6

Process Selection
and Facility Layout

McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Learning Objectives
 Explain the strategic importance of process
selection.
 Explain the influence that process selection
has on an organization.
 Describe the basic processing types.
 Discuss automated approaches to
processing.
 Explain the need for management of
technology.

6-2
 Learning Objectives
 List some reasons for redesign of layouts.
 Describe the basic layout types.
 List the main advantages and
disadvantages of product layouts and
process layouts.
 Solve simple line-balancing problems.
 Develop simple process layouts.

6-3
 Introduction
 Process selection
 Deciding on the way production of goods or
services will be organized
 Major implications
 Capacity planning
 Layout of facilities
 Equipment
 Design of work systems

6-4
 Process Selection and
Figure 6.1
System Design
Facilities and
Forecasting Capacity Equipment
Planning

Product and Layout

Service Design

Process
Technological Selection Work
Change Design

6-5
 Process Selection

 Variety Batch
 How much
 Flexibility
 What degree Job Repetitive
 Volume
 Expected output
Continuous

6-6
 Process Types
 Job shop
 Small scale
 Batch
 Moderate volume
 Repetitive/assembly line
 High volumes of standardized goods or
services
 Continuous
 Very high volumes of non-discrete goods

6-7
 Product and Service
Figure 6.2 Processes
Process Type
Job Shop Appliance repair Ineffective
Emergency
room

Batch Commercial
baking
Classroom
Lecture

Repetitive Automotive
assembly
Automatic
carwash

Continuous Ineffective Steel Production

Water purification
(flow)

6-8
 Product – Process Matrix
Figure 6.2 (cont’d)

Dimension
Job variety Very High Moderate Low Very low
Process Very High Moderate Low Very low
flexibility

Unit cost Very High Moderate Low Very low

Volume of Very High Low High Very low
output

6-9
 Product and Process Profiling
 Process selection can involve substantial
investment in
 Equipment
 Layout of facilities
 Product profiling: Linking key product or service
requirements to process capabilities
 Key dimensions
 Range of products or services
 Expected order sizes
 Pricing strategies
 Expected schedule changes
 Order winning requirements
6-10
 Automation
 Automation: Machinery that has sensing
and control devices that enables it to
operate
 Fixed automation
 Programmable automation

6-11
 Automation
Computer-aided design and
manufacturing systems (CAD/CAM)
Numerically controlled (NC) machines
Robot
Manufacturing cell
Flexible manufacturing systems(FMS)
Computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM)

6-12
 Facilities Layout
 Layout: the configuration of
departments, work centers, and
equipment, with particular emphasis on
movement of work (customers or
materials) through the system
 Product layouts
 Process layouts
 Fixed-Position layout
 Combination layouts

6-13
 Objective of Layout Design
1. Facilitate attainment of product or service
quality
2. Use workers and space efficiently
3. Avoid bottlenecks
4. Minimize unnecessary material handling
costs
5. Eliminate unnecessary movement of
workers or materials
6. Minimize production time or customer
service time
7. Design for safety
6-14
 Importance of Layout
Decisions
 Requires substantial investments of
money and effort
 Involves long-term commitments
 Has significant impact on cost and
efficiency of short-term operations

6-15
 The Need for Layout Design
(Cont’d)
Changes in
environmental Changes in volume of
or other legal output or mix of
requirements products

Morale problems
Changes in methods
and equipment

6-16
 Basic Layout Types

 Product layouts
 Process layouts
 Fixed-Position layout
 Combination layouts

6-17
 Basic Layout Types
 Product layout
 Layout that uses standardized processing
operations to achieve smooth, rapid, high-
volume flow
 Process layout
 Layout that can handle varied processing
requirements
 Fixed Position layout
 Layout in which the product or project
remains stationary, and workers, materials,
and equipment are moved as needed

6-18
 Product Layout
Figure 6.4

Raw Finished
Station Station
Station Station
Station Station
Station
materials 1 22 33 44 item
or customer
Material Material Material Material

and/or and/or and/or and/or

labor labor labor labor

Used for Repetitive or Continuous Processing

6-19
Advantages of Product Layout
 High rate of output
 Low unit cost
 Labor specialization
 Low material handling cost
 High utilization of labor and equipment
 Established routing and scheduling
 Routing accounting and purchasing

6-20
 Disadvantages of Product Layout

 Creates dull, repetitive jobs

 Poorly skilled workers may not maintain
equipment or quality of output
 Fairly inflexible to changes in volume
 Highly susceptible to shutdowns
 Needs preventive maintenance
 Individual incentive plans are
impractical

6-21
 Advantages of Process Layouts
 Can handle a variety of processing
requirements
 Not particularly vulnerable to equipment
failures
 Equipment used is less costly
 Possible to use individual incentive
plans

6-22
 Disadvantages of Process
Layouts
 In-process inventory costs can be high
 Challenging routing and scheduling
 Equipment utilization rates are low
 Material handling slow and inefficient
 Complexities often reduce span of
supervision
 Special attention for each product or
customer
 Accounting and purchasing are more
involved 6-23
 Fixed Position Layouts
 Fixed Position Layout: Layout in which the
product or project remains stationary, and
workers, materials, and equipment are
moved as needed.
 Nature of the product dictates this type of
layout
 Weight
 Size
 Bulk
 Large construction projects
6-24
 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.

6-25
 Cycle Time

Cycle time is the maximum time

allowed at each workstation to
complete its set of tasks on a unit.

6-26
Determine Maximum Output

OT
Output rate =
CT

OT  operating time per day

D = Desired output rate

OT
CT = cycle time =
D
6-27
Determine the Minimum Number
of Workstations Required

(  t)
N=
CT

 t = sum of task time

6-28
 Precedence Diagram
Figure 6.11

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.

6-29
 Example 1: Assembly Line
Balancing
 Arrange tasks shown in Figure 6.10
into three workstations.
 Use a cycle time of 1.0 minute
 Assign tasks in order of the most number
of followers

6-30
 Example 1 Solution

Revised
Time Assign Time Station
Workstation Remaining Eligible 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

6-31
 Calculate Percent Idle Time

Idle time per cycle

Percent idle time =
(N)(CT)

Efficiency = 1 – Percent idle time

6-32
 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.
 Positional weight is the sum of each task’s
time and the times of all following tasks.

6-33
 Example 2

0.2 0.2 0.3

a b e

0.8 0.6
c d f g h
1.0 0.4 0.3

6-34
 Solution to Example 2

Station 1 Station 2 Station 3 Station 4

a b e
f g h
c d

6-35