Unit Two

Plant Design

By:
Abdi A. (MSc),
abdinago2@[Link] March 14, 2024
• Plant design refers to the overall design of a manufacturing
enterprise/facility.

• It is the planning of finances, the plant location and all the planning
necessary for the physical requirements of an overall design of a
plant

• It moves through several stages before it is completed.

• The stages involved are :

– identification and selection of the product to be manufactured,

– feasibility analysis and appraisal,

– design,

– economic evaluation,
 – design report preparation,

– procurement of materials including plant and machinery

construction,

– installation and commissioning.

• The design should consider

– technical and economic factors,

– various unit operations involved,

– existing and potential market conditions etc.

Plant design specifies:
• equipment to be used and their performance requirements
• interconnections and raw material flows in terms of flow charts and plant
layouts
• placement of equipment, storage spaces, shop facilities, office spaces,
delivery and shipping facilities, access ways, site plans and elevation
drawings
• required instrumentation and controls, and process monitoring and control
interconnections
• utility and waste treatment requirements, connections and facilities
– rationale for site selection
– basis for selecting and sizing critical pieces of equipment
– ways in which the design was optimized and the engineering basis for
such optimization
• They also often provide economic analyses of plant profitability in terms of
various product demand and price and material cost scenarios.
Plant Layout
 Plant layout
• Plant layout has been defined as a plan of, or the act of planning
an optimum arrangement of industrial facilities, including
– personnel,
– operating equipment,
– storage space,
– materials handling equipment and
– all other supporting services along with the design of the best structure to
contain these facilities
• Since a layout once implemented cannot be easily changed and
costs of such a change are substantial, the plant layout is a
strategic decision.
• A poor layout will result in continuous losses in terms of higher
efforts for material handling, more waste and rework, poor
space utilization etc.
• Plant layout means planning:

– for the location of all machines, utilities, employee

workstations, customer service areas, material storage areas,
aisles, restrooms, lunchrooms, internal walls, offices, and
computer rooms

– for the flow patterns of materials and people around, into, and
within buildings

– infrastructure services such as the delivery of line

communications, energy, and water and the removal of waste
water all make up basic utilities.
 Locate All Areas In and Around Buildings

– Equipment

– Work stations

– Material storage

– Rest/break areas

– Utilities

– Eating areas

– Aisles

– Offices
 Characteristics of the Facility Layout Decision

– Location of these various areas impacts the flow through the

system.

– The layout can affect productivity and costs generated by the

system.

– Layout alternatives are limited by

• the amount and type of space required for the various areas

• the amount and type of space available

• the operations strategy

• . . . more
 Machine shop process layout

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Finished
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Part A
Part B
Facility Layout 15
 When layout development needed:

• to start a new product,

• to change the product design,

• to reduce the cost;

• the market demand changes,

• the plant, the product, the building become obsolete,

• accidents occur frequently,

• the working environment is poor.

• competitive cost reduction

• adoption of new safety standards

• decision to build a new plant

Objectives and advantages

Some of the important objectives of a good plant layout are as follows:

• Overall simplification of production process in terms of equipment

utilization, minimization of delays, reducing manufacturing time, and
better provisions for maintenance

• Overall integration of man, materials, machinery, supporting activities

and any other considerations in a way that result in the best
compromise.

• Minimization of material handling cost by suitably placing the facilities

in the best flow sequence

• Saving in floor space, effective space utilization and less congestion

• Increased output and reduced in-process inventories

• Better supervision and control

• Worker convenience and worker satisfaction

• Better working environment, safety of employees and reduced

hazards

• minimization of waste and higher productivity

• avoid unnecessary capital investment

• higher flexibility and adaptability to changing conditions

 The objectives of a good study of plant layout are:

• ensure effective space utilization,

• minimize the cost of material handling (internal transports),

• foresee future developments of the plant according to a rational

master plan,

• improve workers convenience as well as safety and create job

satisfaction, and

• avoid unnecessary capital investment.

 Plant Layout Factors
The design of any layout is governed by a number of factors and the best layout is the one
that optimizes all the factors. The factors influencing any layout are categorized into the
following eight groups:

• The material factor: includes design, variety, quantity, the necessary operations, and
their sequence.

