Factory Layout

Concept Of Layout

• Plant layout is the placing of right equipment coupled with right method in the right place to permit the processing of a product in the most effective manner through the shortest possible distance and through the shortest possible time.

Factors Influencing facility layout

• Materials : storage method, form, weight

• Product : Light weight v/s Heavy weight

• Worker : Safety and Comfort

• Machinery : weight, noise, vibration, hazard

• Type of industry : continuous or intermittent

• Location : climate, space, inflow-outflow

• Managerial policies : storage requirement, employee amenities

Principles of Layout (Features of Good layout)

1) The Principle of Minimum Travel Involves minimum handling

2) Principle of Sequence Smooth flow of Production

3) Principle of Usage Facilitates movement of men

Accessible Location of Stores

Facilitates supervision and control

4) Principle of Compactness Maximum utilization of available

space

5) Principle of Safety and

Satisfaction Provides better working

condition (Hygiene)

6) Principle of Flexibility

7) Principle of Minimum

Investment.

8) Principle of co

ordination and

integration

Types of Layout

• Process layout or Functional layout or Job shop layout

• Product layout or Line processing layout or Flow-line layout

• Project Layout or Fixed position layout

Process Layout

• Designed to facilitate processing items or providing services that present a variety of processing requirements.

• The layouts include departments or other functional groupings in which similar kinds of activities are performed.

• A manufacturing example of a process layout is the machine shop, which has separate departments for milling, grinding, drilling, and so on.

• Advantages

• Reduced investment of machines as they are general purpose machines.

• Greater flexibility in the production.

• Better and more efficient supervision is possible through specialisation.

• There is greater scope for expansion as the capacities of different lines can be easily increased.

• This types of layout results in better utilization of men and Machinery.

• It is easier to handle breakdown of equipment by transferring work to another machine or station.

• There is full utilization of equipment.

• The investment of equipment would be comparatively lower.

• There is greater incentive to individual worker to increase his performance.

• Disadvantages

• There is difficulty in the movement of materials. Mechanical devices for handling materials cannot be conveniently used.

• This type of layout requires more floor space.

• There is difficulty in production control.

• Production time is more as work-in-progress has to travel from place to place in search of machines.

• There is accumulation of work-in-progress at different places.

Product (Assembly) layout • Product layouts are used to achieve a smooth and

rapid flow of large volumes of products through a system.

• A job is divided into a series of standardized tasks, permitting specialization of both labor and equipment.

• The large volumes handled by these systems usually

make it economical to invest huge amount of money in equipment and job design.

• For instance, if a portion of a manufacturing operation required the sequence of cutting and painting, the appropriate pieces of equipment would be arranged in that same sequence.

• Operations are arranged in the sequence required to make the product

• Product layouts achieve a high degree of labor and

equipment utilization.

• Advantages

• There is mechanisation of material handling and consequently reduction in materials handling cost.

• This type of layout avoids production bottlenecks.

• There is economy in manufacturing time.

• This type of layout facilitates better production control.

• This type of layout requires less floor area per unit of production.

• Work-in-progress is reduced and investment thereon is minimised.

• Early detection of mistakes or badly produced item is possible.

• There is greater incentive to a group of workers to raise their level of performance.

• Disadvantages

• Product layout is known for its inflexibility.

• This type of layout is also expensive.

• There is difficulty of supervision.

• Expansion is also difficulty.

• Any breakdown of equipment along a production line can disrupt the whole system.

Fixed Position Layout

• In fixed-position layouts, the item being worked on remains stationary, and workers, materials, and equipment are moved as needed.

• Fixed-position layouts are used in large construction projects (buildings, power plants, and dams), shipbuilding, and production of large aircraft and space mission rockets.

• Fixed-position layouts are widely used for farming, firefighting, road building, home building, remodeling and repair, and drilling for oil.

Advantages

• Layout is fully flexible

• capable of absorbing any sort of change in product and process.

• Lower labor cost [People are drawn from functional departments]

• Saving in time

• Less floor space because machines and equipment are in moving position.

• Most suitable way of assembling large and heavy products.

Disadvantages

• Higher capital investment

• Unsuitability for manufacturing or assembling small products in large quantities.

• It is suitable only in case where the product is big or the assembling process is complex.