OPERATIONS

MANAGEMENT
PROCESS SELECTION AND FACILITY LAYOUT
PROCESS SELECTION

Process choice is demand driven. The two key questions in process

selection are:
1. How much variety will the process need to be able to handle?
2. How much volume will the process need to be able to handle?
Volume vs Variety
PROCESS TYPES

There are five basic process types:

job shop
Batch
Repetitive
Continuous
project
JOB SHOP

• usually operates on a relatively small scale.

• a low volume of high-variety goods or services will be
needed.
• Processing is intermittent;
• Work includes small jobs, each with somewhat different
processing requirements.
• High flexibility using general-purpose equipment and
skilled workers are important characteristics
• A manufacturing example of a job shop is a tool and die
shop that is able to produce one-of-a-kind tools. A service
example is a veterinarian’s office, which is able to process a
variety of animals and a variety of injuries and diseases.
 BATCH

• used when a moderate volume of goods or

services is desired, and it can handle a moderate
variety in products or services.
• The equipment need not be as flexible as in a
job shop, but processing is still intermittent.
• The skill level of workers doesn’t need to be as
high as in a job shop because there is less
variety in the jobs being pr
• Examples of batch systems include bakeries,
which make bread, cakes, or cookies in batches.
Examples of products that lend themselves to
batch production paint, ice cream, soft drinks,
beer, magazines, and books
REPETITIVE

• When higher volumes of more standardized goods or

services are needed, repetitive processing is used.
• The standardized output means only slight flexibility of
equipment is needed.
• Skill of workers is generally low.
• Examples of this type of system include production lines
and assembly lines.
• this type of process is sometimes referred to as assembly.
• Familiar products made by these systems include
automobiles, television sets, pencils, and computers. An
example of a service system is an automatic carwash
 CONTINUOUS

• When a very high volume of nondiscrete, highly

standardized output is desired, a continuous system is
used.
• These systems have almost no variety in output and,
hence, no need for equipment flexibility.
• Workers’ skill requirements can range from low to high,
depending on the complexity of the system and the
expertise workers need.
• If equipment is highly specialized, worker skills can be
lower.
• Examples of nondiscrete products made in continuous
systems include petroleum products, steel, sugar, flour,
and salt.
PRODUCT PROCESS MATRIX
PROCESS CHOICE AFFECTS
NUMEROUS ACTIVITIES/FUNCTIONS
LEAN PROCESS DESIGN

Focuses on waste reduction, which relates to sustainability

objectives; variance reduction in workload over the entire process
to achieve level production and thereby improve process flow
Successful lean design results in :
•reduced inventory and floor space;
•quicker response times and shorter lead times;
•reduced defects, rework, and scrap; and
•increased productivity
TECHNOLOGY

Process technology includes methods, procedures, and equipment

used to produce goods and provide services. This not only involves
processes within an organization, it also extends to supply chain
processes.
Information technology (IT) is the science and use of computers
and other electronic equipment to store, process, and send
information.
AUTOMATION

Machinery that has sensing and control devices that enable it to

operate automatically.
Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) refers to the use of
computers in process control, ranging from robots to automated
quality control.
Numerically controlled (N/C) machines are programmed to follow
a set of processing instructions based on mathematical relationships
that tell the machine the details of the operations to be performed
FACILITY LAYOUT

• Facility layout refers to the arrangement of activities,

processes, departments, workstations, storage areas, aisles,
and common areas within an existing or proposed facility.
• The basic objective is to ensure a smooth flow of work,
material, people, and information through the system.
OBJECTIVES

1. To facilitate attainment of product or service quality.

2. To use workers and space efficiently.
3. To avoid bottlenecks.
4. To minimize material handling costs.
5. To eliminate unnecessary movements of workers or materials.
6. To minimize production time or customer service time.
7. To design for safety.
BASIC LAYOUT TYPES

• Product layouts

• Process layouts

• Fixed-Position layout

• Combination layouts
FEATURES – PRODUCT LAYOUT

• Smooth rapid flow of large volume of goods

• Highly standardised goods or services that allow highly
standardised repetitive processing
• The work is divided into series of standardised tasks
• Needs Equipment specialization
• Needs Labor specialization / division of labour
• Economical to invest substantial sums of money in equipment
and job design – because only one or few similar items are
involved
 REPETITIVE : PRODUCT LAYOUT