• The man factor: includes direct workers, supervision and service help, safety and
manpower utilization.

• The machinery factor: includes the process, producing equipment and tools and their
utilization

• The movement factor: includes inter and intradepartmental transport and handling at
the various operations, storage and inspection, the materials handling equipment.

• The waiting factor: includes permanent and temporary storage and delays and their
locations.
• The service factors: include service relating to employee facilities
such as parking lot, locker rooms, toilets, waiting rooms etc.; service
relating to materials in terms of quality, production control,
scheduling, dispatching, waste control; and service relating to
machinery such as maintenance.

• The building factor: includes outside and inside building features

and utility distribution and equipment.

• The change factor: includes versatility, flexibility and expansion Each

of the above mentioned factors comprise a number of features and
the layout engineer must review these in the light of his problem.
 Types of Layout

1. Product Layout: In this type of layout, only one product or one type
of product is produced in a given area.

• The product must be standardized and manufactured in large

quantities in order to justify the product layout.
 Some of the Advantages of Product Layout are:

• lower total material handling cost,

• lower total production time,

• less work in process,

• greater incentive for groups of workers to raise level of

performance,

• less floor area required per unit of production and

• greater simplicity of production control, fewer control records

needed and lower accounting cost.
 Product Layout is Used When:

• one or few standard products are to be produced,

• large volume of production of each item over a considerable time is
needed,
• minimum of inspection is required during sequence of operations,
• minimum of very heavy equipment or equipment requiring special
facilities are needed,
• materials and products permit bulk or continuous handling of
mechanical means and
• one machine is always used for one purpose.
 2. Process Layout

Process Layout: Similar equipment and similar operations are

grouped together in the process or functional layout. It is
particularly useful where low volume is required.
 Some of the Advantages of Process Layout are:

• less duplication of equipment, hence lower investment cost,

• greater flexibility of production,
• better and more efficient supervision,
• greater incentive for individual workers to raise level of
performance,
• better control of complicated or precision processes,
• easier to handle breakdowns of equipment by transferring
work to anther machine or station.
 Process Layout is Used when

• many types or styles of products are on special order ,

• relatively low volume of production on individual items is
needed,
• many inspections are required during a sequence of
operations,
• high proportion of very heavy equipment or equipment
requiring special treatment exist,
• materials or products become too large or too heavy to permit
bulk or continuous flow and
• one machine is used for different operations.
 3. Cellular or group layout

• It is a special type of functional layout in which the facilities are

clubbed together into cells.

• This is suitable for systems designed to use the concepts, principles

and approach of group technology.

• Such a layout offers the advantages of mass production with high

degree of flexibility.

• In such a system the facilities are grouped into cells which are able
to perform similar type of function for a group of products.

• Also known as ‘Group Technology’

 Advantages :

• Each cell manufactures products belonging to a single family.

• Cells are autonomous manufacturing units which can produce finished parts.

• Commonly applied to machined parts.

• Often single operators supervising CNC machines in a cell, with robots for

materials handling.

• Productivity and quality maximised. Throughput times and work in progress

kept to a minimum.

• Flexible.

• Suited to products in batches and where design changes often occur.

 4. Fixed-Position Layout

• In this type of layout, the material or major component

remains in a fixed location, and tools, machinery, men as well
as other pieces of material are brought to this location.
Typical examples are ship building, construction industries,
aircraft building and bench work exercises.
• This type of layout is not frequently used in industrial
enterprises. For this reason we are not going to look into its
advantage and disadvantages.
 Layout Design Procedure

The overall layout design procedure can be considered to be

composed of four phases Viz.,
• Phase I: Location
• Phase II: General Overall Layout
• Phase III: Detailed layout
• Phase IV: Installation
 Phase I: Plant Location
• Plant location decisions are strategic, long term and non-repetitive in
nature.

• Without sound and careful location planning in the beginning itself,

the new plant may pose continuous operating disadvantages.

• Location decisions are affected by many factors, both internal and

external to the organization’s operations.

• Internal factors include the technology used, the capacity, the

financial position, and the work force required.

• External factors include the economic, political and social conditions

in the various localities.
When Does a Location Decision Arise?

