Layout decisions

objectivity of facility layout

cost - low; quality - high; flexibility - highly flexible; ergonomics - best efficiency; lead time - not to lead the customers too much

Six layout strategies

product oriented; process oriented; fixed position; office; retail/service;

office layout

grouping of workers, their equipment and spaces to provide movement of information and safety; typically in state of flux due to frequent technological changes; Relationship Chart - which function we want to have close to each other

cross-docking

materials are moved directly from receiving to shipping and are not placed in storage in the warehouse

material handling costs

ALL costs associated with the transaction - transport, storage, finding and moving materials outgoing transport, supervision, insurance, minimise damage and spoilage

fixed position layout

product remains in one place, workers and equipment come to site; complicating factors - limited space at site, different materials required at different stages of the project, volume of materials needed is dynamic

product oriented layout

continuous processes and discrete processes; design minimises line imbalance; requirements: volume is adequate for high equipment utilisation, product demand is stable enough, standardised product

characteristics of product oriented layout

around-the-clock operations, fixed output rare, machines dictate operations

strong and weak points of continuous processes

strong: high productivity and low skilled direct labor; weak: extremely inflexible, difficult maintenance management, very complex start-up, higher fixed cost

discrete processes and strong and weak points

fabrication line and assembly line; strong points: low-cost for standardised mass products, unskilled labor, low investments, easy to manage, high speed; weak: balance losses, low flexibility, low quality of work

Assembly Line Balancing

all manual labor divided in standard moves, to which standards time are assigned, from rough to details division of all activities needed to realise the product, detailed layout of each workplace, continuous improvements

paced assembly line disadvantages

high volume required bus of the large investment, work stoppage of any point can tie up the whole operation, process flexibility can be a challenge

Process-oriented Layout

design places departments with large flows of material or people close together, department areas having similar processes located in close proximity, used with process-focused processes, job shops

Characteristics of process-oriented layout

large variety of inputs and outputs, much and varied transport, long and varied lead times

Strong and weak points of process-oriented layout

strong: ability to make everything, from single piece to sizeable lots, reasonable standard equipment, high productivity workers and decoupled operations; weak: higher costs than mass, narrowly specialised operators, high WIP, costly materials management