DISTINGUISH BETWEEN PROCESS LAYOUT AND GROUP TECHNOLOGY

PRODUCTION AND OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT, BUS 821 ASSIGNMENT. MBA STREAM 1 NAME: BASHORUN, BABATUNDE MATRIC NO: 980403058 COURSE STUDIED:ELECT/ELECT ENGINEERING SIGNATURE: PHONE NO: 08023926172 TOPIC NO: 167

Distinguish Between Process Layout and Group Technology

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INTRODUCTION

Facility layout can be defined as the process by which the placement of departments, workgroup within departments, workstations, machines, stock-holding points within a facility are determined1. Facility layout processes include: flexibility. Estimation of product or service demand on the system. and Processing requirements in terms of number of operations amount of flow between departments and work stations. Specification of objective of the system in terms of output and

Space requirements for elements in the layout Space availability within the facility itself. The most common facility layout format include:

Process Layout. Product Layout. Group Technology. Fixed Position Layout.

This assignment is only interested in process layout and group technology layout formats and proper justice will be done to these in the subsequent pages.
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European Journal of Social Sciences - Volume 2, November 2, 2006

Bashorun Babatunde, Matric No: 980403058, Elect/Elect Engineering, Topic No:167 Page 2

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PROCESS LAYOUT:
Process layout involves the grouping together of machines and/or workers doing similar tasks. It is applicable to both manufacturing and non manufacturing operations. Process layout deals with low-volume, high-variety production2 . It is also called job shop or intermittent production. In a process layouts, scheduling can be difficult and setup, material handling, and labor costs can be high. The diagram below explains process layout:

L=Lathe machine, M=Millers, D=Gear cutting machine, G= Grinding machine. Diagram 1: Process layout: showing each type of machine in different rooms.

From the machine, it is obvious that the same type of machines are located in the same room and the jobs will have to be taken to the machines in their rooms when ever any processing is to be done on the job.

1. It is worth noting at this juncture that in process layout, work centers are arranged so as to
minimize the costs of material handling and the basic cost elements are: Number of loads (or people) moving between centers and the distance load (or people) move between centers3.

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ADVANTAGES OF PROCESS LAYOUT:

Technical note 6: Process Layout, Pearson Education, 1987 Design and Control of Cellular Manufacturing System by Dr. H. M Chan, Ph. D, Thesis, University of Aston, Birmingham, U.K, 1981

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The advantages of Process layout include: Flexibility: Equipments and personnel can be used where they are needed because all the equipments and labor required to perform pr finish a particular process are together. Smaller investment in equipment: Duplication is not necessary unless volume is large. Expertise: Supervisors for each department become highly. knowledgeable about their functions Diversity of tasks: Changing work assignments make work more satisfying for people who prefer variety.

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DISADVANTAGES OF PROCESS LAYOUT:

i. Lack of process efficiency: Backtracking and long movements may occur in the handling of materials. ii. Lack of efficiency in timing: Workers must wait between tasks. iii. Complication of production planning and control. iv. Cost: Workers must have broad skills and must be paid higher wages than assembly line workers. v. Lowered productivity: Because each job is different it requires different setups and operator training.

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GROUP TECHNOLOGY:

Bashorun Babatunde, Matric No: 980403058, Elect/Elect Engineering, Topic No:167 Page 4

According to V. B. Solaja of the Institute of Machine Tools, Belgrade, Yugoslavia,1983, Group technology is the technique of identifying and bringing together related or similar parts in a production process in order to utilize the inherent economy of flow production methods4. Group Technology layout is also called manufacturing cell layout. Group technology involves grouping parts into families that follow a common sequence of steps, identifying dominant flow patterns of parts families as a basis for location or relocation of processes and physically grouping machines and processes into cells5. Group technology is based on the following concepts: Many problems are similar, by grouping similar problems, a single solution can be found to a set of problems, thus saving time and effort. Similar parts are identified and grouped together to take advantage of their similarities in design and manufacturing. Similar components are identified and brought together in order to take advantage of their similarities in the production process.

Diagram 2 below explains group technology:

V. B. Solaja of the Institute of Machine Tools, Belgrade, Yugoslavia,1983 Facility design and Layout, Henry C. Co, Technology and Operations Management department, California Polytechnic and State University,1993

Bashorun Babatunde, Matric No: 980403058, Elect/Elect Engineering, Topic No:167 Page 5

L=Lathe machine, M=Millers, D=Gear cutting machine, G= Grinding machine. Diagram 2: Group technology: showing different types of machine in the same rooms.

As shown in the diagram 2, all the processing concerning a particular job is done in the same room having different machines meant for the processing of the job.

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i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi. vii. viii.

ADVANTAGES

Implied reduction of necessary control Reduced material handling Reduced set-up time Reduced tooling Reduced in-process inventory Reduced expediting Increase operator expertise Improved human relations

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i. ii. iii. iv.

DISADVANTAGES

Reduced shop flexibility Possible reduced machine utilization Possible extended job flow times Possible increased job tardiness.

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IMPLEMENTATION ISSUES

Re-organization - machine layout need reorganization every so often. Work cell supervision - supervisors must be expert in several field (milling, turning,

grinding, etc.) represented in the cell. Shop floor control / production planning - cell concept leads to unbalanced workload on machines.

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REFERENCES

Bashorun Babatunde, Matric No: 980403058, Elect/Elect Engineering, Topic No:167 Page 7

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European Journal of Social Sciences - Volume 2, November 2, 2006, pp 252-259.

2. Technical note 6: Process Layout, Pearson Education,1987

4. Group Technology, V. B. Solaja of the Institute of Machine Tools, Belgrade, Yugoslavia,

5. Facility design and Layout, Henry C. Co, Technology and Operations Management
department, California Polytechnic and State University,1993

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