PROCESS SELECTION AND FACILITY LAYOUT -- SUPPLEMENT TO CHAPTER: LINEAR PROGRAMMING

Key Ideas 1. Process selection involves making choices concerning the way an organization will produce its products or provide services to its customers. It has major implications for capacity planning, layout and work methods. 2. Managers can select from five different types of processes: job shop, batch, repetitive, continuous and projects. Job shops are used to produce a low volume of each of a large variety of products or services. Equipment flexibility must be high to handle the high variety of jobs. Batch processing involves less variety, less need for equipment flexibility, and higher volumes of each type of product. Repetitive processing has even less variety, less need for equipment flexibility, and higher volume. Continuous processing has the lowest variety, the lowest need for equipment flexibility, and the highest volume. Job shops and batch processing are classified as intermittent systems, meaning that output frequently switches from one product or service to another. Repetitive and continuous systems are classified as continuous processing because there is little or no switching from one product to another. Projects are used for non-routine work that is intended to meet a given set of objectives in a limited time frame. Job variety is high, volume is usually low, and equipment flexibility needs can range from low to high. 3. Process selection may lead to automation or computer-aided manufacturing. [You should find it helpful to list the different types of computer-aided manufacturing, along with a brief description and advantages and limitations of each type.] 4. A key issue in process selection is the management of technology. See the discussion under the Operations Strategy section. Another key issue in process selection is flexibility. 5. There are three fundamental types of plant layout, respectively corresponding to the three different types of production operations situations. a. b. c. A product layout implies that a single product or else a single type of product, for example, automobiles, is manufactured on an assembly line, with the production tasks assigned to workstations along the line. A process layout involves the movement of batches of goods between departments via forklift truck, moving belt, or some other type of conveyance. A fixed-position layout is appropriate for a large end item such as a house or airplane, where all material is assembled to a major structure or product at a specified site.

6. A product layout such as that associated with automobile factories is a good idea when it is justified by the volume. The advantages of product layout are that it involves continuous flow of the work in process, minimum work-in-process inventory, maximum specialization, low material handling costs, efficient utilization of labor and equipment, and systematized routing, purchasing, accounting and inventory control. The disadvantages are dull repetitive jobs, inflexibility and susceptibility to frequent shutdowns.

7. A process layout allocates floor space to work centers so as to sustain a logical flow of semi-finished goods, and minimize transportation and inventory costs. It is more flexible than product layout in the sense that a variety of products can be made without incurring extensive changeover costs. It also makes better use of the specialized skills of employees, so that incentive pay systems can be effective in enhancing productivity. Process layout is appropriate when each type of product or semi-finished goods has low volume, but there are potentially high costs for unused equipment, excess inventory, slow or irregular movement, and a need for extensive production control paperwork. 8. A fixed-position layout is appropriate for large construction projects or for assembly of very large products such as airplanes, which are difficult to move. An example of a fixed position service system is a subway, which is an economical way to move large masses of people.

9. An assembly line is balanced to smooth the flow of semi-finished goods, and to achieve the best possible utilization of both the labor force and the plant. The work is subdivided into groups of tasks, and each group is performed at some specific location along the line called a workstation. A workstation might be a single employee, or possibly a small cluster of employees, if the services of more than one person are required for the tasks. 10. The cycle time is the span of time a unit of product is at a workstation. In balancing the line, we determine both the cycle time and the number of workstations, based on the number of units of product to be produced in a working day, the total of the times of the tasks needed to make one unit of the product, and the amount of effective clock time available in a day, after allowing for rest periods, breaks and planned shutdowns of the line. 11. There are several different meanings of the term "cycle." The minimum cycle time is the time required for the longest task. The maximum cycle time is the sum of the task times for a single unit of product. The actual cycle time is somewhere between these two extremes; it is the amount of time at the workstation with the largest sum of task times. 12. The minimum number of workstations in the product layout is the quotient of the sum of the task times for a single unit of product divided by the cycle time, rounded to the next highest integer. Assigning tasks to workstations is done with heuristics (rules of thumb): a. b. c. Consider precedence; make sure that all jobs are done in a logical sequence. Try to keep all stations busy all of the time by filling up the cycle time with tasks. Do not assign a station more tasks than it has time to perform. The greatest positional weight rule, one of several heuristics for assigning tasks to stations assigns tasks according to the greatest sum of remaining task times to a free station. Other heuristics are: most following tasks, most preceding tasks, and greatest sum of task times for tasks that precede.

13. Measures of effectiveness guide decision makers to satisfactory, but not necessarily optimum decisions on process layouts. The simplest approach involves ranking of departments or work centers according to workflow (Distance x Number of loads carried), and assigning work center locations so as to minimize the total intraplant transportation costs. 14. The Muther grid is an alternative approach to process layout planning that allows for subjective opinions that consider multiple criteria on the closeness of work centers to one another. Work centers are rated in pairs on a sixpoint closeness scale from A (absolutely necessary) to X (undesirable). First the A's are paired, and then the X's are separated; then the E's (very important) are paired, etc., until all centers are accounted for.

Facilities Layout
| Whether your company is looking to incorporate new processing equipment, expand facilities or integrate a data collection system into your existing, expanded, or planned facility, IMEC can help you realize the maximum benefit from your efforts. Proper Facilities Layout includes optimally locating equipment, materials, people, infrastructure and data collection points to minimize movement, handling and travel distance of the material and labor while increasing overall productivity. IMECs Facilities Layout Approach Develop and/or verify a baseline drawing IMEC and a team of your employees will develop and/or verify a baseline drawing of your existing facility, to include, if applicable: Production

Production area drawing will show production equipment, personnel, locations and routing of primary utilities (electrical, pneumatic, vacuum, coolant, data, etc.), lighting, cranes, column locations, transportation aisles, material storage areas, docks, doors Warehouse/shipping Warehouse/shipping will show racks, columns, aisles, electrical, material handling equipment, computer workstations, data collection points, printers, inventory location and quantities Office Data infrastructure, electrical, personnel locations, solid and partition walls, common equipment (copiers, printers, etc.), Facilitate employee input meetings IMEC will facilitate meetings with your companys management team and targeted floor personnel, to gain input and identify the facilities layout requirements with regard to: Product/process flow Facility / infrastructure Data transfer Equipment Inventory levels and management Develop, design and present potential new layout(s) IMEC and your team of key employees will work to improve the process flow and efficiency based upon underlying principles of lean manufacturing and process flow efficiency. Efforts will focus on dock locations, equipment configurations, inventory management and handling practices, and expansion. The team will develop facilities layout options, showing the current operation best arranged within the facility, and offer recommendations to accommodate future growth. Summary At the conclusion of our efforts, you will receive a baseline drawing and two to four alternative layout options with process flow documentation, including all documentation and drawings in both electronic and paper form. IMECs thorough approach to Facilities Layout will help you realize your objectives of more efficient utilization of people, resources and information leading to increased productivity and decreased costs.

Fixed Position Layout

Fixed Position Layout A fixed position layout is one of the three basic options, next to the process and product layout for laying out facilities to produce goods or deliver services. 1) Definition

The Product remains in one location and the required tasks and equipment are brought to it. So, the item being worked on remains stationary, and workers, materials, and equipment are moved as needed.

Example of an airbus production 2) y y Arguments to use a fixed position layout It is used to create a product or service that is either large or one of a kind. The product cannot be moved from function to function or along an assembly line y People, materials and machines all come to the fixed-position site for assembly and processing the product. The Layout increases the product flexibility. Many manufacturers are using the fixed position layout to speed up production. Examples of products which are using a fixed position layout

3)

Used in y y y y y y 4) y large construction projects (buildings, power plants, and dams) shipbuilding farming road building home building Production of large aircraft and space mission rockets Disadvantages This layout is not good for a high volume.

COMBINATION LAYOUTS

Many situations call for a mixture of the three main layout types. These mixturesare commonly called combination or hybrid layouts. For example, one firm may utilize a process layout for the majority of its process along with an assembly inone area. Alternatively, a firm may utilize a fixed-position layout for the assembly of its final product, but use assembly lines to produce the components andsubassemblies that make up the final product (e.g., aircraft).Advantages of process layouts include: Flexibility. The firm has the ability to handle a variety of processingrequirements. Cost. Sometimes, the general-purpose equipment utilized may be lesscostly to purchase and less costly and easier to maintain than specializedequipment. Motivation. Employees in this type of layout will probably be able toperform a variety of tasks on multiple machines, as opposed to theboredom of performing a repetitive task on an assembly line. A processlayout also allows the employer to use some type of individual incentivesystem. System protection. Since there are multiple machines available, processlayouts are not particularly vulnerable to equipment failures.Disadvantages of process layouts include: Utilization. Equipment utilization rates in process layout are frequently very low, because machine usage is dependent upon a variety of outputrequirements. Cost. If batch processing is used, in-process inventory costs could be high.Lower volume means higher per-unit costs. More specialized attention isnecessary for both products and customers. Setups are more frequent,

hence higher setup costs. Material handling is slower and more inefficient.The span of supervision is small due to job complexities (routing, setups,etc.), so supervisory costs are higher. Additionally, in this type of layoutaccounting, inventory control, and purchasing usually are highly involved. Confusion. Constantly changing schedules and routings make jugglingprocess requirements more difficult.Advantages of product layouts include: Output. Product layouts can generate a large volume of products in a shorttime. Cost. Unit cost is low as a result of the high volume. Labor specializationresults in reduced training time and cost. A wider span of supervision alsoreduces labor costs. Accounting,

purchasing, and inventory control areroutine. Because routing is fixed, less attention is required. Utilization. There is a high degree of labor and equipment utilization.Disadvantages of product layouts include: Motivation. The system's inherent division of labor can result in dull,repetitive jobs that can prove to be quite stressful. Also, assembly-linelayouts make it very hard to administer individual incentive plans. Flexibility. Product layouts are inflexible and cannot easily respond torequired system changes especially changes in product or process design. System protection. The system is at risk from equipment breakdown,absenteeism, and downtime due to preventive maintenance.