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Strategic Resource Organization: Facilities Layout: Chapter Six
Strategic Resource Organization: Facilities Layout: Chapter Six
STRATEGIC RESOURCE
ORGANIZATION: FACILITIES
LAYOUT
Layout
Refers to the configuration of departments,
work centers, and equipment, with
particular emphasis on movement of work
(costumers or materials) through the
system.
Why Layout is Important?
They require substantial investments of
money and effort;
Product Layout
Process Layout
Fixed-position Layout
I. Repetitive Processing:
Product Layouts
Product Layout
Layout that uses standardized processing
operations to achieve smooth, rapid, high-
volume flow.
a) Production line Standardized
layout arranged according to a fixed sequence
of production tasks.
b) Assembly Line Standardized
layout arranged according to a fixed sequence
of assembly tasks.
The main advantages of Product
Layouts
are:
1. A high rate of output.
2. Low unit cost due to high volume. The
high cost of specialized equipment is
spread over many units.
3. Labor specialization, which reduces
training costs and time, and results in a
wide span of supervision.
4. Low material-handling cost per unit. Material
handling is simplified because units follow the same
sequence of operations. Material handling is often
automated.
5. A high utilization of labor and equipment.
6. The establishment of routing and scheduling in the
initial design of the system. These activities do not
require much attention once the system is operating.
7. Fairly routine accounting, purchasing, and inventory
control.
The primary disadvantages of Produc
Layouts include the following:
1. The intensive division of labor usually creates dull,
repetitive jobs that provide little opportunity for
advancement and may lead to morale problems and to
repetitive stress injuries.
2. Poorly skilled workers may exhibit little interest in
maintaining equipment or in the quality of output.
3. The system is fairly inflexible in response to changes in
the volume of output or changes in product or process
design.
4. The system is highly susceptible to shutdowns caused
by equipment breakdowns or excessive absenteeism
because workstations are highly interdependent.
5. Preventive maintenance, the capacity for quick
repairs, and spare-parts inventories are necessary
expenses.
6. Incentive plans tied to individual output are
impractical since they would cause variations among
outputs of individual workers, which would adversely
affect the smooth flow of work through the system
c) U-Shaped Layouts.
U-shaped line has a number of advantages that make it
worthy of consideration.
One disadvantage of a long, straight line is that it
interferes with cross-travel of workers and vehicles. A
U-shaped line is more compact; it often requires
approximately half the length of a straight production
line. In addition, a U-shaped line permits increased
communication among workers on the line because
workers are clustered, thus facilitating teamwork.
II. Nonrepetitive Processing:
Process Layouts
Process layouts (functional layouts) are
designed to process items or provide
services that involve a variety of processing
requirements. The variety of jobs that are
processed requires frequent adjustments to
equipment. This causes a discontinuous
work flow, which is referred to as
intermittent processing. The layouts
feature departments or other functional
groupings in which similar kinds of
activities are performed.
Comparison of Process and
Product Layouts
In sum, process layouts have both advantages
and disadvantages. The advantages of process
layouts include the following: