Plant Layout
Plant Layout
Plant Layout
Production and
Operations Management-
BBA209
Unit-2
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Definitions of Plant layout
• A method of organizing the elements of a production
process, in which similar processes and functions are
grouped together.
• Plant Layout is the physical arrangement of equipment
and facilities within a plant.
• Plant layout is the organization of physical facilities like
machinery , equipment & the allocation of space for the
various activities of the plant & personnel working in the
plant.
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Plant/ Facility Layout
“Plant layout ideally involves allocation of space and
arrangement of equipment in such a manner that
overall operating costs are minimized.
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Features of Plant Layout
• Ease of working, maximum safety and minimum
health hazards for people working in the plant
• Minimum handling of materials
• Reduced congestion of materials,, machinery and
men
• Minimum damage and spoilage of materials
• Flexibility with regard to changing production
conditions
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Objectives of Plant Layout
1. Streamline the flow of materials through the plant.
2. Facilitate the manufacturing process.
3. Maintain high turnover of in-process inventory.
4. Minimise materials handling and cost.
5. Effective utilisation of men, equipment and space.
6. Make effective utilisation of cubic space.
7. Flexibility of manufacturing operations and arrangements.
8. Provide for employee convenience, safety and comfort.
9. Minimize investment in equipment.
10. Minimize overall production time.
11. Maintain flexibility of arrangement and operation.
12. Facilitate the organizational structure.
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rinciples of Plant Layout
• PRINCIPLE OF MINIMUM MOVEMENT
• PRINCIPLE OF FLOW
• PRINCIPLE OF SPACE
• PRINCIPLE OF SAFETY
• PRINCIPLE OF FLEXIBILITY
• PRINCIPLE OF INTERDEPENDENCE
• PRINCIPLE OF OVERALL INTEGRATION
• PRINCIPLE OF MINIMUM INVESTMENT
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rinciples of Plant Layout
• 1. Principle of integration: A good layout is one that integrates
men, materials, machines and supporting services and others in
order to get the optimum utilisation of resources and maximum
effectiveness.
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Principles of Plant
•
Layout
4. Principle of flow: A good layout is one that makes the materials
to move in forward direction towards the completion stage, i.e.,
there should not be any backtracking.
• 5. Principle of maximum flexibility: The good layout is one that
can be altered without much cost and time, i.e., future requirements
should be taken into account while designing the present layout.
• 6. Principle of safety, security and satisfaction: A good layout is
one that gives due consideration to workers safety and satisfaction
and safeguards the plant and machinery against fire, theft, etc.
• 7. Principle of minimum handling: A good layout is one that
reduces the material handling to the minimum.
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actors affecting Plant Layout
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Costs involved
• Costs of movement of materials from one work area to
another
• Cost of space
• Cost of production delays
• Cost of spoilage of materials
• Cost of labour dissatisfaction and health risks
• Costs of changes required if the operational conditions
change in the future.
• Cost of customer dissatisfaction due to poor service
(quality, delivery, flexibility, responsiveness, cost) which
may be due to poor layout.
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Plant Layout : Types
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Types of Plant Layout
The production process normally determines the type
of plant layout to be applied to the facility:
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Product/ Line Layout
• The materials move form one workstation to
another sequentially without any backtracking or
deviation.
• Materials are fed into 1st machine and semi-
finished goods travel automatically from machine
to machine.
• The output of one machine becoming input of the
next.
Eg: Food Processing Unit; Paper mill
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Manufacturing Layout
a. Product layout(line Layout):
Eg: Paper mill
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Product Layouts
• Product layouts are used to achieve a smooth and rapid flow of
large volumes of goods or customers through a system. Product
layout sets up production equipment along a product-flow line, and
the work in process moves along this line past workstations. It
efficiently produces large numbers of similar items.
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Product Layouts
e.g. in a paper mill, bamboos are fed into the machine at one end
and paper comes out at the other end. The raw material moves
very fast from one workstation to other stations with a minimum
work in progress storage and material handling.
e.g. chemicals, sugar, paper, rubber, refineries, cement,
automobiles, food processing and electronics etc.
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Product Layouts
Advantages Disadvantages
A high rate of output Morale problems due to repetitive
Low unit cost due to high volume stress injuries.
Low material-handling cost per Highly susceptible to shutdowns
unit Preventive maintenance, the
A high utilization of labor and capacity for quick repairs, and
equipment spare-parts inventories are
necessary expenses
Smooth and uninterrupted
High initial capital investment in
operations
special purpose machine
Continuous flow of work
Breakdown of one machine will
Optimum use of floor space hamper the whole production
Shorter processing time or quicker process
output Lesser flexibility as specially laid
Less congestion of work in the out for particular product.
process
Simple and effective inspection of
work and simplified production
control Page 24
L a y o u t -
Process u t
a l L a y o
•
Function
Process layout groups machinery and
equipment according to their
functions.
