3,5},
{6,4,8,9}
-
10 {4,8} {4,7,4,8} {4,7} {4,7} {4,8} {4,8} {4,8} -
11 -
12 -
13 -
14 {11,7} -
15 {11,12} -
16 {11,12} {1,7,11,10,11,12} -
17 {11,7,12} {11,7} -
18 {7,10} -
19 -



Table 5.3: Common Substrings between all Pairs of Operation Sequences



No. Unique Common Substring Frequency of Occurrence
S1 1 4 3
S2 1 4 7 2
S3 1 7 11 10 11 12 2
S4 3 5 2
S5 4 7 4
S6 4 7 4 8 2
S7 4 8 6
S8 4 8 9 4
S9 6 4 8 9 3
S10 6 10 7 2
S11 7 8 9 2
S12 7 9 2
S13 7 10 2
S14 8 9 6
S15 11 7 3
S16 11 7 12 2
S17 11 12 3

Table 5.4: Unique Common Substrings



Stage 2: Cluster analysis of dominant common substrings to generate basic layout
modules. Based on the definition of the layout modules, the relationship between
common substrings and each type of layout modules can be described as follows:
1) Flowline module: A Flowline module consists of a group of common
substrings in which there is one substring that is the superstring of all the
other substrings.
2) Branched Flowline module: When two or more common substrings have
common sub-substrings and no common residual operations with respect to

- 97 -

the common sub-substrings, then the set of common substrings can be
merged into a Branched Flowline module by placing the common sub-
substrings in a single main flowline and creating parallel branches for the
residual operations.
3) Patterned Flow module: A Patterned Flow module also have common sub-
substrings, but the residual operations of the substrings with respect to the
common sub-substrings have common operations and the aggregated Travel
Chart digraph obtained from the merger of the substrings is a directed cyclic
graph of which each cycle is formed by two vertices.
4) Functional Layout module: A Functional Layout module is the same as a
Patterned Flow Layout module, except that the aggregated Travel Chart
digraph obtained from the merger of the substrings contains directed cycle
that is formed by more than two vertices. If the similarity coefficients
computed for these substrings exhibits poor clusterability, then a Functional
Layout module would appear suitable for those operations. Alternatively, if
these substrings are aggregated into a Travel Chart digraph which either
exhibits strong connectivity or contains a large number of cycles, then this
absence of flow patterns would again suggest a Functional Layout module.

- 98 -


Since Flowline, Branched Flowline and Patterned Flowline modules all have
preferable structure of dominant flow pattern, we define these three modules as basic
layout modules. The objective of this stage is to form basic layout modules using
dominant common substrings. Dominant common substrings are those common
substrings whose frequencies of occurrence in the original routings are higher than a user
defined threshold DOM.
Next, cluster analysis of dominant common substrings needs to be performed to
group similar substrings and generate basic layout modules. As discussed in chapter 5,
we use Merger coefficient to calculate the similarity between each pair of dominant
common substrings, and adopt the homogeneous agglomerative hierarchical clustering
method with the (unweighted pair-group) average linkage algorithm for cluster analysis.
Following Mulvey and Crowder (1979), the mathematical model for homogeneous
clustering of dominant common substrings to form basic layout modules is given as
follows:

- 99 -

(P) Minimize

I J
ij ij
x m
Subject to:

=
J
ij
x 1
, for all i
K x
J
jj
=

jj ij
x x , for all i, j
x
ij
binary, for all i, j
where
I = Set of substrings
J = Set of eligible medians
K = Number of clusters
m
ij
= Merger coefficient between substrings i and j
x
ij
= 1 if substring i is assigned to cluster median j;
= 0 otherwise.


Given T as the number of all operation types and N as the number of common
substrings, a common substring can be represented by a TT matrix A where

- 100 -

=
otherwise 0
operation to operation from flow a is there if 1
] [
j i
i,j A
Representing each substring by a TT matrix A
k
(k=1, , N), the merger of two or more
substrings can then be represented by the matrix

k
k
A , where

>
=

otherwise 0
operation to operation from flow a is there if 0
] )[ (
j i a
i,j A
k
k

The agglomerative hierarchical heuristic for solving problem (P) is described below:
(1) Let each substring A
k
be a cluster, which will result in the set of clusters
C={C
k
}={A
k
}, k=1, , N.
(2) Find all strongly connected components consisting of more than two operations, if
any, contained in each substring A
k
(k=1, , N) and store them in a corresponding
set of strongly connected component S
k
. The strongly connected components in
S
k
are allowed to occur in a basic layout module generated from A
k.

(3) Do until no clusters can be merged:
Step 1: Mark every pair of clusters as untested.
Step 2: Calculate similarity for each pair of clusters using the average linkage
method.
Step 3: From the untested clusters, select the pair C
k1
and C
k2
that has the highest
similarity.
Step 4: Test mergeability of C
k1
and C
k2
.

- 101 -

If (C
k1
+C
k2
) contains strongly connected components that consist of more
than two operations and do not belong to (S
k1
S
k2
), or
(C
k1
+C
k2
) is not weakly connected, then C
k1
and C
k2
are not
mergeable, go to Step 3.
Else, C
k1
and C
k2
are mergeable; replace C
k1
and C
k2
by (C
k1
+C
k2
) in
cluster set C with (S
k1
S
k2
) as its corresponding strongly
connected component set; mark (C
k1
+C
k2
) as untested; go to Step
2.
(4) Output each of the clusters in C as a basic layout module.


In the above procedure, the strongly connected components are found using the
depth first search proposed by Tarjan (1972). The basic idea in his algorithm is to study
where the nodes of the strong components are located in the depth first spanning forest of
the graph. The nodes of every strong components form a tree in the spanning forest. To
identify the strong components, the root of each component needs to be labeled first. The
root of each component is the node in the component having the lowest number in the
depth first order in the spanning forest. When the roots are identified, the nodes in a
component are obtained as those descendants of its root that are not descendants of any
other component root that is a descendant of its root.

