Process Selection and

Facility Layout
 Process types, process
selection and automation
 Process Selection
❑ The ways organizations choose to produce or
provide their goods and services.
❑ It involves choice of technology, type of
processing, and so on.

❑ It influences
◦ Capacity planning
◦ Layout of facilities
◦ Equipment
◦ Design of work systems
 Process Selection and System Design

Capaci Facilities
Forecasting ty and
Plannin Equipment
g
Product &
service Layout
Design
Process
Selectio
Technologica Work
n
l Design
Change

Capacity is significantly impacted by process selection and facility layout.

Factors which influence process selection

Variety Batch

◦ How much

Project Job Shop Repetitive

Flexibility
◦ What degree
Continuous
Volume
◦ Expected output
 Process Types
Project: A non-repetitive set of activities directed toward a
unique goal within a limited time frame
◦ Unique
◦ Examples: Building a bridge, consulting
Job shop: provides unit or lot production or service with
changeable specifications, according to customer needs
◦ Small scale
◦ Examples: Machine shop, dentist’s office
Batch: Produces many different products in groups (batches)
◦ Low or Moderate volume
◦ Examples: Bakeries, movie theaters, classrooms
 Process Types (Cont.)
Repetitive: provides one or a few highly standardized
products or services
◦ High volumes of standardized goods or services
◦ Examples: automobiles, computers, cafeteria, car wash

Continuous: produces highly uniform products or continuous

services, often performed by machines
◦ Very high volumes of non-discrete goods
◦ Examples: refineries, chemical plant, flour, sugar, electricity
supplying and the internet
Process Choice Affects Activities /Functions
Job Shop Batch Repetitive Continuous Projects

Cost Difficult Somewhat routine Routine Routine Simple to

estimation complex
Cost per unit High Moderate Low Low Very high
Equipment General General purpose Special Special purpose Varied
used purpose purpose
Fixed costs Low Moderate High Very high Very high

Variable High Moderate Low Very low High

costs
Labor skills High Moderate Low Low to high Low to high
Marketing Promote Promote Promote Promote Promote
capacities capacities; standardized standardized capacities
Semi-standard goods/ goods/ services
goods/ services services
Scheduling Complex Moderately Routine Routine Complex,
complex subject to
change
Work-in-proc High High Low Low Varied
ess
inventory
 Classification of production
systems and types of layouts
 Facilities Layout

The arrangement of departments, work centers,

and equipment, with particular emphasis on
movement of work (customers or materials)
through the system.
 The Need for Layout Decisions

Inefficient operations
For Example: Changes in the design
High Cost of products or services
Bottleneck
s

Accidents
The introduction of new
products or services

Safety hazards
 The Need for Layout Design (Cont.)

Changes in
environmental Changes in volume of
or other legal output or mix of
requirements products

Morale problems
Changes in methods
or equipment
 Basic Layout Types
Product Layouts most helpful to repetitive processing
Process Layouts used for irregular processing
Fixed-position layouts used when projects require layouts
Hybrid layouts combinations of these above types
• Cellular manufacturing
• Group technology
• Flexible Manufacturing Systems
 Production/Assembly Line

Raw Stat Stat Stat Stat Finishe

materials ion ion ion ion d item
or 1 2 3 4
customer
Material Materials Materials Material
s and/or and/or s
and/or labor labor and/or
labor labor

Used for Repetitive or Continuous Processing

Example: automobile assembly lines, cafeteria serving
line
 U-Shaped Production Line

I 1 2 3 4
n
5
Worke
rs
6
Ou 10 9 8 7
t
 Process Layouts
Process layouts: Layouts that can handle various
processing requirements
The layouts feature departments or other functional
groupings in which similar kinds of activities are performed
Examples: Machine shops usually have separate
departments for milling, grinding, drilling, and so on
Different products may present quite different processing
requirements and sequences of operations
 Process Layout
Millin
g
Assembly
& Test Grinding