Raw Finished
Station Station
Station Station
Station Station
Station
materials 1 22 33 44 item
or customer
Material Material Material Material

and/or and/or and/or and/or

labor labor labor labor

Used for Repetitive or Continuous Processing

FEATURES - PRODUCT LAYOUT

• High utilization of labor and equipment tend to offset the

high initial equipment costs
• Because items move quickly from operation to operation
amount of work in process is low
• Operations are closely tied
• The entire system is highly vulnerable to being shut down
because of mechanical failure or high absenteeism
• Need for preventive maintenance
PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE

• Periodic inspection and replacement of worn parts of those

with high failure rates
• Reduces probability of breakdown during operation
• Maintaining an inventory of spare parts
• Repair personnel available quickly
• Adds to the cost
ADVANTAGES OF PRODUCT LAYOUT

• High rate of output

• Low unit cost
• Low material handling cost
• High utilization of labor and equipment
• Established routing and scheduling. Not requires much attention
once it is established
• Fairly routine routing accounting and purchasing
DISADVANTAGES OF PRODUCT LAYOUT

• Creates dull, repetitive jobs

• Poorly skilled workers may not maintain equipment or quality of
output
• Highly susceptible to shutdowns caused by equipment breakdown
or excessive absenteeism as workstations are highly
interdependent
• Needs preventive maintenance
LINE BALANCING

• In product layout to attain the required output rate as efficiently as

possible, jobs are broken down into their smallest indivisible portions,
called work elements.
• Work elements are so small that they cannot be performed by more than
one worker or at more than one workstation.
• But it is common for one worker to perform several work elements as the
product passes through his or her workstation.
• The layout decision is concerned with grouping these work elements into
workstations so products flow through the assembly line smooth
THE CHALLENGES IN PROCESS

• Goal of line balancing is to obtain task groupings that represent

approx. equal time requirements
• Minimizes idle time along the line
• High utilization of labour and equipment
• Idle time occurs if the task time are not equal among work
station
• Some workstations are capable of producing at higher rates
than others
• The fast stations will experience idle time
THE CHALLENGES IN PROCESS

• Difficulty of forming task bundles that have same duration

• May not be feasible to combine certain activities into the
same bundle due to differences in equipment requirements
or the activities are not compatible
• Required technological sequence may prohibit desirable
task combinations
A workstation is any area along the assembly line
that requires at least one worker or one machine.
If each workstation on the assembly line takes the
same amount of time to perform the work elements
that have been assigned, then products will move
successively from workstation to workstation with
no need for a product to wait or a worker to be idle.
CYCLE TIME

Cycle time is the maximum time

allowed at each workstation to
complete its set of tasks on a unit.
0.1 min 0.7 min 1.0 min 0.5 min 0.2 min

Minimum cycle time = longest task time (1.0 min in the example)
Maximum task time = sum of task time
(0.1+0.7+1.0+0.5+0.2= 2.5 mins)

Output rate = operating time per day / cycle time

If the line operates for 8 hours a day then total operating time = 8 x 60 mins
= 480 mins
DETERMINE MAXIMUM OUTPUT
With a cycle time of 1.0 mins output will be
480 mins per day / 1.0 mins = 480 units per day
With a cycle time of 2.5 mins output will be
480 mins per day / 2.5 mins = 192 units per day
Cycle time is determined by desired output
Cycle time = operating time per day / desired output rate
No of workstation needed= ∑t / cycle time
Where ∑t= sum of task times
 PRECEDENCE DIAGRAM

Precedence diagram: Tool used in line balancing to

display elemental tasks and sequence requirements

0.1 min. 1.0 min.

a b A Simple Precedence
Diagram

c d e
0.7 min. 0.5 0.2 min.
min.
EXAMPLE : ASSEMBLY LINE BALANCING

• Arrange tasks shown in Figure into three workstations.