- 102 -

In our example, we define all the unique common substrings as the dominant
common substrings, i.e. DOM = 1. The similarity between each pair of the dominant
common substrings measured by Merger coefficient is shown in Table 5.5.

- 103 -



-

1
0
4

-
DCS S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9 S10 S11 S12 S13 S14 S15 S16 S17
S1 - 0.99 0.44 0 0.50 0.47 0.50 0.49 0.47 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
S2 - 0.64 0 0.99 0.66 0.49 0.33 0.32 0.33 0.33 0.49 0.49 0 0.49 0.33 0
S3 - 0 0.44 0.24 0 0 0 0.31 0.31 0.44 0.86 0 0.44 0.64 0.94
S4 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
S5 - 0.97 0.50 0.49 0.47 0.49 0.49 0.50 0.50 0 0.50 0.49 0
S6 - 0.97 0.66 0.50 0.32 0.60 0.47 0.47 0.47 0.47 0.32 0
S7 - 0.99 0.97 0 0.49 0 0 0.50 0 0 0
S8 - 0.99 0 0.67 0.49 0 0.99 0 0 0
S9 - 0.32 0.66 0.47 0 0.97 0 0 0
S10 - 0.33 0.49 0.49 0 0.49 0.33 0
S11 - 0.90 0.49 0.99 0.49 0.33 0
S12 - 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.49 0
S13 - 0 0.50 0.49 0
S14 - 0 0 0
S15 - 0.99 0.50
S16 - 0.90
S17 -


Table 5.5: Merger Coefficients for All Pairs of Dominant Common Substrings (DCS)
-

1
0
5

-

S
4
S
3
S
1
7
S
1
5
S
1
6
S
1
0
S
1
2
S
1
3
S
1
S
2
S
5
S
6
S
7
S
8
S
9
S
1
1
S
1
4
100.00
66.67
33.33
0.00
Dominant Common Substring
Merger Coefficient (%)

M2
M1
M3
M4

Figure 5.3: Agglomerative Hierarchical Clustering of Dominant Common Substrings


Based on Merger coefficients for all pairs of dominant common substrings, a
cluster analysis of these substrings is performed using the proposed heuristic method.
Figure 5.3 shows the dendrogram for the agglomerative hierarchical clustering of the
substrings. Consequently, four basic layout modules are generated as shown in Table 5.6.


Module #
Cluster of Dominant
Common_Substrings
Digraph for the Layout Module
M1 S4 3 5
M2
S3, S15, S16, S17
7 11 1 10
12

M3
S10, S12, S13
10 7 6 9

M4
S1, S2, S5, S6, S7, S8, S9,
S11, S14
7
1
4 8 6 9


Table 5.6: Basic Layout Modules


Stage 3: Generation of Functional Layout modules if necessary. If two layout
modules have many common machines, they may be merged into a Function Layout
module to reduce machine duplication. The commonality between layout modules M
i
and

- 106 -

M
j
is defined as
) , min(
j i
ij
n n
n
, where n
ij
is the number of distinct operations common to
both modules; n
i
and n
j
are the number of distinct operations contained in M
i
and M
j
,
respectively. Given a user-defined threshold level of commonality V (0V1) for merging
layout modules, the algorithm for merging layout modules is presented as follows:
(1) Calculate the commonality between each pair of layout modules.
(2) Find the pair of layout modules with highest commonality. If the
commonality is higher than the threshold level V, then aggregate the
two modules into one, go to (1); else, stop.
The selection of the threshold level V is a specific decision problem that requires the user
to perform the classical tradeoff between inter-module material flow costs and machine
duplication among the modules to eliminate the flows (Arvindh and Irani, 1994).
In our example, we set V=0.8. The Calculation of the commonality between each
pair of basic layout modules (Table 5.7) shows that there is no need to merge basic layout
modules.


Module # M1 M2 M3 M4
M1 -
M2 0 -
M3
0 0.5 -
M4 0 0.4 0.75 -

Table 5.7: Commonalities between Basic Layout Modules

- 107 -

Stage 4: Expression of the original operation sequences in terms of the layout
modules. In this stage, we replace the original part routings by the combination of
residual machines and the layout modules generated using the above procedure.
Given an operation sequence (x
1
, x
2
, , x
m
) and layout modules M
1
,,M
n
, the
procedure is implemented by a greedy heuristic method described as below:
(1) Set i=1; create a null operation sequence as the new sequence.
(2) If i m, find the layout module M
j
which contains the longest
substring that matches (x
i
, x
i+1
, , x
k
), where k m; else, go to (4).
(3) If k 1, then put x
i
as a residual machine at the end of the new
sequence, i = i+1, go to (2); else, put M
j
at the end of the new
sequence, i = k+1, go to (2).
(4) Output the new sequence as a modular sequence corresponding to the
original operation sequence.

The above method is applied to the original routings in Table 5.2 using the
module layouts in Table 5.6. The resulting modular sequences are listed in Table 5.8.


- 108 -


Part# Operation Sequences
1 M4
2 M4 7
3 M4 2 M4
4 M4 9
5 M4 M3
6 M3 M4
7 M4
8 M1 2 M4
9 M1 M4
10 M4
11 M4
12 M2
13 M2
14 M2 10
15 M2
16 M2
17 M2
18 6 M3
19 12

Table 5.8: Modular Sequences for the Sample of Parts


To reduce machine duplication, the modular sequences are adjusted such that any
residual machine occurring in an adjacent layout module is absorbed into the module.
This absorption of the residual machine may cause new strongly connected components
to occur in the layout module into which the machine was absorbed, and thus destroy the
Flowline, Branched Flowline or Patterned Flow pattern in that module. In other words, a
basic layout module may become a Functional Layout module after the adjustment.

- 109 -

The adjustment of the basic layout modules, after the absorptions of residual
machines in the modular sequences, is shown in Table 5.9. Consequently, the new
modular sequences in terms of the adjusted layout modules are obtained as shown in
Table 5.10.



