Layout Planning

Layout planning is planning that involves decisions

about the physical arrangement of economic activity
centers needed by a facilitys various processes.
Layout plans translate the broader decisions about the
competitive priorities, process strategy, quality, and capacity
of its processes into actual physical arrangements.

Economic activity center: Anything that consumes

space -- a person or a group of people, a customer
reception area, a teller window, a machine, a
workstation, a department, an aisle, or a storage
room.
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Layout Planning
Questions
Before a manager can make decisions
regarding physical arrangement, four
questions must be addressed.
1. What centers should the layout include?
2. How much space and capacity does
each center need?
3. How should each centers space be
configured?
4. Where should each center be located?
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Location Dimensions
The location of a center has two
dimensions:
1. Relative location: The placement of a
center relative to other centers.
2. Absolute location: The particular space
that the center occupies within the facility.

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Absolute Locations vs.

Relative Locations
Original
layout

Frozen
foods
Bread

Meats
Dry
groceries
Vegetables

Revised layout
Meats
Dry
groceries
Vegetables

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Frozen
foods
Bread

Four of the absolute

locations have
changed but not the
relative locations.

Strategic Issues
Layout choices can help communicate an
organizations product plans and competitive
priorities.
Altering a layout can affect an organization and how
well it meets its competitive priorities in the following
ways:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Increasing customer satisfaction and sales at a retail store.

Facilitating the flow of materials and information.
Increasing the efficient utilization of labor and equipment.
Reducing hazards to workers.
Improving employee morale.
Improving communication.

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Types of Layouts
Flexible-flow layout: A layout that organizes
resources (employees) and equipment by function
rather than by service or product.
Line-flow layout: A layout in which workstations or
departments are arranged in a linear path.
Hybrid layout: An arrangement in which some
portions of the facility have a flexible-flow and
others have a line-flow layout.
Fixed-position layout: An arrangement in which
service or manufacturing site is fixed in place;
employees along with their equipment, come to the
site to do their work.
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A Flexible Flow Layout or

Process layout
A job shop has a flexible-flow layout.

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Grinding

Forging

Lathes

Painting

Welding

Drills

Office

Milling
machines

Foundry

Line Flow Layout or

Product layout
A production line has a line-flow layout.

Station 1

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Station 2

Station 3

Station 4

Creating Hybrid Layouts

Layout flexibility is the property of a facility to
remain desirable after significant changes occur or to
be easily and inexpensively adopted in response to
changes.
A One-worker, multiple-machines (OWMM) cell is
a one-person cell in which a worker operates several
different machines simultaneously to achieve a line
flow.
A Cell is two or more dissimilar workstations located
close together through which a limited number of
parts or models are processed with line flows.
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One Worker,
Multiple Machines
Machine
2
Machine
1

Machine
3

Materials in

Finished
goods out

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Machine
5

Machine
4

Group Technology (GT)

Group Technology (GT) is an option for
achieving line-flow layouts with low-volume
processes; this technique creates cells not
limited to just one worker and has a unique
way of selecting work to be done by the cell.
The GT method groups parts or products
with similar characteristics into families and
sets aside groups of machines for their
production.
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Before Group Technology

Jumbled flows in a job shop without GT cells
Lathing

Milling

Drilling

M
Grinding

Receiving and
shipping
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Assembly
A

Applied Group Technology

Line flows in a job shop with three GT cells

Assembly
area
A

Cell 2

Cell 1
Receiving

Cell 3
L

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Shipping

Designing
Flexible-Flow Layouts
Step 1: Gather information
Space requirements by center
Available space
Closeness factors: which centers need to be located close
to one another.

Closeness matrix: A table that gives a measure of

the relative importance of each pair of centers being
located close together.
Step 2: Develop a Block plan: A plan that allocates
space and indicates placement of each department.
Step 3: Design a detailed layout.
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Gather Information
Example 8.1

Office of Budget Management

Dept 5 and 1 should remain in their current locations

Space Requirements
Department

Area Needed (ft2)

1. Administration
2. Social services
3. Institutions
4. Accounting
5. Education
6. Internal audit

3,500
2,600
2,400
1,600
1,500
3,400
Total

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15,000

Current Block Plan

3

4
100'

2
150'

Closeness Matrix

100'
1

150'

Example 8.1 Office of Budget Management

Trips between Departments

Department
1. Administration
2. Social services
3. Institutions
4. Accounting
5. Education
6. Internal audit

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10

Departments 1 and 6 have the most interaction.

Departments 3 and 5 have the next highest.
Departments 2 and 3 have next priority.

Proposed Block Plan

100'
1

150'

First put departments 1 and 6 close together

Next put departments 3 and 5 close together
Then put departments 2 and 3 close together

3
100'

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4
150'

Applying the
Weighted- Distance Method
Weighted-distance method: A mathematical model
used to evaluate flexible-flow layouts based on
proximity factors.
Euclidean distance is the straight-line distance, or
shortest possible path, between two points.
Rectilinear distance: The distance between two
points with a series of 90 degree turns, as along city
blocks.
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Distance Measures

Euclidian Distance
dAB =

(xA xB)2 + (yA yB)2

Rectilinear Distance
dAB = |xA xB| + |yA yB|
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Application 8.1
What is the distance between (20,10) and (80,60)?
Euclidian Distance
dAB =

(20 80)2 + (10 60)2

= 78.1
Rectilinear Distance
dAB = |20 80| + |10 60| = 110
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Calculating the WD Score

Example 8.2

Load Distance Analysis

Current Plan

Proposed Plan

Dept Closeness Distance

Distance
Pair Factor, w
d
wd Score
d
wd Score
1,2
1,3
1,4
1,5
1,6
2,3
2,4
2,5
3,4
3,5
4,5
5,6
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3
6
5
6
10
8
1
1
3
9
2
1

1
1
3
2
2
2
2
1
2
3
1
2

3
6
15
12
20
16
2
1
6
27
2
2
ld = 112

2
3
1
2
1
1
1
2
2
1
1
3

6
18
5
12
10
8
1
2
6
9
2
3
ld = 82

Other Decision
Support Tools
Automated layout design program
(ALDEP): A computer software package that
constructs a good layout from scratch,
adding one department at a time.
Computerized relative allocation of
facilities technique (CRAFT): A heuristic
method that begins with the closeness
matrix and an initial block layout, and makes
a series of paired exchanges of departments
to find a better block plan.
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Warehouse Layouts
Out-and-back Pattern
The most basic warehouse layout is the out-and-back pattern.
The numbers indicate storage areas for same or similar items.
Storage area

Dock

Aisle

Storage area
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Warehouse Layouts
Zone System
Zones

Zones

Control
station

Shipping
doors

Click to add title

Tractor
trailer

Tractor
trailer
Feeder
lines
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Feeder
lines

Overflow

Designing
Line-Flow Layouts
Line balancing is the assignment of work to
stations in a line so as to achieve the desired output
rate with the smallest number of workstations.
Work elements are the smallest units of work that
can be performed independently.
Immediate predecessors are work elements that
must be done before the next element can begin.
Precedence diagram allows one to visualize
immediate predecessors better; work elements are
denoted by circles, with the time required to perform
the work shown below each circle.
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Line Balancing
Example 8.3
Green Grass, Inc., a manufacturer of lawn & garden equipment,
is designing an assembly line to produce a new fertilizer spreader,
the Big Broadcaster. Using the following information, construct a
precedence diagram for the Big Broadcaster.

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Work
Element
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I

Time Immediate
Description
(sec) Predecessor(s)
Bolt leg frame to hopper 40
None
Insert impeller shaft
30
A
Attach axle
50
A
Attach agitator
40
B
Attach drive wheel
6
B
Attach free wheel
25
C
Mount lower post
15
C
Attach controls
20
D, E
Mount nameplate
18
F, G

Total

Line Balancing
Green Grass, Inc.
D
B

244

40

30

F
25

50

I
G

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20
6

A
40

15

18

Desired Output and

Cycle Time
Desired output rate, r must be matched to the staffing or
production plan.

Cycle time, c is the maximum time allowed for

work on a unit at each station:
c= 1
r

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Theoretical Minimum
Theoretical minimum (TM ) is a benchmark or goal for the
smallest number of stations possible, where total time required
to assemble each unit (the sum of all work-element standard
times) is divided by the cycle time. It must be rounded up

Idle time is the total unproductive time for all

stations in the assembly of each unit.
Efficiency (%) is the ratio of productive time to
total time.
Balance Delay is the amount by which efficiency
falls short of 100%.
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Output Rate and Cycle Time

Example 8.4
Green Grass, Inc.
Desired output rate, r = 2400/week
Plant operates 40 hours/week
r = 2400/40 = 60 units/hour

Cycle time, c = 1/60

= 1 minute/unit
= 60 seconds/unit

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1
r

Calculations for
Example 8.4 continued
Theoretical minimum (TM ) - sum of all work-element
standard times divided by the cycle time.
TM = 244 seconds/60 seconds = 4.067
It must be rounded up to 5 stations
Cycle time: c = 1/60 = 1 minute/unit = 60 seconds/unit
Efficiency (%) - ratio of productive time to total time.
Efficiency = [244/5(60)]100 = 81.3%
Balance Delay - amount by which efficiency falls short of 100%.
(100 81.3) = 18.7%
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The goal is to cluster the work elements

into 5 workstations so that the number of
work-stations is minimized, and the cycle
time of 60 seconds is not violated. Here
we use the trial-and-error method to find
a solution, although commercial software
packages are also available.

Green Grass, Inc.

Line Balancing Solution

D
B
30
S3

S1
A

S2

40

40

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20
E

S4

F
25

50
c = 60 seconds/unit
TM = 5 stations
Efficiency = 81.3%

6
S5
I

G
15

18

Solved Problem 2
Precedence Diagram
D
25
B

80

20

50

A
40

G
120

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115

15
H

145

130

Solved Problem 2
Line Balancing Process

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Solved Problem 2
Line Balancing Solution
D
25

S1

S5

80

20

50

A
40

115

15

S2 120

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S3

145

130

S4