• It may arise when a new plant is to be established.

• In some cases, the plant operations and subsequent expansion are

restricted by a poor site, thereby necessitating the setting up of the facility
at a new site.

• The growing volume of business makes it advisable to establish additional

facilities in new territories.

• It could happen that the original advantages of the plant have been
outweighed due to new developments.

• New economic, social, legal or political factors could suggest a change of

location of the existing plant.
 Cont’d

The decision usually is made in two stages but there is

substantial overlap, as shown.

1. The selection of general territory

[Link] selection of a specific community and site

 Selection of a General Territory
i. Cost of construction may very form one territory to the other.
ii. Market may be concentrated or distributed
– Locating a plant or facility nearer to the market is preferred if
promptness of service is required particularly if the product is
susceptible to spoilage.
– Also if the product is relatively inexpensive and transportation costs add
substantially to the cost, a location close to the market is desirable.
iii. Wages and Labor are lower in one area than in the other, depending
upon the living cost.
iv. Availability of Raw material
– A material index has been proposed, which equals the weight of
localized material used in the finished product divided by the weight of
the finished product.

– If the material index is greater than unity, location should be nearer to the
source of raw material and if it is less than unity, then a location nearer to
market is advised.
 Cont’d
v. Transport: Refers to the external transportation of the raw material and the
finished product.
– Adequate transportation facilities are essential for the economic operation of
production system.

vi. Energy: Other than electric power, in most plants it may be necessary to
use gas, coal fuel oil, etc.
vii. Infrastructure: This factor refers to the availability and reliability of power,
water, fuel and communication facilities in addition to transportation
facilities.
viiI. Legislation and taxation: Factors such as financial and other incentives for
new industries in backward areas or no-industry-district centers,
exemption from certain state and local taxes etc. are important.
 Selection of a Specific Site

i. Community Attitude: The plant has to be located according to the

master plan of the city or the region;
ii. Community facilities: These involve factors such as quality of life
which in turn depends on availability of facilities like education,
places of worship, medical services, police and fire stations,
cultural, social and recreation opportunities, housing, good streets
and good communication and transportation facilities.
iii. Transport: It is important to consider the transportation
infrastructure of the area.
iv. Water: There are certain industrial processes, which require large
quantities of water.
 Cont’d

iv. Communication: The new plant has to be located in proximity to one or

more of communication systems
v. Wind Direction: If the industry produces smoke, gas, odor, etc, it will be
necessary to place the pant with respect to the dominating wind
direction.
vi. Condition of the Site: The ground has to have a good resistance to the load
induced by the foundation of the building.
vii. Waste disposal: The facilities required for the disposal of process waste
including solid, liquid and gaseous effluent need to be considered. The
plant should be positioned so that prevailing winds carry any fumes
away from populated areas and that the waste may be disposed off
properly and at reasonable costs.
 Cont’d
vii. Ecology and pollution: These days, there is a great deal of awareness
towards maintenance of natural ecological balance. There are quite a few
agencies propagating the concepts to make the society at large more
conscious of the dangers of certain available actions.

viii. Site size: The plot of land must be large enough to hold the proposed
plant and parking and access facilities and provide room for future
expansion.

iX. Future Development: The plant has to be in a position to develop or

change product quantity, type and size. Space has to be at its disposal
for its future development.

X. Complementary pant: an industry, to produce as intended, may need

material; service and assistance form other plants.
 Cont’d

XI. Wind Direction: If the industry produces smoke, gas, odor, etc, it
will be necessary to place the pant with respect to the
dominating wind direction.

XII. Topography: -The topography, soil structure and drainage must

be suitable. If considerable land improvement is required, low
priced land might turn out to be expensive.

