Process Layout
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Layout Planning
Layout planning involves decisions about
the physical arrangement of economic
activity centers needed by a facility’s various
processes.
Economic activity center: Anything that
consumes space -- a person or a group of
people, a customer reception area, a teller
window, a machine, a workstation, a
department, an aisle, or a storage room.
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Layout Planning
Questions/Choices
Before a manager can make decisions
regarding physical arrangement, four
questions must be addressed.
1. What centers should the layout include?
2. How much space and capacity does
each center need?
3. How should each center’s space be
configured?
4. Where should each center be located?
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Performance Criteria
Managers must decide early in the process what
performance criteria should be emphasized in order
to come up with a good layout solution.
Customer satisfaction
Level of capital investment
Requirements for materials handling
Ease of stock picking
Work environment and “atmosphere”
Ease of equipment maintenance
Employee and internal customer attitudes
Amount of flexibility needed
Customer convenience and levels of sales
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Types of Layouts
Flexible-flow layout/Process layout: A layout that
organizes resources (employees) and equipment by
function rather than by service or product.
Line-flow layout/Product layout: A layout in which
workstations or departments are arranged in a
linear path.
Hybrid layout: An arrangement in which some
portions of the facility have a flexible-flow and
others have a line-flow 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.
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A Flexible Flow Layout
A job shop has a flexible-flow layout.
Grinding Forging Lathes
Painting Welding Drills
Milling
Office machines Foundry
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Process Layouts
General purpose & flexible resources
Lower capital intensity & automation
Higher labor intensity
Processing rates are slower
Material handling costs are higher
Scheduling resources & work flow is more
complex
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Page 7
Line Flow
Layout/Product Layout
A production line has a line-flow layout.
Station 1 Station 2 Station 3 Station 4
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Line Flow Layout/Product
Layouts
Specialized equipment
High capital intensity & wide use of
automation
Processing rates are faster
Material handling costs are lower
Less space required for inventories
Less volume or design flexibility
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Page 9
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
Example: group technology & manufacturing
cells
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Page 10
Creating Hybrid Layouts
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.
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One Worker,
Multiple Machines
Machine
2
Machine
Machine 3
1
Materials in
Finished
goods out
Machine
Machine 4
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Group Technology (GT)
Group Technology (GT) is an option for
achieving line-flow layouts with low-volume
processes; this technique creates cells not
limited to just one worker and has a unique
way of selecting work to be done by the cell.
The GT method groups parts or products
with similar characteristics into families and
sets aside groups of machines for their
production.
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Designing
Flexible-Flow Layouts
Step 1: Gather information
Space requirements by center
Available space
Closeness factors: which centers need to be located close
to one another.
Closeness matrix: A table that gives a measure of
the relative importance of each pair of centers being
located close together.
Step 2: Develop a Block plan: A plan that allocates
space and indicates placement of each department.
Step 3: Design a detailed layout.
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Gather Information
Example 8.1 Office of Budget Management
Space Requirements Current Block Plan
Department Area Needed (ft2)
3 6 4
1. Administration 3,500
2. Social services 2,600 100'
3. Institutions 2,400
4. Accounting 1,600 1 2 5
5. Education 1,500
6. Internal audit 3,400
150'
Total 15,000
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3 6 4
Closeness Matrix
100'
1 2 5
150'
Example 8.1 Office of Budget Management
Trips between Departments
Department 1 2 3 4 5 6
1. Administration — 3 6 5 6 10
2. Social services — 8 1 1
3. Institutions — 3 9
4. Accounting — 2
5. Education — 1
6. Internal audit —
Departments 1 and 6 have the most interaction.
Departments 3 and 5 have the next highest.
© 2007 Pearson Education Departments 2 and 3 have next priority.
3 6 4
Proposed Block Plan
100'
1 2 5
150'
First put departments 1 and 6 close together
Next put departments 3 and 5 close together
Then put departments 2 and 3 close together
6 2 3
100'
1 4 5
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Applying the
Weighted- Distance Method
Weighted-distance method: A mathematical model
used to evaluate flexible-flow layouts based on
proximity factors.
Euclidean distance is the straight-line distance, or
shortest possible path, between two points.
Rectilinear distance: The distance between two
points with a series of 90 degree turns, as along city
blocks.
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Distance Measures
Euclidian Distance
dAB = (xA – xB)2 + (yA – yB)2
Rectilinear Distance
dAB = |xA – xB| + |yA – yB|
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Application 8.1
What is the distance between (20,10) and (80,60)?
Euclidian Distance
dAB = (20 – 80)2 + (10 – 60)2
= 78.1
Rectilinear Distance
dAB = |20 – 80| + |10 – 60| = 110
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Calculating the WD Score
Example 8.2 Load Distance Analysis
Current Plan Proposed Plan
Dept Closeness Distance Distance
Pair Factor, w d wd Score d wd Score
1,2 3 1 3 2 6
1,3 6 1 6 3 18
1,4 5 3 15 1 5
1,5 6 2 12 2 12
1,6 10 2 20 1 10
2,3 8 2 16 1 8
2,4 1 2 2 1 1
2,5 1 1 1 2 2
3,4 3 2 6 2 6
3,5 9 3 27 1 9
4,5 2 1 2 1 2
5,6 1 2 2 3 3
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ld = 112 ld = 82
Designing
Line-Flow Layouts
Line balancing is the assignment of work to
stations in a line so as to achieve the desired output
rate with the smallest number of workstations.