Module # Before Adjustment After Adjustment
M1 3 5 3 5
M2
7 11 1 10
12

7 11 1
10
12

M3
10 7 6 9

10
7
6
9

M4
7
1
4 8 6 9

7 1
4 8 6
9


Table 5.9: Adjustment of Layout Modules

- 110 -


Part# Operation Sequences
1 M4
2 M4
3 M4 2 M4
4 M4
5 M4 M3
6 M3 M4
7 M4
8 M1 2 M4
9 M1 M4
10 M4
11 M4
12 M2
13 M2
14 M2
15 M2
16 M2
17 M2
18 M3
19 M2

Table 5.10: Adjusted Modular Sequences for the Sample of Parts


Stage 5: Generation of facility layout as a Network of Layout Modules. Based on
the adjusted modular sequences, a digraph representation between layout modules and
residual machines in the facility layout are generated. If one or more layout modules
and/or residual machines exhibit no flow from/to other modules and machines, then they
could be merged into a Cell module. Figure 5.4 shows the network representation of the
facility layout based on the adjusted modular sequences of the sample of parts.

- 111 -

7
1 4
8
6
9
10
7 6 9
2 5 3
M3
M4
M2
M1
Inter-module flow or flow between a module and a residual machine
Intra-module flow
1 7
10
11
12


Figure 5.4: Flow Diagram for the Modular Layout


In order to determine the feasibility of duplicating machines in several modules,
the total available capacity per machine of each type for the entire production period need
to be computed:
C U A
j j
=
where,
A
j
Total available capacity per machine of type j
U
j
Utilization factor of machine type j
C Duration of production period

- 112 -


Then the numbers of machines required in a module are calculated as follows:

=
i
j
ijk
jk
A
T
N

where,
N
jk
Number of machines of type j required in module k
T
ijk
Capacity requirement for operation i on machine type j in module k

In our example, we set U=80% and C=8 hours, whereby A=384 minutes. Table
5.11 shows the number of machines of each type required in the layout modules and as
residual machines. Note that the integer requirements of machines 1, 9 and 10 summed
over all the modules exceed the available numbers of machines of each type. This is an
easy problem to solve if extra machines of these types can be purchased for the modules
(or some machines in the modules can be partially replaced by multi-function machines).
Alternatively, to minimize the duplication of identical machines in multiple locations,
inter-module flows can be encouraged by designing a layout that minimizes the travel
delays for these moves.

- 113 -


Module
Machine
M1 M2 M3 M4
Residual
Machine
# of Existing
Machines
1 0 0.08* 0 1.09* 0 2
2 0 0 0 0 0.25 1
3 0.75 0 0 0 0 1
4 0 0 0 1.81 0 2
5 0.63 0 0 0 0 1
6 0 0 0.56 0.75 0 2
7 0 1.61 0.94 0.78 0 4
8 0 0 0 0.75 0 1
9 0 0 0.19* 1.03* 0 2
10 0 1.17* 1.77 0 0 3
11 0 2.81 0 0 0 3
12 0 0.89 0 0 0 1
* Low machine load may not justify putting a machine of this type in the module, instead
it may implies purchase of a multi-function flexible machine for the module.
Table 5.11: Machine Requirements in Layout Modules and as Residual Machines


After machine capacities are calculated, a block layout can be generated using the
maximum weight planar graph embedding heuristic proposed by Foulds and Giffin
(1985). In the final layout, some process departments are automatically split and their
machines are located at non-adjacent locations; some machines are shared by two
adjacent modules due to limited machine availability. If adjacent modules in the final
layout have a high commonality of machines, then they could be aggregated into a larger
module. The block layout for the sample of parts (Figure 5.5), based on Figure 5.4 and
Table 5.11, is generated using Foulds and Giffins method.


- 114 -


M3
M4
M2
M1
Inter-module flow or flow between a module and an individual machine
Intra-module flow
5 3 2
6
4
4
1
8 7
9
6
10
10
9
7
1
7
7
10
10
11 11 11
12
n Machines shared by adjacent modules due to limited machine availability


Figure 5.5: Modular Layout for the Sample of Parts


5.4. Comparison of Alternative Layouts
In this section, we compare modular layout with functional layout and cellular
layout using the sample of parts used in the previous section. Based on the routings in
Table 5.2, the functional layout (Figure 5.6) is created by STORM, and the cellular layout
(Figure 5.7) is generated using Askin and Zhous method (1998).

- 115 -

For the three layouts shown in Figures 5.5, 5.6 and 5.7, we compute the number
of moves in the routing of every product that occur between non-adjacent departments in
each layout, as shown in Table 5.12. This gives us an indication of the complexity of
material handling and also the extent to which the initial material flow graph could be
given a planar embedding. Furthermore, we also calculate the average number of
machines per machine group, additional machine requirements and the occurrences of
each type of machine in non-adjacent locations in each layout, as shown in Tables 5.13.
This measures the production flexibility and machine utilization in the layouts.


4
4
1
1
2
6
6
8
7
7
5
9
9
7
7
3
10
10
11
11
11
12
10


Figure 5.6: Functional Layout for the Sample of Parts




- 116 -

4 Cell 1 2
1
8 7
9
4
6 5 8 10 3 2
1 9 7
7 10 Cell2 4
1 11 11 7 10 12 7 10
6
Cell3 11


Figure 5.7: Flowline Cellular Layout for the Sample of Parts





Flows between Non-adjacent Departments
Part #
Functional Layout
Modular
Layout
Flowline Cellular
Layout
1 None None None
2 None None None
3 2 4 None None
4 None None None
5 6 10 None None
6 610 None None
7 6 4 None None
8 5 2 6 4 None None
9 6 4 None None
10 None None None
11 None None None
12 11 7 12 None None
13 11 7 None None
14 11 7 None None
15 7 11 None None
16 7 11 None None
17 11 7 12 None None
18 6 10 None None
19 None None None
Total 17 0 0

Table 5.12: Comparison of the Alternative Layouts on Flow Complexity

- 117 -



Machine # Number of Occurrences in Non-adjacent Locations
Functional Layout Modular Layout Flowline Cellular Layout
1 1 2 3
2 1 1 2
3 1 1 1
4 1 1 3
5 1 1 1
6 1 2 1
7 1 3 5
8 1 1 2
9 1 2 2
10 1 2 4
11 1 1 2
12 1 1 1
Total 12 18 27
Average
Number of
Machines
1.92 per
department
4.8 per module 9.67 per cell
Additional
Machine
Requirements
0 1 6

Table 5.13: Comparison of the Alternative Layouts on Flexibility




From the measures shown in Tables 5.12 and 5.13, it is observed that the modular
layout consistently outperforms the cellular layout, and has much simpler production
flow than the functional layout with very subtle sacrifice on production flexibility and
machine utilization.

