CHAPTER 2

PLANT LOCATION,
PLANT LAYOUT &
LINE BALANCING
 LEARNING OUTCOMES
Upon completion of this chapter, student should
be able to :

 Explain plant location and layout

Classify facilities layout

Identify plant layout process selections

Apply line balancing and network analysis

 INTRODUCTION
• Plant layout is defined as the most effective physical
arrangement of machines, processing equipment, and
service departments to have the best co-ordination and
efficiency of man, machine and material in a plant.

• It is the spatial arrangement of physical resources used to

create the product.

• It also means how the space needed for material

movement, storage, indirect labor, etc. is arranged in a
factory.
 INTRODUCTION
• Factory which is already in operation, this may mean the
arrangement that is already present.

• However, for a new factory this means the plan of how the
machines, equipment, etc. will be arranged in the different
sections or shops.

• These should be arranged in such a way that material

movement cost, cost of storage in between processes, the
investment on machines and equipment etc. should be optimal
and the product is as cheap as possible
 2.2 Plant location and layout
The selection of location is a key decision as large investment is
made in building plant machinery.

Before a location for a plant is selected, long range forecast should

be made anticipating future needs of the company.

The plant location should be based on the company's expansion

plan and policy, diversification plan for the products, changing
market condition, the changing sources of raw materials and many
other factors that influence the choice of the location decision

The objective of selecting location are minimize the costs of

production and maximize revenue
 2.2 Plant location and layout

Factors that affects location decisions

a. Country decision

 Political risks, government rules, attitudes, incentives

 Cultural and economic issues
 Location of markets
 Labor talent, attitudes, productivity, costs
 Availability of supplies, communications, energy
 Exchange rates and currency risk
 2.2 Plant location and layout

b) Region/community decision

Corporate desires
Attractiveness of region
Labor availability, costs, attitudes toward unions
Cost and availability of utilities
Environmental regulations of state and town
Government incentives and fiscal policies
Proximity to raw materials and customers
Land/construction costs
 2.2 Plant location and layout

c) Site decision
Site, size and cost
Air, rail, highway, waterway systems
Zoning restrictions
Proximity of services/supplies needed
Environmental impact issues

Layout is one of the key decisions that determine the long run
efficiently of operations.

The objective of layout strategy is to develop an effective and

efficient layout that will meet the firm's competitive requirements.
 2.2 Plant location and layout
The principles of plant layout can be stated as-

a. Integration of all factors - The plant should integrate all the

essential resources of men, machines and materials in order to
give an optimum level of production.

b. Minimum Movement - The less the movement of men,

machines and materials, the less will be the cost of production.
Thus, minimum movement of these resources will provide cost
efficiency.

c. Unidirectional flow - All materials should progressively move

towards the same direction i.e. towards the stage of completion.
Any back-tracking should be avoided here.
 2.2 Plant location and layout

a. Efficient space handling - The space used up during the plant work also costs
money as more the space required, more will be the floor rent. The
materials should be organized in stacks in a proper and recognizable order
to maintain space efficiency.

b. Inherent safety - The environment of the plant should be safe for the
workers as well as the machines. There should be fire extinguishers and fire
exits placed strategically. There should be minimum contact of the labor to
toxic chemicals and environment.

c. Maximum observation capacity - The layout of the plant should such that all
of its resources and workforce can nbe observed and evaluated at all points
in time. This helps in better supervision of work and helps in increasing both
effectiveness and safety.
 2.2 Plant location and layout

• Maximum accessibility - The layout of the plant should ensure

that all essential resources are accessible to the labor and
machines without any delay. The aisles should be free from
obstacles. The materials should be placed as close to the
machines concerned, as possible.

• Minimum Handling - The ineffective handling of materials

leads to a rise in cost. Materials should be handled in stacks and
transferred in one go. Handling of a material twice in the same
direction must be avoided.
 2.2 Plant location and layout

 Maximum protection - The layout should ensure the protection

of the materials and machines while they are in the working or
the storage stage. The security system should be efficient
without making too many doors or barriers.

 Maximum flexibility - The plant layout should not be rigid and

permanent. lf the need arises, the plant layout should be able to
change itself without being expensive.
 2.2 Plant location and layout

Plant Layout Procedure

i. Analyze the product to be produced.

ii. Determine the process required to manufacture the product.
iii. Prepare layout planning charts
iv. Determine work stations.
v. Analyze storage area requirements.
vi. Establish minimum aisle widths.
vii. Establish office requirements
viii. Consider personnel facilities and services.
ix. Survey plant services.
x. Provide for future expansion.
 2.3 Facilities Layout

Facilities layout refers to an optimum arrangement of different

facilities including man, machine, equipment material, etc.

Facility layout is the process of determining the placement of

department, workgroups, workstations, machines and stock -
holding points within a facility are determined, and requires the
following inputs:-
 2.3 Facilities Layout

(i) Specification of system objectives in terms of output and

flexibility

(ii) Estimation of product or service demand on the system

(iii)Processing requirements in terms of number of operations and

amount of flow between departments and work centers

(iv) Space requirements for the elements in the layout

(v) Space availability within the facility itself

 2.3 Facilities Layout
Why Facilities Planning?

20-50% of the total expenses within manufacturing are attributed to

materials handling (effective facilities planning can reduce the
material handling costs by at least 10-30%)

To be competitive, very few companies will be able to retain all of

their old facilities or layouts:-

(a) productivity improvements through elimination or reduction of

unnecessary activities
(b) improved health and safety
(c) To conserve & reduce consumption of energy.
(d) Lower the risk of fire, lower maintenance costs, etc.
 2.3 Facilities Layout

Facilities Planning Objectives

(a) Minimize material handling cost

(b) Minimize overall production time
(c) Effectively utilize existing space
(d) Provide for employee convenience
(e) Assure workplace safety and comfort
(f) Facilitate the manufacturing process
(g) Facilitate the organizational structure
Types of Layouts
• Flexible-flow layout (Process Layout)

• Line-flow layout ( Product Layout)

• Hybrid layout

• Fixed-position layout An arrangement in which

service or manufacturing site is fixed in place; employees
along with their equipment, come to the site to do their
work.
 (i) Process layout

These are appropriate for intermittent operations where work flow is not
consistent for all output.

Variable workflow occurs when variety of products or variation of single

product are produced.

This is also called as functional layout or job-shop layout.

In this layout similar equipment are grouped and located at

one place like lathe, drilling machines etc.

Workers should be highly skilled. Intensive job instructions should be given to

them and technical supervision is required. These layouts are quick to change
and adapt to the unique batches of the products.
 A Flexible Flow Layout (Process Layout)

A job shop has a flexible-flow layout.

A layout that Grinding Forging Lathes

organizes resources
(employees) and
equipment by Painting Welding Drills
function rather than
by service or
product. Milling
Office machines Foundry
A Flexible Flow Layout (Process Layout)
• Advantages

• (a) Greater flexibility

• (b) Better and more efficient supervision possible through specialization
• (c) Breakdowns can be taken care by shifting the job to another machine
• (d) Capability of different product line can be expanded easily
• (e) Better utilization of men and machine

• Disadvantages

• (a) More work in progress

• (b) More floor space
• (c) More distances travelled by the product
 (ii) Line Flow Layout (Product layout)

It is appropriate for producing one standardized product, usually

in large volume.

It is also called as flow -shop layout or straight line layouts.

The machines are arranged according to the progressive steps by

which the product is made

Examples: Chemical, paper, rubber, refineries, cement industry.

 Line Flow Layout
A production line has a line-flow layout.

Station 1 Station 2 Station 3 Station 4

A layout in which workstations or

departments are arranged in a linear
path
Line Flow Layout
ADVANTAGE OF LINE FLOW
LAYOUT
 DISADVANTAGE OF
LINE FLOW LAYOUT
High initial capital invesment in special purpose machine.

Heavy overhead charge.

Breakdown one of the machine will hamper the whole production

process.

Lesser flexibility as specially laid out for particular product.

Lack of specialisation in supervision

 Comparison Of Product And Process
PRODUCT LAYOUT Layouts
PROCESS LAYOUT

1. Description Sequential arrangement Functional grouping

of machines of machines

2. Type of Process Continuous, mass Intermittent, job shop

production, mainly batch production,
assembly mainly fabrication

3. Product Standardized Varied,

made to stock made to order

4. Demand Stable Fluctuating

5. Volume High Low
6. Equipment Special purpose General purpose
7. Workers Limited skills Varied skills
 Comparison
PRODUCT OfLAYOUT
ProductPROCESS
AndLAYOUTProcess
8. Inventory Low in-process, Layouts
High in-process,
high finished goods low finished goods

9. Storage space Small Large

10. Material Fixed path Variable path

handling (conveyor) (forklift)

11. Aisles Narrow Wide

12. Scheduling Part of balancing Dynamic

13. Layout decision Line balancing Machine location

14. Goal Equalize work at Minimize material

each station handling cost
15. Advantage Efficiency Flexibility
 Hybrid Layouts
An arrangement in which some portions of the
facility have a flexible-flow and others have a
line-flow layout.
Hybrid Layouts

• Combine elements of both product & process

layouts

▫ Maintain some of the efficiencies of product

layouts
▫ Maintain some of the flexibility of process
layouts

• Examples:
▫ Group technology & manufacturing cells
▫ Grocery stores
Creating Hybrid Layouts
• Layout flexibility is the property of a facility to remain
desirable after significant changes occur or to be easily
and inexpensively adopted in response to changes.

• A One-worker, multiple-machines (OWMM) cell

is a one-person cell in which a worker operates several
different machines simultaneously to achieve a line flow.

• A Cell is two or more dissimilar workstations located

close together through which a limited number of parts
or models are processed with line flows.
 One Worker,
Multiple Machines
Machine
2
Machine
Machine 3
1

Materials in

Finished
goods out

Machine
Machine 4
5
 (iii) Fixed Position Layout

When due to size, shape and other characteristic constraints, the

products cannot be moved, the machine and operators move
around the product.

Example -construction of a building, assembly of an aircraft or

ship.

Less investment is required in this layout and less transport cost as

bulky materials are not moved.
 2.4 Plant layout process selections

Three primary questions bear on process selection:-

(i) How much variety in products or services will the system need to handle?

(ii) What degree of equipment flexibility will be needed?

(iii)What is the expected volume of output?

Answers to the expected questions will serve as a guide to selecting an

appropriate process.
There are five basic process types: job shop, batch, repetitive, continuous and
project.
 2.5 Line balancing and network
analysis

Line balancing is the process is assigning tasks to workstations in such a way that
the workstations have approximately equal time requirements.

Line balancing is usually undertaken to minimize imbalance between machines

or personnel while meeting a required output from the line.

Cycle time is the maximum time allowed at each workstation to complete its set
of tasks on a unit.

Precedence diagram is a diagram that shows elemental tasks and their

precedence requirements.
LINE BALANCING
NETWORK ANALYSIS
Thank you..