• In this type of layout machines of a
similar type are arranged together at
one place. E.g. Machines performing
drilling operations are arranged in the
drilling department, machines
performing casting operations be
grouped in the casting department.
Therefore the machines are installed
in the plants, which follow the
process layout.
Example :
• Machines performing grinding operation
are installed in grinding dept.
• Machines performing drilling operation
are installed in drilling dept. Page 25
Process Layouts
• Process layouts are designed to process items or
provide services that involve a variety of processing
requirements.
• Its best suited for intermittent type of operation
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Process Layouts
The grouping of machines according to the process has to be
done keeping in mind the following principles –
1. The distance between departments should be as short as
possible for avoiding long distance movement of materials.
2. The departments should be in sequence of operations
3. The arrangement should be convenient for inspection and
supervision
e.g. tailoring, light and heavy engineering products, made to
order furniture industries, jewelry.
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Process Layouts
Advantages Disadvantages
There is high degree of machine In-process inventory costs
utilization, as a machine is not blocked can be high
for a single product Material handling costs
Change in output design and volume are high
can be more easily adapted to the More skilled labour is
output of variety of products required resulting in
Not vulnerable to equipment failures. higher cost.
Breakdown of one machine does not Time gap or lag in
result in complete work stoppage production is higher
Supervision can be more effective and Work in progress inventory
specialized is high needing greater
There is a greater flexibility of scope for storage space
expansion More frequent inspection
is needed which results in
costly supervision
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3) Static Product Layout ( Fixed Position)
Raw Material
1. Aircraft Assembly
Machine & 2. Flyover Bridge Finished
equipment Product
3. Water Dam
Labors
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- Po s i t i o n
Fixed
• A L a y o ut
fixed-position layout places the product in one spot, and
workers, materials, and equipment come to it.
• In this type of layout, the major product being produced is
fixed at one location. Equipment labour and components are
moved to that location. All facilities are brought and arranged
around one work center. This type of layout is not relevant for
small scale entrepreneur. E.g. - shipbuilding
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Fixed-Position Layouts
• In fixed-position layouts, the item being worked on
remains stationary, and workers, materials, and
equipment are moved about as needed.
• Fixed-position layouts are widely used in farming,
firefighting, road building, home building, remodeling
and repair, and drilling for oil. In each case, compelling
reasons bring workers, materials, and equipment to
the “product’s” location instead of the other way
around.
• Manufacture of bulky and heavy products such as
locomotives, ships, boilers, generators, wagon
building, aircraft manufacturing, etc. Construction of
building, flyovers, dams.
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Fixed-Position Layouts
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Fixed-Position Layouts
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Fixed-Position Layouts
Advantages Disadvantages
Saves time and cost in movement • Capital investment is quite heavy
Flexible as changes in job design • Very large space is required for
can be easily incorporated storage of materials and
More economical when several equipment
orders in different stages are • As several operations are carried
executed simultaneously, possibility of
Adjustments can be made to meet confusion and conflicts are high
shortage of materials or absence
of workers.
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e r Orie n t e d
Cus t o m
Layout
• Customer-oriented layout arranges facilities to enhance the
interactions between customers and a service.
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Combination Layouts
• In many manufacturing units, several products are
produced in repeated numbers with no likelihood of
continuous production, combined layout is followed.
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F.P : Forging Press G.C : Gear Cutting H.T : Heat Treatment
G.G : Gear Grinding Machine
Product Layout
Raw F.P
material G.C H.T G.G
Finished
Products
(Gears)
Raw G.C H.T G.G
F.P
material
G.C
Process
Layout
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Group Layout ( Cellular Layout)
Cell 1
1 2 3 Cell 3
1 2
3
5 4
Cell 2 Cell 4
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Factors Influencing Layouts
1. Factory Building : The nature & size of building determines the floor space available for layout
While designing the special requirements i.e. Air conditioning , dust control , Humidity control,
Noise proofing etc must be kept in mind.
2. Nature of product : Product layout is suitable for uniform products . Process layout is suitable for
custom made products.
3. Production process : In assembly line industries product layout is better. In job order or
intermittent manufacturing process layout is desirable.
4.Types of machinery : General purpose machines are arranged as per process layout , Special
purpose machines are arranged as per product layout.
5. Repairs & Maintenance : Machines / Equipments must be arranged keeping in mind the
movement of operators & maintenance tools.
6. Human Needs : Adequate arrangement should be made for Wash rooms, drinking water / Canteen
& other employee facilities.
7.Plant Environment : Heat / Noise / Light / Ventilation & other aspects should be duly considered
e.g. Paint shop / Fabrication / Plating section should be located separately to protect employees
from harmful fumes etc. Adequate safety arrangement should be made.
Symptoms Of Poor Layout
• Congestion,
• Wastes,
• Frustration,
• Inefficiency and
• Finally lower profit or loss to an Organization.
Plant Layout Tools & Techniques
1. Process Chart
4. Visualization of layout
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