Facility Layout

Configuration of departments, work centres and equipment, with

particular emphasis on movement of work through the system

Why Important?
Require substantial investment of money & effort
Involve long term commitment
Have significant impact on the cost and efficiency of operations

Two basic types of layout:

Product
Process
 Facility Layout
Product Layout
Layout that uses standardized processing operations
to achieve smooth, rapid, high volume flow

The work is divided into a series of standardized tasks,

permitting specialization of both labor and equipment
 Facility Layout
Advantages

High rates of output

Low unit cost due to high volume
Low material handling cost per unit
High utilization of labor & equipment

Limitations

Repetitive work boring & fatigue

System is fairly inflexible
System is highly susceptible to breakdown
 Facility Layout
U-shaped Layouts

Compact
Increased communication
Flexibility in work
 Facility Layout
Process Layout
Designed to process items or provide services that involve a
variety of processing requirements

Layout features functional grouping where similar kinds of

activities are performed

X-ray ECG

Ultrasound Pathology

Items are frequently moved in batches to the departments

in a sequence that varies from job to job
 Facility Layout
Advantages

Can handle a variety of processing requirements

Not particularly vulnerable to equipment failures
General-purpose equipment is easier to maintain

Limitations

High inventory costs for batch processing

Routing & scheduling pose continual challenges
Equipment utilization rates are low
Slow material handling also inefficient
 Facility Layout
X-ray ECG
Cell 1: X-ray, Ultrasound, Pathology
Cell 2: X-ray, ECG
Ultrasound Pathology Cell 3: Ultrasound, Pathology
Cell 4: X-ray, ECG, Pathology

X-ray Cell 1 Cell 2

Ultrasound

Cell 3 Cell 4
Pathology

ECG
 Facility Layout
Cellular Layout
Machines are grouped into cells
Groupings are determined by operations needed to
perform work for a set of similar items
X-ray
Cell 1 Cell 2
Ultrasound

Cell 3 Cell 4 Pathology

ECG

Cells are miniature versions of Product/Process layout

 Facility Layout
Fixed Position Layout
Weight, size, bulk or some other factor makes it
undesirable or extremely difficult to move the product

The items being worked on remains stationary, and

workers, material and equipment are moved about
 Facility Layout
Line Balancing

Assignment of work to stations in a line as to achieve the

desired output rate with the smallest number of workstations

The goal is to obtain workstations with well-balanced workload

 Facility Layout
Steps of Line Balancing

Determine desired output rate

1
Calculate Cycle Time c
r
Find Theoretical Minimum TM
t
c
Determine Idle Time I nc t
Calculate Efficiency e
t
* 100%
nc
Assign Tasks to Stations
 Facility Layout

B D H

A E
F
C
I

Station 1 Station 2 Station 3 Station 4 Station 5