Work elements are the smallest units of work that
can be performed independently.
Immediate predecessors are work elements that
must be done before the next element can begin.
Precedence diagram allows one to visualize
immediate predecessors better; work elements are
denoted by circles, with the time required to perform
the work shown below each circle.
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Line Balancing
Green Grass, Inc.
Big Broadcaster
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Line Balancing
Example 8.3
Green Grass, Inc., a manufacturer of lawn & garden equipment,
is designing an assembly line to produce a new fertilizer spreader,
the Big Broadcaster. Using the following information, construct a
precedence diagram for the Big Broadcaster.
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Line Balancing Big Broadcaster
Work Time Immediate
Element Description (sec) Predecessor(s)
A Bolt leg frame to hopper 40 None
B Insert impeller shaft 30 A
C Attach axle 50 A
D Attach agitator 40 B
E Attach drive wheel 6 B
F Attach free wheel 25 C
G Mount lower post 15 C
H Attach controls 20 D, E
I Mount nameplate 18 F, G
Total 244
Example 7.4
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Work Time Immediate
Element
A
Description (sec) Predecessor(s)
Bolt leg frame to hopper 40 None
Line Balancing
B
C
Insert impeller shaft
Attach axle
30
50
A
A Green Grass, Inc.
D Attach agitator 40 B
E Attach drive wheel 6 B
F Attach free wheel 25 C
G Mount lower post 15 C
H Attach controls 20 D, E D
I Mount nameplate 18 F, G H
Total 244 B 40
20
30 E
A 6
F
40 C 25
50 I
18
G
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Cycle Time
The amount of time each workstation is
allowed to complete its tasks
available time in seconds/da y
Cycle time (seconds/u nit)
desired output in units/day
Limited by the bottleneck task (the longest
task to be performed):
available time
Maximum output
bottleneck task time
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Page 27
Theoretical Minimum
Theoretical minimum (TM ) is a benchmark or goal
for the smallest number of stations possible, where
total time required to assemble each unit (the sum of
all work-element standard times) is divided by the
cycle time. It must be rounded up
Idle time is the total unproductive time for all
stations in the assembly of each unit.
Efficiency (%) is the ratio of productive time to
total time.
Balance Delay is the amount by which efficiency
falls short of 100%.
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Output Rate and Cycle Time
Example 7.5
Green Grass, Inc.
Desired output rate, r = 2400/week
Plant operates 40 hours/week
r = 2400/40 = 60 units/hour
Cycle time, c = 1/60
1
= 1 minute/unit
r
= 60 seconds/unit
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Theoretical Minimum
Number of
Workstations
TM = number of stations needed to achieve
100% efficiency (every second is used)
task times
TM
cycle time
Always round up (no partial workstations)
Serves as a lower bound for our analysis
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Page 30
Calculations for
Example 8.4 continued
Theoretical minimum (TM ) - sum of all work-element
standard times divided by the cycle time.
TM = 244 seconds/60 seconds = 4.067
It must be rounded up to 5 stations
Cycle time: c = 1/60 = 1 minute/unit = 60 seconds/unit
Efficiency (%) - ratio of productive time to total time.
Efficiency = [244/5(60)]100 = 81.3%
Balance Delay - amount by which efficiency falls short of 100%.
(100 − 81.3) = 18.7%
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Assigning Tasks to
Workstations
Start at the first station & choose the longest
eligible task (tasks with no unassigned
predecessors)
Continue adding the longest eligible task
that fits without going over the desired cycle
time
When no additional tasks can be added,
begin assigning tasks to the next
workstation
Continue until all tasks are assigned
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Page 32
D H
B 40 20
30 E
A 6
F
40 C 25
50 I
G 18
Cumm Idle 15
Station Candidate Choice Time Time
S1 A A 40 20
S2 B,C C 50 10
S3 B,F,G B 30 30
E,F,G F 25 35
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The goal is to cluster the work elements Green Grass, Inc.
into 5 workstations so that the number of
work-stations is minimized, and the cycle Line Balancing Solution
time of 60 seconds is not violated. Here
we use the trial-and-error method to find
a solution, although commercial software
packages are also available.
D
H
B 40
20
S1 30 E
S3
A S4 6
S2
F S5
40 C 25
50 I
c = 60 seconds/unit
TM = 5 stations 18
G
Efficiency = 81.3%
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Compute Efficiency
& Balance Delay
Efficiency is the ratio of productive time to
total time:
Efficency %
task times 100
number of stations cycle time
Balance delay:
Balance delay % 100 - Efficency
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Page 35
Solved Problem 1
TRIPS BETWEEN DEPARTMENTS
DEPT A B C D E F
A — 8 3 9 5
B — 3
C — 8 9
D — 3
E — 3
F —
E B F E C F
A C D A B D
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Solved Problem 1
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Solved Problem 2
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Solved Problem 2
Precedence Diagram
D
25
B E C
80 20 50
J
A
F 115
40 G 15
120
H I
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Solved Problem 2
Line Balancing Process
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Solved Problem 2
Line Balancing Solution
D
25 S5
B E C
80 20 50
S1 J
A
F 115
40 G 15
S2 120
H I S4
S3
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