Facilities Layout
An operation or process means how its transformed resources
are positioned relative to each other & how its various tasks are allocated
to these transforming resources
- The configuration of departments, work centers, & equipment, with particular emphasis on movement of work through the system
The basic objective is to facilitate a smooth flow of work,
material & information
- To facilitate attainment of product or service quality
- To use workers & space efficiently
- To avoid bottlenecks
- To eliminate unnecessary movements of workers or materials
- To minimize material handling costs
- To minimize production time or customer service time
- To design for safety
The layout decision is relatively infrequent but
important
- Fixed-position layout
- Process/functional layout
- Cellular/Group layout
- Product layout
Fixed-position layout
Layout in which the product or project remains stationary
but workers, materials & equipment are moved as needed
- Product or the recipient of service is too large; such as Motorway construction, Open-heart surgery, High-class service restaurant, Shipbuilding etc.
Process/Functional layout
Process layouts (functional layouts) are designed to process
items or provide services that involve a variety of processing requirements
- Can handle varied processing requirements
- Similar resources or processes are located together
Such as machine shop, Hospital, Supermarket, airlines,
public libraries etc.
Cellular/Group layout
Layout in which workstations are grouped into a cell that
can process items that have similar processing requirements
- After being processed in the cell, the transformed resources may go on to another cell
Such as Some laptop assembly, ‘Lunch’ products area in a
supermarket, Maternity unit in a hospital etc.
Product layout
Product layouts are used to achieve a smooth & rapid
flow of large volumes of goods or customers through a system, sometimes called
flow or line layout
- Flow is predictable & therefore relatively easy to control
Such as Automobile assembly, Loan application processing,
Self-service cafeteria etc.
Selecting a Layout
In an operation there are various types of characteristics
that will influence its layout
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