6-1
Process Selection and Facility Layout
Operations Management
William J. Stevenson
8th edition
6-2
Process Selection and Facility Layout
CHAPTER
6
Process Selection
and Facility Layout
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Operations Management, Eighth Edition, by William J. Stevenson
Copyright © 2005 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
6-3
Process Selection and Facility Layout
Introduction

Process selection


Deciding on the way production of goods or
services will be organized
Major implications

Capacity planning
 Layout of facilities
 Equipment
 Design of work systems
6-4
Process Selection and Facility Layout
Process Selection and System Design
Figure 6.1
Forecasting
Capacity
Planning
Product and
Service Design
Technological
Change
Facilities and
Equipment
Layout
Process
Selection
Work
Design
6-5
Process Selection and Facility Layout
Process Strategy
• Key aspects of process strategy
–
Capital intensive – equipment/labor
–
Process flexibility
–
Adjust to changes
–
Design
–
Volume
–
technology
6-6
Process Selection and Facility Layout
Process Selection

Variety


Flexibility


Batch
How much
What degree
Job Shop
Repetitive
Volume

Expected output
Continuous
6-7
Process Selection and Facility Layout
Process Types

Job shop


Batch


Moderate volume
Repetitive/assembly line


Small scale
High volumes of standardized goods or services
Continuous

Very high volumes of non-discrete goods
6-8
Process Selection and Facility Layout
Product – Process Matrix
Figure 6.2
Process Type
Job Shop
Appliance repair
Emergency
room
Not
feasible
Commercial
bakery
Batch
Classroom
Lecture
Automotive
assembly
Repetitive
Automatic
carwash
Continuous
(flow)
Not
feasible
Oil refinery
Water purification
6-9
Process Selection and Facility Layout
Product – Process Matrix
Figure 6.2 (cont’d)
Dimension
Job variety
Very High
Moderate
Low
Very low
Process
flexibility
Very High
Moderate
Low
Very low
Unit cost
Very High
Moderate
Low
Very low
Volume of
output
Very High
Low
High
Very low
6-10 Process Selection and Facility Layout
Automation

Automation: Machinery that has sensing and
control devices that enables it to operate

Fixed automation
 Programmable automation
6-11 Process Selection and Facility Layout
Automation
• Computer-aided design and
manufacturing systems (CAD/CAM)
• Numerically controlled (NC) machines
• Robot
• Manufacturing cell
• Flexible manufacturing systems(FMS)
• Computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM)
6-12 Process Selection and Facility Layout
Facilities Layout

Layout: the configuration of departments,
work centers, and equipment, with particular
emphasis on movement of work (customers
or materials) through the system
6-13 Process Selection and Facility Layout
Importance of Layout Decisions

Requires substantial investments of money
and effort
 Involves long-term commitments
 Has significant impact on cost and efficiency
of short-term operations
6-14 Process Selection and Facility Layout
The Need for Layout Decisions
Inefficient operations
For Example:
High Cost
Bottlenecks
Changes in the design
of products or services
Accidents
The introduction of new
products or services
Safety hazards
6-15 Process Selection and Facility Layout
The Need for Layout Design (Cont’d)
Changes in
environmental
or other legal
requirements
Changes in volume of
output or mix of
products
Morale problems
Changes in methods
and equipment
6-16 Process Selection and Facility Layout
Basic Layout Types

Product layouts

Process layouts

Fixed-Position layout

Combination layouts
6-17 Process Selection and Facility Layout
Basic Layout Types

Product layout


Process layout


Layout that uses standardized processing
operations to achieve smooth, rapid, highvolume flow
Layout that can handle varied processing
requirements
Fixed Position layout

Layout in which the product or project remains
stationary, and workers, materials, and
equipment are moved as needed
6-18 Process Selection and Facility Layout
Product Layout
Figure 6.4
Raw
materials
or customer
Material
and/or
labor
Station
1
Material
and/or
labor
Station
2
Material
and/or
labor
Station
3
Station
4
Material
and/or
labor
Used for Repetitive or Continuous Processing
Finished
item
6-19 Process Selection and Facility Layout
Advantages of Product Layout

High rate of output
 Low unit cost
 Labor specialization
 Low material handling cost
 High utilization of labor and equipment
 Established routing and scheduling
 Routing accounting and purchasing
6-20 Process Selection and Facility Layout
Disadvantages of Product Layout

Creates dull, repetitive jobs
 Poorly skilled workers may not maintain
equipment or quality of output
 Fairly inflexible to changes in volume
 Highly susceptible to shutdowns
 Needs preventive maintenance
 Individual incentive plans are impractical
6-21 Process Selection and Facility Layout
A U-Shaped Production Line
Figure 6.6
In
1
2
3
4
5
Workers
6
Out
10
9
8
7
6-22 Process Selection and Facility Layout
Process Layout
Figure 6.7
Process Layout
(functional)
Dept. A
Dept. C
Dept. E
Dept. B
Dept. D
Dept. F
Used for Intermittent processing
Job Shop or Batch
6-23 Process Selection and Facility Layout
Product Layout
Figure 6.7 (cont’d)
Product Layout
(sequential)
Work
Station 1
Work
Station 2
Work
Station 3
Used for Repetitive Processing
Repetitive or Continuous
6-24 Process Selection and Facility Layout
Advantages of Process Layouts

Can handle a variety of processing
requirements
 Not particularly vulnerable to equipment
failures
 Equipment used is less costly
 Possible to use individual incentive plans
6-25 Process Selection and Facility Layout
Disadvantages of Process Layouts