• Use a cycle time of 1.0 minute
• Assign tasks in order of the most number of followers
EXAMPLE 1 SOLUTION

Revised
Time Assign Time Station
Workstation Remaining Eligible Task Remaining Idle Time
1 1.0 a, c a 0.9
0.9 c c 0.2
0.2 none - 0.2
2 1.0 b b 0.0 0.0
3 1.0 d d 0.5
0.5 e e 0.3 0.3
0.3 - - 0.5
CALCULATE PERCENT IDLE TIME

I
dlet
imeperc
yc
le
P
er
cen
ti
d l
e t
ime=
(
N)(
CT)

Efficiency = 1 – Percent idle time

EXAMPLE 2
A manager wants to assign tasks to work stations as efficiently as possible and
achieve an hourly output of 4 units. The department uses a working time of 56
minutes per hour. Assign tasks shown in the precedence graph to workstations using
the following rule : In order of most following tasks. Tiebreaker : greatest positional
weight What is the efficiency?
3 2 4
a b c

7 4 9 5

d e h i

f g
5 6
EXAMPLE 3

The tasks shown in the following precedence diagram are to be assigned

to work stations with the intent of minimizing idle time. Management has
designed an output rate of 275 units per day. Assume 440 minutes are
available per day
Determine the appropriate cycle time
What is the minimum number of stations possible
Assign tasks using positional weight rule : assign tasks with highest
following times including task’s own time) first. Break the ties using
greatest number of following tasks
Compute efficiency.
0.3 0.4 0.2 0.1 0.5 0.3

a c e g h i

b d f

0.6 1.2 0.6

 EXAMPLE 4

The industrial reengineering department have to balance a assembly operation to

achieve an output of 250 units per eight hour day. Task time and precedence given
below:

Task Duration (in min) Precedes task

A 0.2 B
B 0.4 C
C 0.2 F
D 0.4 E
E 1.2 G
F 1.2 G
G 1.0 end
• Draw the precedence graph
• Calculate the minimum CT, maximum CT and calculated
CT
• Determine minimum no. of station needed
• Allocate tasks to WS on basis of greatest no. of following
task, use longest processing time as the tie breaker
• Compute percentage idle time and efficiency
 EXAMPLE 5
• Cycle time 1.5 minutes
• Two rules to be tried : a) Greatest positional weight b) Greatest no. of following tasks
Task Duration (in min) Follows task
A 0.1 -
B 0.2 A
C 0.9 B
D 0.6 C
E 0.1 -
F 0.2 D, E
G 0.4 F
H 0.1 G
I 0.2 H
J 0.7 I
K 0.3 J
l 0.2 k
• Draw the precedence graph
• Assign task to stations under each of the two rules
• Compute percentage idle time and efficiency for each rule
EXAMPLE 6

• A shop works for 400 mins per day.

• Output of 200 units per day is needed
• Construct the precedence graph
• Assign task according to most following task rule
• Assign task according to greatest positional weight rule
• Compute balance delay for each rule
Task Precedes tasks
A B, C, D 0.5
B E 1.4
C E 1.2
D F 0.7
E G, J 0.5
F I 1.0
G H 0.4
H K 0.3
I J 0.5
J K 0.8
K M 0.9
M 0.3
PROCESS LAYOUT

• Process layouts are designed to process items or provide

services that involve a variety of processing requirement
• Requires frequent adjustment to the equipment
• Results in discontinuous work flow referred as Intermittent
processing
• The layout features departments or other functional groupings
in which similar kind of activities are performed
• Manufacturing example : machine shop
PROCESS LAYOUT
PROCESS LAYOUT
Process Layout
(functional)

Dept. A Dept. C Dept. E

Dept. B Dept. D Dept. F

Used for Intermittent processing

Job Shop or Batch
PROCESS LAYOUT

A process layout is :
•characteristic of intermittent operations, service shops, job
shops, or batch production,
•serve different customers with different needs.
•The volume of each customer’s order is low, and
•the sequence of operations required to complete a customer’s
order can vary considerably.
ADVANTAGES OF PROCESS LAYOUTS

• Can handle a variety of processing requirements

• Not particularly vulnerable to equipment failures
• general purpose equipment are less costly than specialized
equipment used in product layout
• Low maintenance cost
 DISADVANTAGES OF PROCESS LAYOUTS
• In-process inventory costs can be high
• Involves more routing and scheduling
• Equipment utilization rates are low
• Material handling slow and inefficient
• Complexities often reduce span of supervision, Span of control narrowed
down, adds to supervisory cost
• Special attention for each product or customer (e.g., routing, scheduling,
machine set ups) and low volume results in higher unit cost
• Accounting and purchasing are more involved
DESIGNING PROCESS LAYOUTS

• We want to minimize movement or material handling cost,

which is a function of the amount of material moved times
the distance it is moved.
• This implies that departments that incur the most
interdepartment movement should be located closest to each
other, and those that do not interact should be located
further away
DESIGNING PROCESS LAYOUT

• minimize movement or material handling cost, which is a

function of the amount of material moved times the distance it
is moved.
• Departments that incur the most interdepartment movement
should be located closest to each other
• and those that do not interact should be located further away.
• Two techniques used to design process layouts, block
diagramming and relationship diagramming, are based on logic
and the visual representation of data.
 BLOCK DIAGRAMMING

• Data on historical or predicted movement of material between

departments in the existing or proposed facility is typically provided in
the form of a from/to chart, or load summary chart.
• Step 1: from/to chart or load summary chart - the average number of
unit loads transported between the departments over a given period of
time. A unit load can be a single unit, a pallet of material, a bin of
material, or a crate of material.
• Step 2: calculate the composite movements between departments and
rank them from most movement to least movement. Composite
movement, represented by a two-headed arrow, refers to the back-and-
forth movement between each pair of departments.
• Finally, trial layouts are placed on a grid that graphically represents the
relative distances between departments in the form of uniform blocks.
• The objective is to assign each department to a block on the grid so that
nonadjacent loads are minimized.
• The term nonadjacent is defined as a distance farther than the next block,
either horizontally, vertically, or diagonally.
• The trial layouts are scored on the basis of the number of nonadjacent
loads.
• Ideally, the optimal layout would have zero nonadjacent loads. In practice,
this is rarely possible, and the process of trying different layout
configurations to reduce the number of nonadjacent loads continues until
an acceptable layout is found.
EXAMPLE 1

Barko, Inc. makes bark scalpers, processing equipment that strips the
bark off trees and turns it into nuggets or mulch for gardens. The facility
that makes bark scalpers is a small-job shop that employs 50 workers and
is arranged into five departments: (1) bar stock cutting, (2) sheet metal,
(3) machining, (4) painting, and (5) assembly. The average number of
loads transported between the five departments per month is given in the
accompanying load summary chart. The current layout of the facility is
shown schematically on the 2 3 grid. Notice that there is quite a bit of
flexibility in the facility, as indicated by the six possible locations (i.e.,
intersections) available for five departments. In addition, the forklift used
in the facility is very flexible, allowing horizontal, vertical, and diagonal
movement of material.
EXAMPLE 1
SOLUTION TO EXAMPLE 1
SOLUTION 2 EXAMPLE 1
SOLUTION 2 EXAMPLE 1
EXAMPLE 2

Mohawk Valley Furniture Warehouse has purchased a retail

outlet with six departments, as shown below. The anticipated
number of customers that move between the departments each
week is given in the load summary chart.
a. Calculate the nonadjacent loads for the layout shown
below.
b. Revise Mohawk’s layout such that nonadjacent loads
are minimized.
EXAMPLE 2
RELATIONSHIP DIAGRAMMING

• In situations for which quantitative data are difficult to obtain

or do not adequately address the layout problem, the load
summary chart can be replaced with subjective input from
analysts or managers.
• Richard Muther developed a format for displaying manager
preferences for departmental locations, known as Muther’s
grid
• The preference information is coded into six categories
associated with the five vowels, A, E, I, O, and U, plus the
letter X.
MUTHER’S GRID
RELATIONSHIP DIAGRAMMING

• Lines of different thicknesses are drawn from department to

department.
• The thickest lines (three, four, or five strands) identify the
closeness ratings with the highest priority—that is, for which
departments it is important, especially important, or absolutely
necessary that they be located next to each other.
• The priority diminishes with line thickness. Undesirable closeness
ratings are marked with a zigzagged line.
• Visually, the best solution would show short heavy lines and no
zigzagged lines
RELATIONSHIP DIAGRAMMING

• Thin lines (one or two strands, representing unimportant or

okay) can be of any length and for that reason are
sometimes eliminated from the analysis.
• An alternative form of relationship diagramming uses
colors instead of line thickness to visualize closeness
ratings.
RELATIONSHIP DIAGRAMMING
FIXED POSITION LAYOUTS

• Fixed-position layouts are typical of projects in which the product produced is too
fragile, bulky, or heavy to move.

• The item being worked on remains stationary

• workers, material and equipment moves

• the equipment is leased or subcontracted because it is used for limited periods of

time.

• Nature of the product dictates this kind arrangement : weight, size etc.

• Used in large construction projects, ship building, large aircrafts

• Attention is given to the timing of materials and equipment delivery so as not to clog
up the work site
FIXED POSITION LAYOUT

• Lack of storage space can be a big problem

• Because of the diversity of the activities carried out in large
projects and because of the wide range of skills required,
special efforts are needed to coordinate activities
• Span of control can be narrow
• the administrative burden is higher
• Widely used in farming, road building, drilling for oil. Bring
workers, materials and equipment to the product location.
HYBRID LAYOUTS

• Hybrid layouts modify and/or combine some aspects of

product and process layouts.
• Three hybrid layouts:
• cellular layouts
• flexible manufacturing systems
• mixed-model assembly lines.
 CELLULAR LAYOUTS

• Cellular layouts attempt to

combine the flexibility of a
process layout with the efficiency
of a product layout.

• Dissimilar machines or activities

are grouped into work centers,
called cells, to process families of
parts or customers with similar
requirements.
CELLULAR LAYOUTS

• The cells are arranged in relation to each other so that

material movement is minimized.
• Large machines that cannot be split among cells are located
near to the cells that use them, that is, at their point of use.
• The layout of machines within each cell resembles a small
assembly line.
• The layout between cells is a process layout.
CELLULAR LAYOUTS
• Production flow analysis (PFA) is a group technology
technique that reorders part routing matrices to identify
families of parts with similar processing requirements.
CELLULAR LAYOUTS
CELLULAR LAYOUT -
ADVANTAGES
• Reduced material handling and transit time.
• Material movement is more direct.
• Less distance is traveled between operations.
• Reduced setup time. Since similar parts are processed together, the
adjustments required to set up a machine should not be that different
from item to item.
• Reduced work-in-process inventory. In a work cell, as with assembly
lines, the flow of work is balanced so that no bottleneck or significant
buildup of material occurs between stations or machines.
CELLULAR LAYOUT -
ADVANTAGES
• Better use of human resources. Typically, a cell contains a
small number of workers responsible for producing a
completed part or product.
• Easier to control. Items in the same part family are
processed in a similar manner through the work cell. There
is a significant reduction in the paperwork necessary to
document material travel,
CELLULAR LAYOUT –
DISADVANTAGES
• Inadequate part families. There must be enough similarity
in the types of items processed to form distinct part
families. Cellular manufacturing is appropriate for medium
levels of product variety and volume.
• Poorly balanced cells. Balancing the flow of work through
a cell is more difficult than assemblyline balancing because
items may follow different sequences through the cell that
require different machines or processing times.
CELLULAR LAYOUT –
DISADVANTAGES
• Expanded training and scheduling of workers.
• Increased capital investment. In cellular manufacturing,
multiple smaller machines are preferable to single large
machines. Implementing a cellular layout can be
economical if new machines are being purchased for a new
facility, but it can be quite expensive and disruptive in
existing production facilities where new layouts are
required. Existing
Print-for-All is a family-owned print shop
that has grown from a three-press two-color
operation to a full-service facility capable of
performing a range of jobs from simple
copying to four-color printing, scanning,
binding, and more. The company is moving
into a new facility and would like some help
arranging its 16 processes into an efficient,
yet flexible, layout. A list of the most
popular jobs is shown with processing
information. How would you arrange the
processes to ensure an efficient and flexible
operation?