Plant or Facility Layout

Plant/facility Layout is the physical location of the

various departments within the premises of the facility. It is
concerned with the orderly arrangement of machines, work
areas and service areas so as to attain the maximum
output at minimum possible cost.

A model facility layout should be able to provide an ideal

relationship between raw material, equipment, manpower and
final product at minimal cost under safe and comfortable
environment.
Objectives of Facility Layout
An efficient and effective facility layout can cover following
objectives:
1. To provide optimum space to organize equipment and
facilitate movement of goods and to create safe and
comfortable work environment.
2. To promote order or sequence in production
3. To reduce movement of workers, raw material and
equipment
4. To promote safety of plant as well as its workers
5. To facilitate extension or change in the layout to
accommodate new product line or technology upgradation
6. To increase production capacity of the organization
7. Eliminate bottlenecks
8. Facilitate the proper entry, exit, and placement of
material, products, and people
Factor affecting Plant Layout

1. Policies of management
2. Plant location
3. Nature of the product
4. Volume of production
5. Availability of floor space
6. Nature of manufacturing process
7. Repairs and maintenance of equipment and
machines
8. Distance between processes
9. Logical sequence of the process
10.Special requirements of a process
11. Location of the entry and exit
The Principle of a good Plant Layout
1. Inclusive integration – The plant should integrate all the important
resources of men, machine, and materials into a single operating
unit so as to maximize efficiency and minimize cost of production.
2. Minimum distance – The less movement of men, machine and
material the less will be the cost of the production.
3. Flow of Material – All material should move to the same direction
and plant should be arranged according to the sequence.
4. Productive space handling – The material should be organized in
a proper way and maximum use of volume available.
5. Intrinsic security – The environment of the plant should be safe
for the labor as well as machines.
6. Flexibility – The plant layout should not be inflexible which can be
modified to meet the changing circumstances.
7. Availability of Physical and other facilities – The layout of plant
should ensure that all essential resources are accessible to the
labor and machines without any delay.
8. Minimal handling – Poor handling of the material may lead to
increase cost.
9. Maximum Utilization – The location of the plant should be utilized
maximum.
 Types of Layout
• 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
• Hybrid layouts - Combine aspects of both process
and product layouts
– Layout in which machines are grouped into a cell that
can process items that have similar processing
requirements
What is product layout?

 A product a layout is layout that arranges activities in a line

according to the sequence of operations needed to be performed
to assemble or produce a particular product.
 A product layout groups different workstations together
according to the products they work on. Workstations in a
product layout can quickly transfer small batches of semi-
finished goods directly to the next station in the production line

Example:
In a product layout for a garment industry, stations for
sewing cloth, sewing on buttons, inspecting line of
stitching, wrapping finished garments and boxing them up
would all be located within close proximity for an individual
clothing item, allowing individual garments to pass from
one station to another quickly.
What is Process Layout?
A process layout groups workstations together according
to the activities being performed, regardless of which
products each workstation is working on.
Example:
In the the garment industry, a process layout would group
multiple sewing stations together for different clothing
items in one area, then locate inspection, wrapping and
packaging stations for different items together in different
areas.
Characteristics Product Layout:
– Resources are specialized
– Facilities are capital intensive
– Processing rates are faster
– Material handling costs are lower
– Space requirements for inventory storage are
lower
– Flexibility is low relative to the market
Characteristics of Process Layout :

– Resources used are general purpose

– Facilities are less capital intensive
– Facilities are more labor intensive
– Resources have greater flexibility
– Processing rates are slower
– Material handling costs are higher
– Scheduling resources & work flow is more
complex
– Space requirements are higher
Process vs. Product Layouts
Fixed-Position Layout

• Used when product is large

• Product is difficult or impossible to move,
i.e. very large or fixed
• All resources must be brought to the
Production site
• Scheduling of men and resources is a
challenge
 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
Requirements Designing Process Layouts

– List of departments
– Projection of work flows
– Distance between locations
– Amount of money to be invested
– List of special considerations
Steps in Designing Process Layouts

Step 1: Gather information:

Space needed, space available, identify closeness
measures
Step 2: Develop alternative block plans:
Using trial-and-error or decision support tools
Step 3: Develop a detailed layout:
Consider exact sizes/shapes of departments and
work centers including aisles(walkway) and stairways
 Designing Product Layouts
• Designing product layouts requires
consideration of:
– Sequence of tasks to be performed by each
workstation
– Logical order
– Speed considerations – line balancing
 Steps in Designing Product Layouts

Step 1: Identify tasks & immediate predecessors

Step 2: Determine output rate
Step 3: Determine cycle time
Step 4: Compute the Theoretical Minimum number
of Stations
Step 5: Assign tasks to workstations (balance the
line)
Step 6: Compute efficiency, idle time & balance
delay
 Designing Product Layouts

• Designing product layouts requires

consideration of:
– Sequence of tasks to be performed by each
workstation
– Logical order
– Speed considerations – line balancing

© Wiley 2010 17
 Designing Product Layouts

Step 1: Identify tasks & immediate predecessors

Step 2: Determine output rate
Step 3: Determine cycle time
Step 4: Compute the Theoretical Minimum number of
Stations
Step 5: Assign tasks to workstations (balance the
line)
Step 6: Compute efficiency, idle time & balance delay
© Wiley 2010 18
 Work Station
A work station is a place or location where
one or more tasks are completed by one
or more workers.
Example:
Work Station 1 Work Station 2 Work Station 3

4 tasks/worker 2 tasks/worker 1 tasks/worker

Worker 1 Worker 2 Worker 4
Worker 3
 Precedence Diagram
Precedence diagram: Tool used in line balancing to
display elemental tasks and sequence requirements

Suppose that the work required to complete the

fabrication of certain product is divided into five tasks
with different task time and precedence relationship is
given below.

Task Immediate following task Completion time (min)

a b 0.1
b d 1.0
c d 0.7
d e 0.5
e - 0.2
Task Immediate following task Completion time (min)
a b 0.1
b d 1.0
c d 0.7
d e 0.5
e - 0.2

0.1 min. 1.0 min.

A Simple Precedence
a b Diagram of the above
tasks

c d e
0.7 min. 0.5 min. 0.2 min.
 Cycle Time
Cycle time is the maximum time allowed at
each workstation to complete its tasks on a
single unit of a product.
 Minimum cycle time: longest task time required to
assign a single task to a workstation
 Maximum cycle time: sum of the task time
required to assign all tasks to a workstation

Example:
Task a b c d e All tasks Task time (min)
0.11.00.70.50.22.5
Here, Minimum cycle time = 1.0 min,
Maximum cycle time = 2.5 min.
22
Computation of Cycle Time: Time to process
one unit of product
OT: OperatingTimePerDay
D: DesiredOutputRate
OT
 DesiredCycleTime
D
CT  CycleTime  FromProcessDesign
OT
 CT Can produce at the desired level, design is feasible
D
OT
 CT Cannot produce at the desired level, design is infeasible
D

23
Determination of the Number of work stations

Total task time for all products produced in a day

N min =
Availabale time in a day
(D)(  t)

OT
N min 
 t

Total task time for a product  t

OT/D Availabale time for a product CT
The actual number (N) of work stations will be a whole
digit higher than N min
 t = sum of task time s 24
Computation of Layout Efficiency

Total idle time per cycle

Percent idle time =  100
(N)(CT)


 t
 100
(N)(CT)
Efficiency = (100 – Percent idle time)×100

N = actual no. of work station

t = total idle time
CT = Cycle time
25
Line Balancing
Line balancing is the process of assigning tasks to workstations
in such a way that the workstations have approximately the same
processing time requirements. Line balancing minimizes the idle time
along the line that ensures high utilization of labor and equipment.
Example: Consider the tasks on a single product performed in two work stations.
Each task takes 1 minute. What is the cycle time for the system?
Is the product layout balanced?
Work station 1 Work station 2
4 tasks/worker 2 tasks/worker
Worker 1 Worker 2
Worker 3

Ans. The cycle time for the system is 4 minutes/unit of

product. The product layout is because each work station
takes 4 minutes to complete tasks i.e, line balancing has been
achieved in the above product layout, there is no idle time.
26
Example 1: Consider following sub-division a work to complete
the fabrication of certain product (Consider an 8-
hour workday and desired output rate as 480 units
per day).
Task Immediate preceding task Completion time (min)
a b 0.1
b d 1.0
c d 0.7
d e 0.5
e - 0.2

The Precedence Diagram :

0.1 min. 1.0 min.
a b

c d e
0.7 min. 0.5 min. 0.2 min.
27
Assembly Line Balancing Rules
• Rule 1. Assign tasks into workstations in order of
most following tasks.
- Number of followers:
3 for a (b, d, e), 2 for b (d, e), 2 for c (d, e)
1 for d (e), 0 for e

For a work station,

• If you are to choose between a and c,
choose a
• If you are to choose between b and d,
choose b
• and so on

28
•Rule 2. Assign task into workstations in the order
of the greatest task time.
- Task with greatest task time:
b: 1 min, c: 0.7 min, d: 0.5 min, e: 0.2 min, a:
0.1 min

For a work station,

• If you are to choose between a and c, choose c
• If you are to choose between b and d, choose b
• and so on
•Rule 3. Assign tasks into workstations in order of
greatest positional weight.
– Positional weight is the sum of each task’s
time and the times of all following tasks.
– a:1.8 mins; b: 1.7 mins; c:1.4 mins; d: 0.7
mins; e: 0.2 mins.

For a work station,

• If you are to choose between a and c, choose a
• If you are to choose between b and d, choose b
• and so on
Assembly Line Balancing – Time remaining
• Time remaining in a Workstation = Cycle Time before
assignment of first task into that Workstation
• After assignment of the first task into a Work Station, Time
remaining for assignment of a second task = Cycle Time –
Time required by the first task
• In example 1, if the Cycle Time is 1 min/unit,
Time remaining for assignment of first task (say, a) in
Workstation 1 = 1 min
• After assigning a in Workstation 1, Time remaining for
assignment of a second task (say, c) in Workstation 1 = (1-0.1)
min = 0.9 min
• After assigning a and c in Workstation 1, Time remaining
for assignment of a third task in Workstation 1 = (0.9-0.7) min
= 0.2 min

31
Assembly Line Balancing – Eligible Task and
Idle Time
• Eligible task - Eligible task to assign into a Workstation is
the Task that
1. fits into the remaining time and
2. all of its predecessors are assigned.

• Idle Time – The remaining time in a Workstation into

which no task can be fitted is called the Idle Time or
waste time for that Workstation.

In the example of previous slide, time remaining is 2 min

and none of the tasks b, d, e is either eligible or can be
fitted. Hence, idle time in Workstation 1 is 2 min.
 Computation of Cycle Time

OT
Cycle Time , CT 
D
Here, OT  60  8 min  480 min/ day
D  480 units / day
480 min/ day
Therefore , CT   1 min/ unit
480 units / day
Computation of no. of Workstations

Total task time

Minimum no. of workstatio ns 
Cycle Time
2.50
  2.5  3
1
 Solution to Example 1.
Assigning operations by the number of followers

Work- Time Assign Station

Station Remaining Eligible Task Idle Time
1 1.0 a,c a
.9 c c
.2 none - .2
2 1.0 b b
0 none - 0
3 1.0 d d
.5 e e
.3 - - .3
.5

- Eligible operation fits into the remaining time and its predecessors are already assigned.
- What is the minimum cycle time possible for this example?
35
 Solution to Example 1. Assigning operations
using their task times.

