6.Facilities Design and Layout Flashcards
- DESIGN AND LAYOUT INTRO
Organisations must plan the design and layout of operations for efficient production. Operations management involves looking at the best way to set out the actual business so as to optimize efficiency, in terms of movement and space—leading to cost reductions. The aim is to ensure work runs smoothly.
- DESIGN AND LAYOUT INTRO #2?
- Facilities design and layout is a challenging task for management because of its complexity and technical nature.
- The best available physical resources should be selected and arranged in the best way for the purposes of the producer.
- While facilities are usually more visible in the manufacturing industry, they are important in both goods and services production.
- Facilities are expensive and are constructed (or assembled) to be permanent, so questions of design and layout are critical to operational efficiency and to longer-term business success.
- Facilities are not easily changed.
- Physical layout of work environment. Must be planned with a view to streamline the production process. The best layout depends on the type of organisation and the nature of its activities.
LOCATION has implications for??
Location clearly has implications for: distance from input suppliers distance to markets community and environmental impact supply of employees education and training opportunities for employees future expansion at the site.
manufacturing v service layouts?
.Manufacturing and Service Layouts
There are three categories of manufacturing or service layout that can be considered:
Process Layout; Product layout; fixed position layout
Physical layout of plant and equipment has a significant impact on the efficiency of an organisation’s operations
Factors Influencing Location and Design?
Factors influencing location and design:
Product being manufactured/service being provided.
Volume of output required.
Actual amount of physical space and location.
Process to be undertaken – Closed or virtual.
Appropriate type of layout.
Other considerations in order to optimise the production process efficiency?
Optimising the use of physical space:
• Adequate workspace must be provided to all areas.
• Insufficient workspaces will often results in bottlenecks and blockages in work flow.
• If workspace is too large it may hinder productivity if workers have to move around or walk distances during the completion of tasks.
Optimising the use of equipment:
• Extracting maximum productivity from equipment is a key operational optimisation.
• Equipment must be easily accessible, reliable and operational to maximise its throughput.
• Location is vital so it is easily accessible to those who require it.
Regular maintenance program:
• Essential for keeping equipment and facilities operational.
• Easy accessibility to these for maintenance is crucial to minimise downtime.
• The multiskilling of workers is necessary to ensure equipment is fully utilised.
• Regular maintenance is a cost in time, labour and component parts but it averts more expensive downtime.
• Any equipment lying idle results in lost output, therefore lost revenue.
Location of raw materials, stocks and finished products:
• Must be readily accessible, within easy reach.
Layout of plant and equipment
• Must allow for efficient production.
- Steps in Design Layout and Planning?
1 Product selection—Decide the goods and services to be produced
2 Volume—Decide the volume to be produced
3 Activities—Plan the details of production
4 Space—Decide the amount of space needed for operations
5 Layout—Decide the best layout for operations
• Before implementing the plans, careful managers would review all five steps in search of additional improvements. In many cases, computer simulation is possible to test the efficiency of the proposed layout under a variety of production conditions.
• Once in place, all areas of an operations system must be regularly evaluated on the basis of normal performance indicators such as:
■ productivity
■ capacity to meet timelines
■ customer satisfaction
- Steps in Design Layout and Planning
A)
B)
C)
1 Product selection—Decide the goods and services to be produced
An important strategic decision for top management.
The organisation must be able to produce the product of quality and at a cost that allows it to be marketed at a competitive price.
2 Volume—Decide the volume to be produced
This is a difficult step because it usually depends on forecasting future sales.
Businesses should attempt to build a substantial amount of flexibility into their production-capacity plans whenever possible.
Over investment in facilities can cripple a business if sales do not match forecasts.
3 Activities—Plan the details of production
This step involves developing detailed specifications of the physical facilities and human skills and effort required to produce the desired volume.
Success in operations depends on the efficiency achieved by the organisation’s staff in using its facilities.
Management also needs to plan for some other types of activities or events that can realistically be expected in any production process—equipment breakdowns, performance of maintenance, training of staff and delays in delivery of inputs.
- Steps in Design Layout and Planning
D)
E)
4 Space—Decide the amount of space needed for operations
This step determines the size of the physical facilities needed to house the organisation’s operations.
Space must allow for equipment, workers and materials.
Decisions about space should also be made with an eye to possible future expansion.
5 Layout—Decide the best layout for operations
Layout is the arrangement of facilities and workstations (positioning of people) in the transformation process.
Key aspects to be considered in deciding layout include:
■ Size of goods
■ Type of service
■ Volume of production
■ Security needs
■ Staff needs
■ Health and safety requirements
■ Flexibility of use
- Types of Designs and Layouts
Although any number of combinations is possible, management theory identifies three basic operations layouts.
Process layout
Product layout
Fixed-position layout
- Types of Designs and Layouts
Process Layout?
In a process process-oriented layout, the facility is arranged so that equipment and workstations are grouped together according to their function (the task they carry out). A facilities layout strategy which groups equipment and employees together according to the process they carry out. Products or clients are then moved to the relevant area.
• Involves pieces of equipment with alike functions being grouped together.
• Allows for variation in volume produced and specification.
- Types of Designs and Layouts
Process Layout Benefits/Problems?
A process layout is best when there are a variety of products or variations on a single product.
Functional layout:
Used with products that requires a large degree of variation but are only produced in small amounts (batch production).
Benefits
• There are significant variations between individual products or clients
• Ability to respond to individual customer needs
• Specialist equipment/people in one place
Problems
• Moving client or product between locations
• Possibility of bottlenecks on congestion.
- Types of Designs and Layouts
Product Layout?
In a product-oriented layout, the facility is arranged so that equipment and workstations are in line to provide a sequence of specialized tasks. A facilities layout strategy where the product or client moves systematically through identical or very similar processes.
• Products move along a conveyor belt.
• Standardised inputs are put through standardised processes to produce the required output in large amounts.
Assembly line Continuous flow production – Closed factory – Mass customisation (process) – Cell production (new type of flow production) –
- Types of Designs and Layouts
Product Layout Benefits/Problems?
Generally used when employing mass production techniques that creates large amounts of consistent quality products.
A product layout is best when one standardised product is being produced in large volumes.
Benefits
• Effective for high volume standardized products
• Reduces production time and costs through specialization
Problems
• High startup costs
• Repetitive work
• Bottleneck bring whole processes to a halt
• Difficult to tailor to individual needs
- Types of Designs and Layouts
Product Layout Features?
- Assembly line – Inputs moving along different stages on a conveyor belt.
Capable of producing larger quantities of standardised output in a relatively short time.
Suits industries where demand for their product is high and consistent.
Advantages: Low unit costs, constant rate of outputs, consistent quality standards.
Disadvantages: Initial high set up cost, unmotivated employees from repetitive work, no customisation. - Continuous flow production – Product goes through the same sequence of steps continually.
High volume process that runs without ceasing e.g. printing press. - Closed factory – Production completed within the 4 walls of their own site.
- Mass customisation (process) – Combines latest technology with multi skilled employees and uses a production line to make a range of different products.
Few components are varied e.g. computer manufacturer that can customise a standard computer to suit individual customers. - Cell production (new type of flow production) – Workers divided into groups/units known as cells.
Aimed at motivating workers through friendly competition between the cells.
Each cell has a team leader and a group of workers trained in a number of tasks.
Performance of each cell is measured by benchmarks.
Often leads to improved worker commitment and motivation and subsequent productivity gains.