Drillin Plating
g
Process Layout - work travels to dedicated process centers
Comparison of Process and Product Layout
 Fixed-Position Layouts
Fixed-Position Layout: Layout in which the product or
project remains stationary, and workers, materials, and
equipment are moved as needed
Examples:
◦ Large construction projects (buildings, power plants,
dams)
◦ Shipbuilding, production of large aircraft
◦ Rockets used to launch space missions
 Combination Layouts
The three basic layout types may be altered to satisfy the
needs of a particular situation
Examples:
◦ Supermarket layouts: primarily process layout, have
fixed-path material-handling devices as well
(roller-type conveyors and belt-type conveyors)
◦ Hospitals: process layout, fixed-position layout as well
(patient care)
◦ Off-line reworking (customized processing) of faulty
parts in a product layout
 Cellular Layouts
Cellular Production
◦ Layout in which machines are grouped into a cell that
can process items that have similar processing
requirements
Group Technology
◦ The grouping into part families of items with similar
design or manufacturing characteristics
✔ Design characteristics: size, shape and function.
✔ Manufacturing or processing characteristics: type
and sequence of operations required.
Line Balancing
 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.

Tasks are grouped into manageable bundles and

assigned to workstations with one or two operators

Goal is to minimize idle time along the line, which leads

to high utilization of labor and equipment

Perfect balance is often impossible to achieve

 Cycle Time

Cycle time is the maximum time allowed

at each workstation to complete its set
of tasks on a unit.
 Example 1: Cycle Times

0.1 min. 0.7 min. 1.0 min. 0.5 min. 0.2 min.

With 5 workstations, CT = 1.0 minute.

Cycle time of a system = longest processing time in a workstation.

 Example 1: Cycle Times

0.1 min. 0.7 min. 1.0 min. 0.5 min. 0.2 min.

With 1 workstation, CT = 2.5 minutes.

Cycle time of workstation = total processing time in of tasks.

With 3 workstations, can CT = 1.0 minute?

0.1 min. 0.7 min. 1.0 min. 0.5 min. 0.2 min.

Workstation 1 Workstation 2 Workstation 3

 Output Capacity
OT
Output capacity =
CT
OT = operating time per day

CT = cycle time

Example: 8 hours per day

OT = 8 x 60 = 480 minutes per day
Cycle Time = CT = 1.0 min
Output = OT/CT = 480/1.0 = 480 units per day
Cycle Time = CT = 2.5 min
Output = OT/CT = 480/2.5 = 192 units per day
Cycle Time Determined by Desired Output

OT
CT = cycle time =
D
D = Desired output rate

Example: 8 hours per day

OT = 8 x 60 = 480 minutes per day
D = 480 units per day
CT = OT/D = 480/480 = 1.0 Minute
Theoretical Minimum Number of Stations Required

∑t
Nmin =
CT
∑ t = sum of task times
Nmin = theoretical Minimum Number of
Workstations Required

Example: 8 hours per day, desired

output rate is 480 units per day
CT = OT/D = 480/480 = 1.0 Minute
Nmin = ∑t /CT = 2.5/1.0 = 2.5 stations
≈ 3 stations
Designing Process
Layouts
 Designing Process Layout
The main issue in design of process layouts concerns the
relative positioning of the departments involved.

Departments must be assigned to locations.

The problem is to develop a reasonably good layout; some

combinations will be more desirable than others.
 Considerations

Some departments may benefit from adjacent locations

• Sharing expensive tools or equipments.

Some departments should be separated

• A lab with delicate equipment should not be located near a

department that has equipment with strong vibrations.

• Sand blasting department and painting department.

• Flammable materials near a furnace.

 Measures of Effectiveness
One advantage of process layouts: satisfy a variety of processing
requirements

Customers or materials in these systems require different

operations and different sequences of operations

One of the major objectives in process layout is to minimize

transportation cost, distance, or time

This is usually accomplished by locating departments with relatively

high interdepartmental work flow as close together as possible