Facility Layout

Operations Management
P. Kalyanasundaram
 What is Facility Layout?
 Location or arrangement of everything within
& around buildings
 Objectives are to maximize
 Customer/client interaction/satisfaction
 Utilization of space, equipment, & people
 Efficient flow of information, material, & people
 Employee morale & safety
Constraints on Layout Objectives
 Product design & volume
 Process equipment & capacity
 Quality of work life
 Building & site
Layout Types
 Fixed-position layout
 Process-oriented layout
 Office layout
 Retail/service layout
 Warehouse layout
 Product-oriented layout
Fixed-Position Layout
 Design is for stationary project
 Workers & equipment come to site
 Complicating factors
 Limited space at site
 Changing material needs
 Examples
 Ship building
 Highway construction
Process-Oriented Layout
 Design places departments with large flows of
material or people together
 Dept. areas have similar processes
 e.g., All x-ray machines in same area
 Used with process-focused processes
 Examples
 Hospitals
 Machine shops
Process Layout
+ Allows specialization - focus on one skill
+ Allows economies of scale - worker can watch
several machines at once
+ High level of product flexibility
-- Encourages large lot sizes
-- Difficult to incorporate into JIT
-- Makes cross-training difficult
 Process-Oriented Layout

Table Saws Office

© 1995
Corel Corp.

Drill Presses

Tool Room

© 1995 Corel Corp.

Process-Oriented Layout Steps
 Construct ‘from-to-matrix’
 Determine space needs for each dept.
 Develop initial schematic diagram
 Determine layout cost, Σ Σ Xij • Cij
 By trial-and-error, improve initial layout
 Prepare detailed plan
 Includes factors besides cost
 From-to-Matrix
Department
1 2 3 4 5 6
50 100 0 0 20
1
30 50 10 0
2
20 0 100
3
Dept. 50 0
4 Number of Trips
0
5
6
Process-Oriented Layout Example
You work in facilities engineering. You want to find
the cost of this layout. The cost of moving 1 load
between adjacent dept. is $1. The cost between
nonadjacent dept. is $2.
Room 1 Room 2 Room 3
Dept. 1 Dept. 2 Dept. 3
40 ft.
Dept. 4 Dept. 5 Dept. 6

Room 4 Room 5 Room 6

60 ft.
Schematic Diagram & Cost
100 Dept. Dept. Cost
1 3 $200
1 2 $ 50
50 30
1 2 3 1 6 $ 40
10 4 2 $ 50
20 4 3 $ 40
50 100 4 5 $ 50
20 2 5 $ 10
4 5 6 2 3 $ 30
50 3 6 $100
Total Cost $570
Solution
Can we get a layout cheaper than $570? There are 6!
or 720 possibilities. Putting departments 1 & 3
adjacent to each other gives a total cost of $480.

Room 1 Room 2 Room 3

Dept. 1 Dept. 3 Dept. 2
40 ft.
Dept. 4 Dept. 5 Dept. 6

Room 4 Room 5 Room 6

60 ft.
 Schematic Diagram & Cost
30 Dept. Dept. Cost
1 2 $ 50
1 3 $100
50 100
2 1 3 1 6 $ 20
4 2 $ 50
10 4 3 $ 40
50 100 4 5 $ 50
20
20 2 5 $ 10
4 5 6 2 3 $ 60
50 3 6 $100
Total Cost $480
Larger Layout Problems
Method works fine for small problems
Larger problems require software
 CRAFT-tries to minimize material handling
costs
 Rearrange many large departments to reduce
costs
 Human “judgement calls” impossible to
computerize
Product-Oriented Layout

 Facility organized around product

 Design minimizes line imbalance
 Delay between work stations
 Types: Fabrication line; assembly line
 Examples
 Auto assembly line
 Brewery
 Paper manufacturing.
Product-Oriented Layout

1 3 Operations
4

2 5
Belt
Conveyor

Office
Product-Oriented Layout Types
Fabrication Line Assembly Line
■ Builds components  Assembles fabricated
■ Uses series of parts
machines  Uses workstation
■ Repetitive process  Repetitive process
■ Machine paced
 Paced by tasks
 Balanced by moving
■ Balanced by physical
tasks
redesign
Cellular Layout
(Work Cells)
 Special case of process-oriented layout
 Consists of different machines brought
together to make a product
 May be temporary or permanent
 Example: Assembly line set up to produce
3000 identical parts in a
job shop
Work Cell Floor Plan
Saws Drills Office

Work Cell
Tool Room
Work Cell Advantages
Increases:
Equipment
Reduces: utilization
Inventory Employee
Floor space participation
Direct labor costs Quality
Work Cell Layout
+ Facilitates cross-training
+ Can easily adjust production volumes
+ Easy to incorporate into JIT
-- Requires higher volumes to justify
-- May require more capital for equipment
Office Layout Example
Relationship Chart
Ordinary
1 closeness:
1 President 2 President (1)
O 3 & costing (2)
2 Costing U 4
A A
3 Engineering I
O Absolutely
4 President’s Secretary necessary:
President (1)
I = Important; U = Unimportant & secretary (4)
Relationship Chart
1
1 2
O 3
2 E 4
I O 5
3 O U 6
U I U 7
4 U
U I U 8
9
U I U
5 OA U O U 10
I U U I U
6 U U U I
E U U U
7 U
U
I
U I
A
8 E U
U U
9 A
E
10
Fast-Food Restaurant

1
1 Cooking Burgers 2
X 3
2 Cooking Fries IE 4
I U 5
3 Packing and Storing U U 6
O U U
4 Drink Dispensers E U
A E
5 Counter Service A
O
6 Drive-Up Service
Example

1 2 3

4 5 6
Example

1 2 3

4 5 6
Point Scoring System
 Assign points for having two items next to
each other (including touching corners)
A = 16
E= 8
I =4
O=1
U=0
X = -80
Score for Our Solution
To
From 1 2 3 4 5 6 Total
1 -80 0 0 0 0 -80
2 4 0 0 0 4
3 0 8 8 16
4 16 0 16
5 1 1
Total -43
Retail/Service Layout
 Design maximizes product exposure to customers,
profitability per square foot
 Use Closeness ratings to develop service layouts
 Decision variables
 Store flow pattern
 Allocation of (shelf) space to products
 Types
 Grid design
 Free-flow design Video
Retail/Service Layout
Grid Design
Grocery Store
Bread Meat
Milk

Check-
Office Carts
out
Retail/Service Layout
Free-Flow Design
Apparel Store

Feature Trans.
Counter

Display
Table
Warehouse Layout
 Design balances space (cube)
utilization & handling cost
 Similar to process layout
 Items moved between dock
& various storage areas
 Optimum layout depends on
 Variety of items

stored
 No. items picked

© 1995 Corel Corp.

 Warehouse Flow

Receiving Shipping
 Warehouse Layout

Try to organize storage in such a way that order pickers

can move through the product in a logical and timely
manner.
Warehouse Layout
 Fastest near the front
 Fastest within easy reach
 Bulk storage vs. Single item picking
 Serpentine vs. oval picking order
 Restocking: frequency, safety stock
 Should be designed around the type of
material handling equipment used (like fork-
lift trucks, etc)
Cross-Docking In-coming
 Transferring goods Outgoing
from incoming trucks
at receiving docks
to outgoing trucks at
shipping docks
 Avoids placing goods
into storage

© 1984-1994 T/Maker Co.

© 1995 Corel Corp.
Conclusion
 Defined facility layout & its objectives
 Described the 6 types of layout
 Did load-distance analysis of process layouts
 Relationship chart & weighting method
 Defined work cell
 Stated the retail store flow guidelines
 Balanced assembly lines
Readiness Assesment Test (RAT)

1. In a layout, work stations are arranged according to the general function

they perform without regard to any particular product.
a) product, b) process, c) fixed position, d) storage
2. A product layout is more suited to situations where product demand is stable than
when it is fluctuating.
a) True, b) False
3. Fixed position layouts are used in projects where the product cannot be moved,
and therefore equipment, workers, and materials are brought to it.
a) True, b) False
4. In general, work-in-process inventory is large for a product layout and small for a
process layout.
a) True, b) False
5. Which of the following characteristics is associated with process layout?
a) stable demand b) less skilled workers
c) specialized machinery d) low volume
e) product for general market
RAT – Solution
 In a Process layout, work stations are arranged according to the general
function they perform without regard to any particular product.
 True. A product layout is more suited to situations where product demand
is stable than when it is fluctuating.
 True. Fixed position layouts are used in projects where the product cannot
be moved, and therefore equipment, workers, and materials are brought to
it.
 False. In general, work-in-process inventory is large for a process layout
and small for a product layout.
 Low Volume is associated with process layout.
Design Product Layouts: Line
Balancing
Line Balancing is the process of assigning
tasks to workstations in such a way that
the workstations have approximately
equal time requirements.
Cycle Time

Cycle time is the maximum time

allowed at each workstation to
complete its set of tasks on a unit.
Determine Maximum Output
OT
Output rate =
CT

OT = operating time per day

D = Desired output rate

OT
CT = cycle time =
D
Determine the Minimum Number
of Workstations Required
( ∑t)
N=
CT

∑t = sum of task time

Precedence Diagram
Precedence diagram: Tool used in line balancing to display elemental tasks
and sequence requirements
0.1 min. 1.0 min.
A Simple Precedence
a b Diagram

c d e
0.7 min. 0.5 min. 0.2 min.
Example 1: Assembly Line Balancing
 Arrange tasks shown in Figure into
three workstations.
 Use a cycle time of 1.0 minute
 Assign tasks in order of the most number
of followers
Example 1 Solution

Revised
Time Eligible Assign Time Station
Workstation Remaining Task Remaining Idle Time

1 1.0 a, c a 0.9
0.9 c c 0.2
0.2 none - 0.2

2 1.0 b b 0.0 0.0

3 1.0 d d 0.5
0.5 e e 0.3 0.3
0.3 - - 0.5
Calculate Percent Idle Time
Idle time per cycle
Percent idle time =
(N)(CT)

Efficiency = 1 – Percent idle time

Line Balancing Rules
Some Heuristic (intuitive) Rules:
Assign tasks in order of most following
tasks.
 Count the number of tasks that follow
Assign tasks in order of greatest
positional weight.
 Positionalweight is the sum of each task’s
time and the times of all following tasks.
Ranked Positional Weight Heuristic
 A task is prioritized based on the cumulative assembly
time associated with itself and its successors.
 Tasks are assigned in this order to the lowest
numbered feasible workstation.
 Cumulative remaining assembly time constrains the
number of workstations required.
 Procedure requires computation of positional weight
PW(i) of each task.
Model Car Production – Example
Data Known :
 Two 4 hour-shifts, 4 days a week will be used for
assembly.
 Each shift receives two 10 minute breaks.
 Planned production rate of 1500 units/week.
RPW Procedure - Example
Task Activity Assembly Immediate
Time Predecessor

a Insert Front Axle / 20 -

Wheels
b Insert Fan Rod 6 a
c Insert Fan Rod 5 b
Cover
d Insert Rear Axle / 21 -
Wheels
e Insert Hood to Wheel 8 -
Frame
f Glue Windows to top 35 -
g Insert Gear 15 c, d
Assembly
h Insert Gear Spacers 10 g
i Secure Front Wheel 15 e, h
Frame
j Insert Engine 5 c
k Attach Top 46 f, i, j
l Add Decals 16 k
Example Solution – Cont…
1 Week days shifts minutes minutes
C= ×4 ×2 × 220 = 1.17
1500 Units week day shift unit

 C = 70 Seconds.
 N = 202/70 = 2.88 workstations (or) 3
Example Solution
Model Car Precedence Structure
20 6 5 5
a b c j

21 15 10
d g h

8 15 46 16
e i k l

35
f
RPW Procedure - Solution
Positional Weight calculated based on Task PW Ranked PW
the precedence structure (previous
a 138 1
slide).
b 118 3
c 112 4
PWl = its task time = 16 d 123 2
e 85 8
PWk = tk + PWl = 46+16 = 62
f 97 6
PWj = tj + PWk = 5+62 = 67 g 102 5
h 87 7
i 77 9
j 67 10
k 62 11
l 16 12
RPW Solution Cont…
 Assignment order is given by the rankings.
 Task a assigned to station 1.
 c - ta = 70 – 20 = 50 seconds left in Station 1.
 Next Assign task d
 50 – 21 = 29 seconds left in Station 1.

Station Time Remaining Tasks

1 70, 50, 29, 23, 18, 3 a, d, b, c, g

2 70, 35, 25, 17, 2 f, h, e, i

3 70, 65, 19, 3 j, k, l

Team Exercise
Assembly of a product has been divided into
elemental tasks suitable for assignment to unskilled
workers. Task times and constraints are given
below. Solve by RPW Procedure
Task Time Immediate
Predecessors
a 20 -
b 18 -
c 6 a
d 10 a
e 6 b
f 7 c, d
g 6 e, f
h 14 g
Exercise Solution Task PWi Rank

6 a 63 1
c
7 b 44 2
f
20 10 c 33 4
6 14
a d
g h d 37 3
18 6
e 26 6
b e
f 27 5

g 20 7
Workstation Assigned Remaining
Tasks Time h 14 8
1 a, d 30, 10, 0
2 b, c, e 30, 12, 6, 0
3 f, g, h 30, 23, 17, 3