Work- Time Assign Station

Station Remaining Eligible Task Idle Time
1 1.0 a,c c
.9 a a
.2 none - .2
2 1.0 b b
0 none - 0
3 1.0 d d
.5 e e
.3 - - .3
.5

Eligible operation fits into the remaining time and its predecessors are already assigned.
36
 Solution to Example 1. Assigning operations
using Positional Weights.

Work- Time Assign Station

Station Remaining Eligible Task Idle Time
1 1.0 a,c a
.9 c c
.2 none - .2
2 1.0 b b
0 none - 0
3 1.0 d d
.5 e e
.3 - - .3
.5

Eligible operation fits into the remaining time and its predecessors are already assigned.
37
 Product Layout
(Assignment of tasks into work stations)

Work station 2 Work station 3

Work station 1

E
A B

C D
 Computation of Layout Efficiency

Sum of idle times during a cycle

Percent idle time =  100
(N)(CT)  Total station time

0.2  0  0.3
Percent idle time =  100  0.167  100  16.7%
(3)(1)

Efficiency=(100-percent idle time)% =(100 – 16.7 0% = 83.3%

39
Example 2:
Consider the following table relating activities of Vicki’s Pizzeria
Work Task description Immediate Task time
element predecessor (seconds)
A Roll dough None 50
B Place on cardboard backing A 5
C Sprinkle cheese B 25
D Spread sauce C 15
E Add pepperoni D 12
F Add sausage D 10
G Add mushrooms D 15
H Shrinkwrap pizza E,F,G 18
I Pack in box h 18
Total task time 165

1. Draw a product layout for line balancing

2. Determine the efficiency of the product layout
Step 1: The Precedence Diagram
 Layout Calculations
• Step 2: Determine output rate
– Vicki needs to produce 60 pizzas per hour
• Step 3: Determine cycle time
– The amount of time each workstation is allowed to complete
its tasks
available time  sec./day
Cycle time (sec./unit) 
desired output  units/hr 
60 min/hr x 60 sec/min
  60 sec./unit
60 units/hr
available time 3600 sec./hr.
Maximum output  
bottleneck task time 50 sec./unit
 72 units/hr, or pizzas per hour

– Limited by the bottleneck task (the longest task in a

 Layout Calculations (continued)
• Step 4: Compute the number of stations
Nmin = number of stations needed to achieve 100%
efficiency (every second is used)

Nmin   task times  165 seconds

  2.75
cycle time 60 sec/statio n
N  No. of work stations  3
– Always round up (no partial workstations)
– Serves as a lower bound for our analysis
Layout Calculations
• Step 5: Assign tasks to workstations
– Start at the first station & choose the longest eligible task following
precedence relationships
– Continue adding the longest eligible task that fits without going over
the desired cycle time
– When no additional tasks can be added within the desired cycle time,
begin assigning tasks to the next workstation until finished
Workstation Eligible task Task Selected Task time Idle time
A A 50 10
1
B B 5 5
C C 25 35
2 D D 15 20
E, F, G G 15 5
E, F E 12 48
F F 10 38
3
H H 18 20
I I 15 5
 Product layout of Vicki’s Pizzeria
(Assignment of tasks into work stations)

Work station 1 Work station 2 Work station 3

C E
A

D
F
B
G H

I
 Layout Calculation
• Step 6: Compute efficiency and balance delay
– Efficiency (%) is the ratio of total productive time
divided by total time

Efficiency (%) 
 t

165 sec.
 100  91.7%
NC 3 stations x 60 sec.

