PROCESS SELECTION AND FACILITY LAYOUT

Process Selection - refers to deciding on the way production of goods or

services will be organized.

There are following types of manufacturing process technologies:

1. Project technology:
-No movement of products
-Products cannot be standardized and moved from one place to
another
-They require special technology, highly skilled manpower and
procedure
-Examples are bridges, dams, roads, building etc.
2. Job shop technology:
-Various small batches products produced, may be in process. Low
volume of products
-It is difficult to predict materials requirements
-Objective is to meet costumer immediate demand
-No specification, low quality, no standardization of products,
process, raw materials etc.
3. Batch technology:
-Suitable when there is stable line of standardized products
-Production in periodic batches
-Production is in periodic batches either to the costumers orders or
for stock
-It is more flexible because it can produce low volume and high
variety of products
-Planning, scheduling and controlling of activities possible
4. Assembly line technology:
-Stable products with narrow range and standardized products
-Limited products
-High volume
 -Sophisticated technology, specialized equipment, skilled manpower
and management system are used
-Electronic appliances such as TV, DVD, Computers are assembled
by using this type of technology
5. Continuous flow technology
-Highly standardized, large volume products having stable demand,
produced for stocks
-Capital-intensive automation, standardized materials, machine and
equipment are used
-It is an inflexible technology

Service Process technologies are determined based on the costumer’s

contact and labour versus capital intensiveness.

There are following types of service process technologies:

1. Quasi-manufacturing:
Low costumer contact, high capital intensity. It offers rigid standardized
services with reliable delivery services. E.g. post office, tele-banking,
cheque processing, automatic banking etc.
2. Custom shop:
Facility based and capital intensive, high professional staffs e.g. hospitals,
telecommunication, banks etc.
3. Mass service:
Labour intensive which provides standardized services to costumers. HR is
well trained and properly scheduled for providing services to costumers.
E.g. teaching, live TV programs etc.
4. Professional services:
Provides customerized services through intensive interactions between
customers and professionals e.g. legal services, counseling, medical
diagnosis, auditing etc.

OPERATING MANAGEMENT
 Proper arrangement of departments within the site or venues.
 Proper arrangement of equipments within the departments.
 Proper arrangement of manpower within the equipments or work-
centers.

The layout decision is important for 3 basic reasons:

a) It requires substantial investment of both money and effort.
b) It involves long-term commitment, which makes mistakes difficult to
overcome.
c) It has a significant impact on the cost and efficiency of short-term
operations.

Considering Factors on Layout Design

Following factors are taken in layout design:
 Higher utilization of space, equipment and human resources.
 Better movement of information, material and people.
 Improve employee morale and safer working condition.
 Improve customer and chief interaction.
 More flexibility.

Objectives of Layout
The fundamental objective of layout is to arrange all physical facilities in
such manner that ensures a smooth flow of work in a factory or service
organization. But some general objectives are given as follows:
 Efficient utilization of floor space.
 Efficient material handling system.
 Provide adequate safety of work.
 Minimize production time and cost.
 Motivation for employee etc.
 Facilitate the manufacturing process.
 Maintain high turnover of in process inventory.
 Flexibility of manufacturing operations and arrangements.
 Provides for employee convenience, safety and comfort.

The Importance of Layout

The importance of a layout would be better appreciated if one understand
the influence of an efficient layout on the manufacturing function.proper
layout makes manufacturing function smooth and efficient. The
importance or advantages of an ideal layout are outlined in the
paragraphs that follow.
(i) Effective use of available area
(ii) Minimization of production delays
(iii) Improved quality control
(iv) Minimum equipment investment
(v) Avoidance of bottlenecks
(vi) Better production control
(vii) Better supervision
(viii) Improved utilization of labor
(ix) Improved employee morale
(x) Avoidance of unnecessary and costly changes

Factors Influencing Plant Layout

Some of major factors influencing plant layout are:
1. Material factors. This includes design, variety, material, quality,
necessary operations of production system.
2. Machinery factor. This includes equipment, tools and their utilization.
3. Main factor. This includes human resources, and supervision.
4. Movement factor. This includes inter intra departmental movement
of man and material and machinery.
5. Waiting factor. This includes permanent and temporary storage of
finished, semi-finished or raw material.
6. Service factor. This includes maintenance, inspection, waste,
scheduling, and dispatching.
7. Building factors. This includes outside and inside building feature.
8. Changes factors. This includes versatility, flexibility and expansion.