In-process inventory costs can be high
 Challenging routing and scheduling
 Equipment utilization rates are low
 Material handling slow and inefficient
 Complexities often reduce span of supervision
 Special attention for each product or customer
 Accounting and purchasing are more involved
6-26 Process Selection and Facility Layout
Cellular Layouts

Cellular Production


Layout in which machines are grouped into a
cell that can process items that have similar
processing requirements
Group Technology

The grouping into part families of items with
similar design or manufacturing characteristics
6-27 Process Selection and Facility Layout
Functional vs. Cellular Layouts
Table 6.3
Dimension
Functional
Cellular
Number of moves
between departments
many
few
Travel distances
longer
shorter
Travel paths
variable
fixed
Job waiting times
greater
shorter
Throughput time
higher
lower
Amount of work in
process
higher
lower
Supervision difficulty
higher
lower
Scheduling complexity
higher
lower
Equipment utilization
lower
higher
6-28 Process Selection and Facility Layout
Other Service Layouts

Warehouse and storage layouts
 Retail layouts
 Office layouts
6-29 Process Selection and Facility Layout
Design Product Layouts: Line Balancing
Line Balancing is the process of assigning
tasks to workstations in such a way that
the workstations have approximately
equal time requirements.
6-30 Process Selection and Facility Layout
Cycle Time
Cycle time is the maximum time
allowed at each workstation to
complete its set of tasks on a unit.
6-31 Process Selection and Facility Layout
Determine Maximum Output
O u t p u t c a p a c it y =
OT
CT
O T  o p e r a t in g t im e p e r d a y
D = D e s ir e d o u t p u t r a t e
C T = c y c le t im e =
OT
D
6-32 Process Selection and Facility Layout
Determine the Minimum Number
of Workstations Required
N =
t
(D)(  t)
OT
= sum of task times
6-33 Process Selection and Facility Layout
Precedence Diagram
Figure 6.10
Precedence diagram: Tool used in line balancing to
display elemental tasks and sequence requirements
0.1 min.
1.0 min.
a
b
c
0.7 min.
d
0.5 min.
A Simple Precedence
Diagram
e
0.2 min.
6-34 Process Selection and Facility Layout
Example 1: Assembly Line Balancing

Arrange tasks shown in Figure 6.10 into
three workstations.

Use a cycle time of 1.0 minute
 Assign tasks in order of the most number of
followers
6-35 Process Selection and Facility Layout
Example 1 Solution
Eligible
Assign
Task
1.0
0.9
0.2
a, c
c
none
a
c
-
0.9
0.2
2
1.0
b
b
0.0
3
1.0
0.5
0.3
d
e
-
d
e
-
0.5
0.3
Workstation
1
Time
Remaining
Revised
Time
Remaining
Station
Idle Time
0.2
0.0
0.3
0.5
6-36 Process Selection and Facility Layout
Calculate Percent Idle Time
P e rc e n t id le tim e =
Id le tim e p e r c yc le
(N )(C T )
Efficiency = 1 – Percent idle time
6-37 Process Selection and Facility Layout
Line Balancing Rules
Some Heuristic (intuitive) Rules:

Assign tasks in order of most following
tasks.


Count the number of tasks that follow
Assign tasks in order of greatest positional
weight.

Positional weight is the sum of each task’s
time and the times of all following tasks.
6-38 Process Selection and Facility Layout
Example 2
0.2
0.2
0.3
a
b
e
0.8
0.6
c
d
f
g
h
1.0
0.4
0.3
6-39 Process Selection and Facility Layout
Solution to Example 2
Station 1
a
b
Station 2
Station 3
e
f
c
Station 4
d
g
h
6-40 Process Selection and Facility Layout
Parallel Workstations
1 min.
30/hr.
1 min.
30/hr.
2 min.
30/hr.
1 min.
30/hr.
Bottleneck
30/hr.
1 min.
60/hr.
1 min.
30/hr.
1 min.
1 min.
30/hr.
1 min.
Parallel Workstations
30/hr.
60/hr.
6-41 Process Selection and Facility Layout
Designing Process Layouts
Information Requirements:
1. List of departments
2. Projection of work flows
3. Distance between locations
4. Amount of money to be invested
5. List of special considerations
6. Location of key utilities
6-42 Process Selection and Facility Layout
Example 3: Interdepartmental Work Flows
for Assigned Departments
Figure 6.12
30
1
A
170
B
3
10
0
C
2
6-43 Process Selection and Facility Layout

Author’s note:

The following three slides are not in the 8e,
but I like to use them for alternate examples.
6-44 Process Selection and Facility Layout
Process Layout
Milling
Assembly
& Test
Grinding
Drilling
Plating
Process Layout - work travels
to dedicated process centers
6-45 Process Selection and Facility Layout
Functional Layout
222
444
Mill
111 333
111
333
Lathes
222
111
444
222
Drill
Grind
3333
1111 2222
Heat
treat
Assembly
111
Gear
cutting
111
444
6-46 Process Selection and Facility Layout
-1111
Lathe
Mill
Drill
222222222
Mill
3333333333
Lathe Mill
44444444444444
Drill
Mill
Heat
treat
Gear
-1111
cut
Heat
treat
Grind - 2222
Heat
treat
Grind - 3333
Drill
Gear - 4444
cut
Assembly
Cellular Manufacturing Layout
6-47 Process Selection and Facility Layout
Flexible Manufacturing
VD7
Process at Trek Bikes
6-48 Process Selection and Facility Layout
Location/Criteria
PS11
Guitar site location
6-49 Process Selection and Facility Layout
Process Overview
AB2
Aluminum tubing, suppliers at Hillerich & Bradsby