- 118 -

5.5. Case Study
In this section, we use the proposed heuristic method to generate a modular layout
for a local sheet metal fabrication jobshop. The routings of the parts are listed in Table
5.14.


Routing # Operation Sequence
1 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10
2 1,2,3,11,4,8,10
3 12,2,13,3,2,9,10
4 12,2,6,3,10
5 12,6,2,3,2,4,10
6 1,2,8,9,2,4,10
7 2,3,5,4,6,7,6,7,10
8 2,3,5,4,6,10
9 1,2,14,4,5,6,9,10
10 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,10
11 12,2,3,9,10
12 1,2,13,3,6,5,9,10
13 1,2,3,5,4,8,6,8,10
14 12,2,3,5,6,2,10
15 1,2,3,4,5,8,6,5,7,10
16 12,2,3,10
17 1,2,3,5,6,10
18 12,2,3,5,6,9,10
19 12,2,3,8,10
20 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,5,10
21 1,2,5,6,4,9,10
22 12,2,10
23 12,2,3,5,4,6,9,10

Table 5.14: Routings of Parts



- 119 -

First, we find all the unique common substrings between all pairs of routings.
Since this dataset is small, we set the occurrence frequency threshold DOM = 1. At the
same time, without loss of any important flow information, we only choose representative
common substrings to be the dominant substrings. In other words, we remove the
substrings that are subsequence of one of the other substrings. The chosen dominant
common substrings are shown in Table 5.15. Then the Merger coefficients for all pairs of
dominant common substrings are computed as shown in Table 5.16. Figure 5.8 shows the
dendrogram for agglomerative hierarchical clustering of the dominant common
substrings with the unweighted pair-group average linkage method, based on the Merger
Coefficients in Table 5.16.

No. Common-Substrings
S1 8,9
S2 1,2,3,4,5,6,7
S3 4,8
S4 8,10
S5 3,2
S6 2,13,3
S7 3,10
S8 2,4,10
S9
S10 2,3,5,4,6
S11 6,7,10
S12 6,10
S13 5,6,9,10
S14 6,5
S15 8,6
S16 1,2,3,5
S17 12,2,3,5,6
S18 2,10
6,2

Table 5.15: Dominant Common Substrings

- 120 -



-

1
2
1

-
DCS S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9 S10 S11 S12 S13 S14 S15 S16 S17 S18
S1 - 0 0.5 0.5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.4 0 0.5 0 0 0
S2 -
0.4
0
0.4 0.6 0.4 0.5 0.4 0.7 0.6 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.9 0.7 0.4
S3 -
0.5
0 0 0
0.4
0
0.4
0 0 0 0
0.5
0 0 0
S4 - 0 0
0.5 0.4
0 0
0.4 0.5 0.4
0
0.5
0 0
0.5
S5 -
0.4 0.5 0.4 0.5 0.4
0 0 0 0 0
0.4 0.4 0.5
S6 -
0.4 0.3 0.4 0.6
0 0 0 0 0
0.6 0.6 0.4
S7 -
0.4
0
0.4 0.4 0.5 0.4
0 0
0.4 0.4 0.5
S8 -
0.4 0.5 0.3 0.4 0.3
0 0
0.3 0.3 0.9
S9 -
0.4 0.4 0.5 0.4 0.5 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.5
S10 -
0.3 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.7 0.8 0.4
S11 -
0.9 0.6 0.4 0.4
0
0.3 0.4
S12 -
0.9 0.5 0.5
0
0.4 0.5
S13 -
0.4 0.4 0.2 0.5 0.4
S14 -
0.5 0.4 0.4
0
S15 - 0
0.4
0
S16 -
0.7 0.4
S17 -
0.4
S18 -


Table 5.16: Merger Coefficients for All Pairs of Dominant Common Substrings (DCS)
-

1
2
2

-


S
4
S
3
S
1
S
1
5
S
1
4
S
9
S
1
3
S
1
2
S
1
1
S
1
8
S
8
S
7
S
5
S
6
S
1
7
S
1
0
S
1
6
S
2
14.11
42.74
71.37
100.00
Merger Coefficient (%)
Dominant Common Substring

M1
M2
M3 M4
Figure 5.8: Agglomerative Hierarchical Clustering of Dominant Common Substrings



Based on the cluster analysis, four basic layout modules are generated as shown in
Table 5.17. We set the commonality threshold V = 0.7, and compute the commonality
between each pair of basic layout modules. It is observed that, from the commonality
matrix (Table 5.18), the commonality between M1 and M2, and that between M3 and M4
are both 0.75 > V. Therefore, M1 and M2 are merged into a new layout module M5,
while M3 and M4 are replaced by M6, as shown in Table 5.19.
Using these two layout modules, the original routings of parts are re-expressed by
modular sequences, as shown in Table 5.20. After checking the residual machines in the
modular sequences, it is observed that some residual machines can be absorbed into M5
while M6 needs no adjustment. The adjusted layout module M5 after absorption of
residual machines is shown in Figure 5.9. The adjusted modular sequences for the parts
are shown in Table 5.21. Consequently, the flow diagram for the modular layout is drawn
as shown in Figure 5.10.