Basic Facilities Layout/ Types of Layout

Basic facilities layout determines the format of work of any organization.
The same format of work or layout may not be suitable in each type or
organization.

5 types of basic layouts can be considered by an organization.

(a) Process layout/Functional layout:

Under this layout, machine and equipments performing same type of
operations are installed at one place according to their functions.
Advantages (Pros)
 Flexible in nature
 No interruption in production due to breakdown of machine in another
process.
 Efficient supervision
 Increase the scope of expansion
 Suitable for batch production
 System protection: since there are multiple machines available,
process layouts are not particularly vulnerable to equipment failures.
Disadvantages (Cons)
 High work-in-progress inventories.
 Difficulties to plan and control the production system, because of
frequently charges in production nature and type.
 Requires highly skilled man power.
 Not suitable for continuous production system.
(b) Product layout/Assembly line layout:
Under this, equipments machines and other facilities are arranged in the
same sequence as the operating required for manufacturing products.
Advantages (Pros)
 Better utilization of space area
 High degree of labor and equipment utilization
 Reduce wastage due to continue production
 Increase efficiency due to regular production
 Better control and economies in transaction
Disadvantages (Cons)
 High capital investment
 Inflexible in nature
 Whole production system is interrupted, if one machine is breakdown.
 The system is at risk from equipment breakdown, absenteeism, and
downtime due to preventive maintenance.
 Unfavorable for batch production.
Some examples of Product layout/Assembly line layout
(a) Straight line layout

Store

Input Step 2
Step 1 Step 3 Output

Store

(b) Serpentine layout

Store
 Input Step 1 Step 4 Step 5

Step 2 Step 3 Step6 Output

Store

(b) L-Shaped layout

Input

Step 1
Store

Step 2

Step 3 Step 4 Output

(c)U-Shaped layout
 Input Store Output

Step 1
Step 5

Step 2 Step 4

Step 3

(c) Fixed position layout/ constant layout:

The layout which is is used for fixed production is called fixed position
layout it means, production itself does not move.
Advantages (Pros)
 Simple and capable to adjust changes in both product and process.
 Labors or workers can be busy throughout the project duration.
 Economies in labor cost because daily base workers work in this layout
generally..
 Much more workers can get employment during the project duration.
Disadvantages (Cons)
 Complexity in nature
 Much more facilities are required to produce only one product.
 Require high investment.
 Seasonal job opportunity to workers.
(d) Combination of layout/mixed layout:
Many situations call for a mixture of the 3 main layout types. These
mixtures are commonly called mixed or hybrid layouts.
(e) Cellular layout/ Group technology layout:
Under this, various cells or work centers are formed to produce products
having similar shape and nature. It is focused on group technology and
groups are designed to perform a specific set of process. These groups
are called cells.

DESIGNING PROCESS LAYOUT

The main issue in designing process layouts concerns the relative
positioning of the departments involved. Departments must be assigned
to locations.

Process layout involves 3 basic steps for new or revised layout

design.
1. Gather information. It covers nature of the jobs, number of workers
needed, number of shifts and machines types. Space requirements by the
center, available space and closeness factors.
a. Space requirements by center: the layout designer must tie space
requirements to capacity plans, calculate equipments and space need for
each center and allow circulation space such as aisle ( walking space).
b. Available space. Available area, block plan based on it.
c. Closeness factors. The layout designer must also know which centers
need to be located close to another. Location is based on the number of
trips ( people movement, materials movement etc.)
2. Develop a block plan. It is developed that best satisfies performance
criteria and area requirements. For this trial and erroe is done. For this
sometimes computer aided programs are used.
3. Design a detailed layout. After finding a satisfactory block plan, the
layout designer translates it into a detailed representation, showing the
exact size and shape of each center, the arrangement of elements ( e.g.
desks, machines and storage areas) and the location of aisle, stairways
and other service spaces.