XIII. Condition of the Site: The ground has to have a good resistance to
the load induced by the foundation of the building.
 Cont’d

xiv. Land costs: These are generally of lesser importance, as

they are nonrecurring and possibly make up a relatively
small proportion of the total cost of locating a new plant.
xv. Future Development: The plant has to be in a position to
develop or change product quantity, type and size. Space
has to be at its disposal for its future development.
xvi. Complementary plant: an industry, to produce as
intended, may need material; service and assistance
form other plants.
 Territory Selection of Site and
Selection Community
Location Factor

[Link] *
[Link] Materials *
[Link] * *
[Link] * *
[Link] and Fuel *
[Link] and Wages * *
[Link] and Taxation * *
[Link] Services and Attitude *
9. Water and Waste *

A typical team studying location possibilities might include

accountants, lawyers, marketing experts, various consultants,
executives, and industrial engineers.
Requirements governing choice of a city location are:

• Availability of adequate supply of labour force · High proportion of

skilled employees

• Rapid public transportation and contact with suppliers and

customers

• Small plant site or multi floor operation

• Processes heavily dependent on city facilities and utilities

• Good communication facilities like telephone, telex, post offices

• Good banking and health care delivery systems

Requirements governing the choice of a suburban location are:

• Large plant site close to transportation or population centre

• Free from some common city building zoning (industrial areas) and
other restrictions

• Freedom from higher parking and other city taxes etc.

• Labour force required to reside close to the plant

• Community close to, but not in large population centre

• Plant expansion easier than in the city

Requirements governing the choice of a rural location are:

• Large plant site required for either present demands or expansion

• Dangerous production processes

• Lesser effort required for anti-pollution measures

• Large volume of relatively clean water

• Lower property taxes, away from Urban Land Ceiling Act restrictions

• Protection against possible sabotage or for a secret process

• Balanced growth and development of a developing or underdeveloped

area

• Unskilled labour force required

• Low wages required to meet competition

 Working Conditions
Proper working conditions increase production effectiveness. They are
influenced by many factors, over which the employee has very little or no
control.
 Lighting facilitates accuracy and ease of seeing.
 Air Conditioning is used for to control contamination by dust, bacteria
and toxic gases and air temperature and humidity.
 Noise The reduction of noise may be brought about by a variety of
methods. Some of these methods are:
- Control of the noise at the source.
- Isolation of the noise.
- Use of baffles and sound absorbers.
- Acoustical treatment.
- Use of ear protection devices.

48
  Noise: A wide variety of sound exists in industry. Continuous exposure to
high noise levels frequently result in temporary or even permanent loss of
hearing.
 Color: The objective of utilizing scientifically selected colors is to bring
about a clear three dimensional vision.
• Different colors have different psychological effects.
– Red - Hot and heavy, exciting, stimulating.
– Orange - Hot, exciting and stimulating less than red.
– Yellow - Hot, exciting lovely.
– Green - Fresh and light, pacific.
– Blue - Light, pacific.
– Violet - Light, loneliness.
– White - Cold, brilliant (seems to increase volume).
– Black - Hot (seems to decrease volume) depressing.
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 Work space requirements

• The layout man often finds himself involved in work space arrangement; at
any rate, he must determine the floor space that will be required by an
operator.
• The study of floor space needed considers the following points:
• While at work, the operator's arms and hands should move as easily as
possible and he ought to reduce, to the minimum the movement of his
shoulders, his body and his person from one position to another.
Figure: normal working area
Safety :
• A good plant layout should consider the safety of all personnel.
• Some of the safety hazards to be watched for in plant layout are:
– inadequate passage,
– insufficient storage space allowance for safe handling procedures,
– insufficient handling equipment capacity,
– floor load capacity,
– floor obstructions,
– slippery finish floors,
– inadequate exits,
– inadequate stairs, ramps and ladders,
– inaccessible fire extinguisher and first aid boxes
– unguarded moving parts of equipment ,
– workers located under the above hazards and
– improper ventilation for removal of dangerous or toxic gases.
Assignment 1 – plant layout, 10pts

• Create a team of 3-5 students

• Select one business investment entity (manufacturing or service)

• Study the facility requirements for the investment

• Draw overall layout: Develop efficient area and size required for the
different facilities within the layout (workshop, laboratory, fire station, main
road, side road, pathway canteen, administration, toilet, parking, etc…)

• Draw detail layout: Develop clearance between various unit to the adjacent
unit of site layout( plant area, boiler and furnace, cooling tower, gas
holders, warehouse, loading area, garage, fire station, office and canteen,
clinic, etc….)

Submission deadline: March 29, 2024