- 123 -
-

1
2
4

-

Module
#
Cluster of Dominant
Common Substrings
Digraph for the Layout Module
M1 S2, S16, S10, S17, S6
2 13 3 4 5 6 7
1
12

M2 S5, S7, S8, S18 3 2 4 10

M3
S9, S11, S12, S13, S14, S15
8 6 7 10
9
2 5

M4
S1, S3, S4 4 8
9
10


Table 5.17: Basic Layout Modules



Module # M1 M2 M3 M4
M1 -
M2 0.75 -
M3
0.57 0.5 -
M4 0.25 0.5 0.75 -

Table 5.18: Commonalities among Basic Layout Modules



Module #
Digraph for the Layout Module
M5 = M1 + M2
2
13 3 4 5
6 7 1
12
10

M6 = M3 + M4
4 8 6 7 10
9
2 5


Table 5.19: Merger of Basic Layout Modules




- 125 -

Routing # Operation Sequence Module Sequence
1 (1,2,3,4,5,6,7),(8,9,10) M5 M6
2 (1,2,3),11,(4,8,10) M5 11 M6
3 (12,2,13,3,2),(9,10) M5 M6
4 (12,2),6,(3,10) M5 6 M5
5 12,(6,2),(3,2,4,10) 12 M6 M5
6 (1,2),(8,9),(2,4,10) M5 M6 M5
7 (2,3,5,4,6,7),(6,7,10) M5 M6
8 (2,3,5,4,6),10 M5 10
9 (1,2),14,(4,5),(6,9,10) M5 14 M5 M6
10 (1,2,3,4,5,6,7),10 M5 10
11 (12,2,3),(9,10) M5 M6
12 (1,2,13,3),(6,5),(9,10) M5 M6 M6
13 (1,2,3,5,4),(8,6),(8,10) M5 M6 M6
14 (12,2,3,5,6),(2,10) M5 M5
15 (1,2,3,4,5),(8,6,5),(7,10) M5 M6 M6
16 (1,2,3,4,5),(8,6,5),(7,10) M5 M6 M6
17 (12,2,3),10 M5
18 (1,2,3,5,6),10 M5 10
19 (12,2,3,5,6),(9,10) M5 M6
20 (12,2,3),(8,10) M5 M6
21 (1,2,3,4,5,6,7),5,10 M5 5 10
22 (1,2),(5,6),4,(9,10) M5 M5 4 M6
23 (12,2),10 M5
24 (12,2,3),10 M5
25 (12,2,3,5,4,6),(9,10) M5 M6

Table 5.20: Modular Sequences for the Parts


2
13 3 4 5
6 7 1
12
10

Figure 5.9: Layout Module M5 after Absorption of Residual Machines

- 126 -



Routing # Operation Sequence Module Sequence
1 (1,2,3,4,5,6,7),(8,9,10) M5 M6
2 (1,2,3),11,(4,8,10) M5 11 M6
3 (12,2,13,3,2),(9,10) M5 M6
4 (12,2),6,(3,10) M5
5 12,(6,2),(3,2,4,10) 12 M6 M5
6 (1,2),(8,9),(2,4,10) M5 M6 M5
7 (2,3,5,4,6,7),(6,7,10) M5 M6
8 (2,3,5,4,6),10 M5
9 (1,2),14,(4,5),(6,9,10) M5 14 M5 M6
10 (1,2,3,4,5,6,7),10 M5
11 (12,2,3),(9,10) M5 M6
12 (1,2,13,3),(6,5),(9,10) M5 M6 M6
13 (1,2,3,5,4),(8,6),(8,10) M5 M6 M6
14 (12,2,3,5,6),(2,10) M5 M5
15 (1,2,3,4,5),(8,6,5),(7,10) M5 M6 M6
16 (1,2,3,4,5),(8,6,5),(7,10) M5 M6 M6
17 (12,2,3),10 M5
18 (1,2,3,5,6),10 M5
19 (12,2,3,5,6),(9,10) M5 M6
20 (12,2,3),(8,10) M5 M6
21 (1,2,3,4,5,6,7),5,10 M5
22 (1,2),(5,6),4,(9,10) M5 M5 M6
23 (12,2),10 M5
24 (12,2,3),10 M5
25 (12,2,3,5,4,6),(9,10) M5 M6

Table 5.21: Adjusted Modular Sequences for the Parts


- 127 -

2
13 3 4 5
6 7 1
12
10
4 8 6 7 10
9
2 5
M5
M6
11
14
12


Figure 5.10: Flow Diagram for the Modular Layout



- 128 -




CHAPTER 6

DESIGN OF FLEXIBLE MACHINING MODULES USING LAYOUT MODULES

Facility layout and flexible automation are two approaches for reduction of
material handling costs and space requirements in a machining facility that have always
been implemented independently of each other. An informal industry survey was
conducted to determine whether multi-product machining jobshops linked their capital
investments in flexible automation with those for facility re-layout, or expansion. The
survey revealed that concepts such as Flexible Machining Modules (FMM), Flexible
Machining Cells (FMC), Cellular Layout, Setup Reduction, Lean Manufacturing, etc.
have been adopted. However, no systematic design strategy links investment in flexible
automation to material flow simplification and optimal layout of a facility. In addition,
the existing research literature on facility design methodology does not integrate the
grouping of parts and machines for the design of machining cells with the selection of
FMMs whose multi-functional capabilities could reduce the number of individual
machining workcenters in the facility. In this section, we describe a method for design of
compact machining facilities by using FMMs to replace sets of conventional machines
that are strongly linked by material flows, based on the concept of layout modules.

- 129 -



6.1. Facility Compaction by An FMS
A Flexible Machining System (FMS) consists of several FMMs that provide the
same variety of machining functions as the equivalent system of conventional machine
tools that it could replace. The FMS is able to provide these capabilities using a smaller
number of FMMs because it can operate untended, eliminate secondary operations that
necessitate material handling between machines, reduce setup times and eliminate
multiple setups. Table 6.1 lists actual examples of the compaction and reduction in size
of machining facilities after the introduction of FMS from 50 to 6 (Kawasaki Plant of
Toshiba Tungaloy), 42 to 35 (Brother Industry Co.), 31 to 6 (Nigata Internal Combustion
Plant of Nigata Iron Works Co.) and 68 to 18 (Yamazaki Machinery Works Ltd.).
Examples of FMMs are the LM-70 AT turning center, a multi-function machine that
machined parts in a single setup (Ito, 1982), the two machining centers in the Citroen
FMS that performed milling, drilling, boring, spot-facing, reaming and tapping on
dissimilar parts, such as cylinder heads, gearbox casings and differential housings
(Powley, 1983), the 5-axis machining center in Figure 6.1 and the 9-axis turning center in
Figure 6.2.


- 130 -




Table 6.1: Examples of Facility Compaction by an FMS (Iwata, 1984)

- 131 -



Figure 6.1: Five-Axis Machining Center with Tilting Contouring Spindle (Wick, 1987)



Figure 6.2: Four-Axis Turning Center Combined with a Five-Axis Machining Head for
Nine-Axis Machining (Wick, 1987)

- 132 -

6.2. Impact of Flexible Machining Modules on Product Throughput Times
If several machining functions are combined in a single FMM, then the delays in
product throughput time due to (a) loading/unloading, setup, toolchanging and inspection
at each operation, (b) material handling between consecutive operations and (c) queuing
delays at each operation could be reduced or eliminated. A study by Leonard (1975)
showed that conventional machine tools spend under 50% of their available time actually
cutting parts. Figure 6.3 presents a classification of different machining systems for
turning, drilling and milling with various levels of automation to eliminate material
handling-related delays at each operation and product travel between operations in the
process plan. Automatic toolchangers, tool magazines, carousels that function as part
magazines, on-line process monitoring and dimensional gauging, etc. are some of the
accessories that can be attached to FMMs to eliminate non-value adding delays in
product throughput time. The reductions in product throughput times by combining
consecutive operations will be greater if the products produced in the machining facility
have complex process plans requiring multiple machines. Using Littles Queuing
Formula (Winston, 1994), it has been shown that queuing delays in a facility can be
minimized by reduction in the number of process steps through (a) combination of
consecutive machining steps, (b) Design For Manufacturability (DFM) and (c) changes in
the facility layout (Andries and Gelders, 1995). Hence, facility compaction and material
handling reduction could be simultaneously achieved by a many-to-one replacement of
conventional machines by multi-function machining and turning FMMs.

- 133 -





Figure 6.3: Examples of how Fumes help to eliminate Delay Elements in Product
Throughput Time (Warnecke and Steinhilper, 1983)


- 134 -

6.3. Feasibility of Multi-Function FMMs
Pioneering research (Ito, 1982; Ito and Shinno, 1982) showed that, due to the
basic differences in the designs of conventional machine tools for different machining
processes, there are limitations to the combinations of machining functions that could be
integrated in a single FMM. Figure 4 describes a classification system by Ito (Ito, 1982;
Ito and Shinno, 1982) for measuring the similarity of conventional machine tools using
the planomiller as the base reference machine. The Ito-Shinno representation scheme for
comparison of conventional machine tools has two axes: One axis represents the Rate of
Commonness to measure the commonness of functional units among different machines,
and, the other axis represents the Rate of Similarity to measure the similarity of structural
configurations among different machines. Their research suggests that machining centers
that combine (a) a center lathe and a radial drill, (b) a center lathe and a horizontal mill
and (c) a center lathe and a gear shaper would have an increasing complexity of design
and control. Therefore, the design feasibility and fabrication complexity of any FMM
selected to replace two or more conventional machines could be assessed by observing if
those machines occur in a single cluster in the Ito-Shinno classification system.

- 135 -


Cluster Analysis of the Rate
of Similarity Matrix by the
Furthest Neighbor Method:
Correlations between the Rates of
Commonness and Similarity for
Different Machine Tools:



Figure 6.4: Machine Tool Classification System for Design Feasibility of Multi-
Function FMMs (Ito and Shinno, 1982)

- 136 -

6.4. Layout Modules as A Basis for Design of FMMs
Since the typical routing (or process plan) of a product often consists of multiple
operations, each product would experience two types of delays (a) setup, processing,
batching and queuing delays at each operation and (b) travel delays due to material
handling between every pair of operations. For every pair of consecutive operations that
are not performed on the same machine, the material handling delay due to the physical
distance separating the two machines has a significant impact on work-in-process (WIP).
Harmon and Peterson (1990) state that If successive processes are immediately
adjacent, a single unit is moved at a time, as in an assembly line. If the next process is
across the aisle, the handling lot size is a unit load. If the next process is across the plant,
the handling lot size is at least an hours supply of product, because more frequent
collection is impractical. If the next process is in another plant, the handling lot size is at
least one days production. As the WIP between processes will be, at least, one half the
handling lot size, we see potential orders-of-magnitude differences in WIP levels based
on the layout . Similarly, for every pair of consecutive operations that are not
performed on the same machine, additional setup, loading/unloading, gauging, queuing,
etc. delays add to the product throughput time.
There could be significant savings in material handling costs if the machining
functions combined in a single FMM corresponded to strings of consecutive operations
that occurred with a high frequency in the process plans of several products. The cost
savings would be higher if these strings of operations were common to parts that were
produced in medium-to-large quantities in the facility. Thereby, the elimination of

- 137 -

material handling steps by FMMs that combine multiple machining functions could be
linked to the design of a compact facility layout for the jobshop as follows: Partition the
existing population of machines into layout modules to reduce the total number of inter-
machine material handling steps and replace the machines grouped in each module by
suitable multi-function FMMs.
In the simplest case, FMMs could replace select subsets of machines in the
process plans of products. However, the typical process plan of a product usually
consists of more than 2-3 machining operations that are performed on different
workstations. Hence, it would be necessary to group the machines that complement those
replaced by the FMMs into Flexible Machining Cells (FMCs) using suitable material
handling systems. Finally, the FMCs would need to be linked by a suitable material
handling system into an FMS that could serve the entire machining facility. We could
extend the heuristic method for generating layout modules to facility compaction. The
basic idea is that an FMM or FMC could be designed to replace the conventional
machines occurring in a group of common substrings of operations. The FMMs and
FMCs could define the structure of the material handling network that will be required
for the entire facility. In summary, using the process plans for the products being
produced in a machining facility, it is possible to compact the entire facility by
systematically identifying (a) sets of machines to be replaced by FMMs, (b) groups of
FMMs and complementary machines that could be linked to create FMCs and (c) a
material handling network to group the system of FMMs and FMCs into an FMS.