– Balance delay (%) is the amount by which the line

falls short of 100%
Balance delay  100%  91.7%  8.3%
 Work duration = 8-hour work/day day
Assignment Desired production =400 units/day

Task Immediate Follower Task Time

a b 0.2
b e 0.2
c d 0.8
d f 0.6
e f 0.3
f g 1.0
g h 0.4
h End 0.3

1. Draw a product layout for line balancing

2. Determine the efficiency of the product layout

To be submitted in the next class

 Some important points to remember in
Facility Layout
1. Suppose, operation in producing a product requires
drill machines, lathes, and milling machines. Then
locating all the drills in one work center, lathes in
another work center, and milling machines is yet in
another work center represents a process layout.
2. Cycle time is the maximum allowable time at each
work station, not the time required to complete a
product from start to finish.
3. The purpose of designing process layouts is not to
minimize the number of workers or minimize idle
time or maximize output. A common goal in designing
process layouts is minimizing material handling costs.
4. An assembly line consists of 5 tasks with durations of 12, 9,
8, 7, and 11 minutes. The cycle time for the line is 25
minutes/unit. Determine the theoretical minimum number
of work stations for this situation. This is the computed
value rounded upward to whole number, not a fraction (Try
this).
5. A process layout is a type of facility layout also called a
functional layout in which the floor plan is arranged in
functional area with similar processes or similar machines
located together.
6. Process layouts are found primarily in job shops and batch
production, or firms that produce customized, low-volume
products that may require different processing requirements
and sequences of operations
7. For example, a machine shop with mills located together,
lathes located together, saws located together, and so on, is
arranged with a process layout. This differs from a
product layout in which equipment is arranged based on
sequential steps involved in manufacturing a product, as on
an assembly line.
8 Cellular layouts is a method of producing similar products using
cells, or groups of team members, workstations, or equipment, to
facilitate operations by eliminating setup and unneeded costs
between operations. Cells might be designed for a specific
process, part, or a complete product. They are favorable for
single-piece and one-touch production methods and in the office
or the factory. Because of increased speed and the minimal
handling of materials, cells can result in great cost and time
savings and reduced work-in-process
9 Work-in-process inventory is materials that are in the
process of being produced or manufactured into finished
goods to be sold to customers. Manufacturers and other
businesses that produce products are the types of
businesses that use the work-in= process inventory
account. In general, work-in-process inventory is large
for a process layout, and small for a product layout
10 For ship- vessel industry, the vessel remains stationery
or fixed and the man, machine , materials are brought to
the project site.
11 Process layout is employed where (a) low volume of
production is required, (b) similar jobs are
manufactured on similar machines and (c) machines are
arranged on functional basis.
12 In product layout, the workstations are arranged in line
and the maximum time allowed for each workstation is
the same that is the lines need to the balanced as much
as possible.
13 For manufacturing heavy or immobile products like
steam turbines, the layout used is a fixed position
layout
14. In product layout, the production scheduling is simpler
and high volume of output and high labor efficiency are
achieved.
15. One of the disadvantage of product layout is that high
initial investment is required for establishing the
specialized facilities like machineries and other
production equipment.
16. Product layout is not used for job-shop production and
batch production. It is suitable and used for mass
production.
17. Product layout is not used for job-shop production and
batch production. It is suitable and used for mass
production
18. Process layout is also known as analytical layout
because, in this layout, tasks are grouped by
analyzing the requirements of different tasks.
19. In product layout the high volume of standardized
product is produced using standardized process
resulting low per unit production cost.
20. Product layout is employed for mass production
which falls under continuous production system
21. In product layout, (a) specialized and strict
supervision is required, (b) machines cannot be used
to their maximum capacity and (c) manufacturing
cost rises with a fall in the volume of production.

 
22. Group layout avoids excessive multiplication of
facilities by grouping or arranging machine process
that perform similar activities. The machines are
general type that can be used for multiple
operations.
23. In process layout, (a) there is usually too much
handling and backtracking of materials, (b)
production control is more difficult and costly and
(c) routing and scheduling production planning is
more difficult