- 138 -

6.5. An Illustration of Conceptual Design of FMMs and FMCs
In this section, we illustrate the approach for conceptual design of FMMs and
FMCs, using data obtained from an aerospace machining jobshop that had implemented a
single machining cell. Table 6.2 presents the initial routing data for the sample of parts
provided by the company. The routings are first sorted to eliminate identical ones, as
shown in Table 6.3. Table 6.4 presents the unique common substrings and their
occurrence frequencies. Figure 6.5 shows the machine compositions and material flow
patterns in the FMMs, FMC and other Layout Modules that were designed using different
clusters of common substrings identified in the cluster analysis dendrogram. An FMC
comprised of the CNC Lathe (Machine #8), CNC Mill (Machine #10) and Cleaning
Station (Machine #94) is identified. Alternatively, a Turning Center (FMM #1) can
replace Machines #8 and #10 in the FMC. Based on machine group #1 in Figure 6.5, a
single-function FMM for turning operations only by combining the CNC Lathe (Machine
#8) and Conventional Lathe (Machine #18) is identified.
Table 6.5, which shows the overall material flow network for the jobshop, is
developed using the routing data in Table 6.3. This table corresponds to the directed
graph in Figure 6.6 which shows how the various machining FMMs, in combination with
Functional Layout modules for processes such as Welding, EDM and Surface Treatment,
could be implemented to compact the entire facility. Figure 6.7 shows that, if no facility
compaction occurred, then even an optimal block layout for the jobshop generated using
Table 6.5 would exhibit complex material flow patterns. From a facility layout
perspective, the occurrence of the Outside Vendor (O.V.) operations in a large number of

- 139 -

operation sequences indicated that both Machine Group #1 and Machine Group #2 could
be located near the Shipping/Receiving docks, in order to ensure rapid response to
customer quotes for part families that required O.V. operations. Figures 6.8 and 6.9,
which show the actual cell and overall facility layouts implemented by the jobshop,
indicate that several desirable proximities and combinations of machining functions are
clearly not honored during the design of the facility.


Unique Routing # Common Substrings Frequency of Occurrence
1 8,10 13
2 1,18 8
3 8,94 5
4 18,94 5
5 92,8 5
6 18,96,92,96,92 4
7 8,1 3
8 8,10,8 3
9 8,10,1 3
10 1,18,96,92,96,92,8 3
11 92,8,10 3
12 25,94 3
13 1,18,94 3
14 1,94 2
15 8,10,8,1 2
16 8,10,1,18 2
17 22,94 2
18 8,10,94 2
19 8,1,18 2
20 1,18,96,92,96,92,8,94 2
21 91,8 2
22 8,10,2 2

Table 6.4: Unique Common Substring


- 140 -

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1 18150 900 8 94
2 18164 720 8 10 8 O.V. 94
3 18179 720 8 10 O.V. 18 22 94
4 21306 5603 8 O.V. 18 96 92 96 92 8 10 94
5 21097 900 18 96 92 96 92 18 94
6 21275 900 91 90 O.V. 18 96 92 96 92 8 94
7 21275-1 900 91 25 94
8 21275-2 113 8 94
9 21275-3 113 8 94
10 21275-4 900 8 94
11 21275-5 900 8 94
12 25043 720 8 10 94
13 25896 720 20 91 O.V. 18 94
14 25896-1 720 8 10 8 94
15 25896-2 720 8 10 92 94
16 25896-3 720 8 94
17 26033 900 8 10 O.V. 18 96 92 96 92 8 94
18 26034 900 8 10 O.V. 18 96 92 96 92 8 94
19 26035 900 91 18 94
20 26035-1 900 8 10 O.V. 94
21 26035-2 7200 8 94
22 26035-3 900 8 10 94
23 26036 900 8 10 O.V. 18 96 92 96 92 8 94
24 26037 900 91 8 94
25 26037-1 900 8 10 O.V. 94
26 26037-2 7200 8 94
27 26037-3 900 8 10 DFLOW 94
28 26038 900 8 94
29 26039 900 8 10 O.V. 18 96 92 96 92 8 94
30 26083 900 8 10 DFLOW O.V. 18 94
31 26392 900 91 90 O.V. 18 96 92 96 92 8 94
32 26392-1 900 91 25 94
33 26392-2 900 8 94
34 26392-3 900 8 94
35 26392-4 900 8 94
36 26392-5 900 8 94
37 26440 900 8 19 O.V. 18 25 94
38 26610 180 19 92 8 10 8 O.V. 18 94
39 27464 720 91 8 92 8 10 22 94
40 27464-1 720 8 10 O.V. 94
41 27464-2 720 8 10 19 8 23 94
42 27464-3 720 19 25 94
23 = SINKER EDM DFLOW = ABRASIVE FLOW
25 = WIRE EDM
20 = ASSEMBLY 96 = COAT
22 = GRINDING OV = OUTSIDE PROCESS
18 = CONVENTIONAL LATHE 92 = VACUUM FURNACE
19 = CONVENTIONAL MILL 94 = CLEAN
08 = CNC LATHE 90 = LEAK CHECK
10 = CNC MILL 91 = EB WELD
Part Index Part No. Quantity
WORK CENTER CODES:
Part Routings


Table 6.2: Routings for a Sample of Parts obtained from a Machining Jobshop

- 141 -

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1 18150 900 8 94
8 21275-2 113 8 94
9 21275-3 113 8 94
10 21275-4 900 8 94
11 21275-5 900 8 94
16 25896-3 720 8 94
21 26035-2 7200 8 94
26 26037-2 7200 8 94
28 26038 900 8 94
33 26392-2 900 8 94
34 26392-3 900 8 94
35 26392-4 900 8 94
36 26392-5 900 8 94
2 2 18164 720 8 10 8 O.V. 94
3 3 18179 720 8 10 O.V. 18 22 94
4 4 21306 5603 8 O.V. 18 96 92 96 92 8 10 94
5 5 21097 900 18 96 92 96 92 18 94
6 21275 900 91 90 O.V. 18 96 92 96 92 8 94
31 26392 900 91 90 O.V. 18 96 92 96 92 8 94
7 21275-1 900 91 25 94
32 26392-1 900 91 25 94
12 25043 720 8 10 94
22 26035-3 900 8 10 94
9 13 25896 720 20 91 O.V. 18 94
10 14 25896-1 720 8 10 8 94
11 15 25896-2 720 8 10 92 94
17 26033 900 8 10 O.V. 18 96 92 96 92 8 94
18 26034 900 8 10 O.V. 18 96 92 96 92 8 94
23 26036 900 8 10 O.V. 18 96 92 96 92 8 94
29 26039 900 8 10 O.V. 18 96 92 96 92 8 94
13 19 26035 900 91 18 94
20 26035-1 900 8 10 O.V. 94
25 26037-1 900 8 10 O.V. 94
40 27464-1 720 8 10 O.V. 94
15 24 26037 900 91 8 94
16 27 26037-3 900 8 10 DFLOW 94
17 30 26083 900 8 10 DFLOW O.V. 18 94
18 37 26440 900 8 19 O.V. 18 25 94
19 38 26610 180 19 92 8 10 8 O.V. 18 94
20 39 27464 720 91 8 92 8 10 22 94
21 41 27464-2 720 8 10 19 8 23 94
22 42 27464-3 720 19 25 94
Part Routings
1
6
7
Unique Index Part Index Part No. Quantity
8
12
14
WORK CENTER CODES:
08 = CNC LATHE 90 = LEAK CHECK
10 = CNC MILL 91 = EB WELD
18 = CONVENTIONAL LATHE 92 = VACUUM FURNACE
19 = CONVENTIONAL MILL 94 = CLEAN
23 = SINKER EDM DFLOW = ABRASIVE FLOW
25 = WIRE EDM
20 = ASSEMBLY 96 = COAT
22 = GRINDING OV = OUTSIDE PROCESS

Table 6.3: Identification of Unique Routings in the Sample of Parts

- 142 -

17 12 20 10 6 2 14 13 4 21 18 3 11 5 19 7 15 8 16 9 22 1
35.46
56.97
78.49
100.00
Merger Coefficient
Common_Substring
OV 18 94
96
92
8
M/C Group #2
FMM #2
10 OV
DFLOW
8
M/C Group #1
18
FMM #1
FMM #2
10 94
8
FMC
FMM #1

Figure 6.5: Clusters of Similar Common Substrings converted into FMMs, an FMC and
Cell-type Layout Modules

O.V.
DFLOW
10
8
19
18
22
94
23 25
20
91
90
96 92
Machining Cell

Welding Module
EDM Module
Surface Treatment
Module CNC Turning - Milling
Module

Figure 6.6: Decomposition of Overall Material Flow Network into Layout Modules

- 143 -
-

1
4
4

-








Work
Center
8 94 10 O.V. 18 22 96 92 91 90 25 20 DFLOW 19 23
8 0 29566 19643 6503 0 0 0 720 0 0 0 0 0 900 720
94 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
10 1620 7223 0 6840 0 720 0 720 0 0 0 0 1800 720 0
O.V. 0 3240 0 0 14423 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
18 0 3600 0 0 0 720 11903 0 0 0 900 0 0 0 0
22 0 1440 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
96 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 23806 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
92 11903 720 0 0 900 0 11903 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
91 1620 0 0 720 900 0 0 0 0 1800 1800 0 0 0 0
90 0 0 0 1800 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
25 0 3420 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 720 0 0 0 0 0 0
DFLOW 0 900 0 900 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
19 720 0 0 900 0 0 0 180 0 0 720 0 0 0 0
23 0 720 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Table 6.5: Directed Graph Representation of Overall Material Flows in the Jobshop




20 23 25 19 92 96 90
D.F. 18 O.V. 91 94 8 10 22

Family 1 Family 2 Family 3 Family 4

Figure 6.7: Facility Layout for the Jobshop based on Table 6.5


LVAD CELL LAYOUT
(34' X 20')
SLANT-3
(WET OPS)
8' X 11'
TMC-15
(DRY OPS)
4.5' X 12'
CNC MILL
(NEW)
7.5' X 14'
Q.C.
BENCH
3' X 8'
KBAN
RACK
#2
KBAN
RACK
#1
RAW
MATL
3'X6'
DYNAFLOW
MACH
4' X 6'
TOOL
CAB
3.5' X 4.5'
SEQUENCE
BOARD
SURF
PLATE
2' X 3'

Machines #8
and #10 were
assigned to
this cell

Figure 6.8: Layout of Pilot Cell that was implemented by the Jobshop


- 145 -
-

1
4
6

-





KBAN
RACK
#2
LVAD CELL LAYOUT (34' X 20')
08,10,DFLOW
8
O.V.
91
10
AISLE
CNC LATHE DEPT CNC MILL DEPT
SHPG DEPT QC DEPT EB WELDING
SLANT-3
(WET OPS)
8'X11'
TMC-15
(DRY OPS)
4.5'X12'
CNC MILL
(NEW)
7.5'X14'
RAW
MATL
3'X6'
DYNAFLOW
MACH
4'X6'
TOOL
CAB
3.5'X4.5'
SEQUENCE
BOARD
SURF
PLATE
2'X3'
Q.C.
BENCH
3'X8'
KBAN
RACK
#1
W.EDM
25
COAT,CLEAN,
VAC FIRE
90,92,94,96
CONV MACH DEPT
18,19,20
GRINDING
22
EDM DEPT
23


Figure 6.9: Location of Pilot Cell in the Overall Layout of the Jobshop





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