A plant layout is the arrangement of the physical elements of facilities ( or machines / equipment ) which make the product or service. This facilities layout is the overall arrangement of machines, men, materials handling, service facilities, and passengers required to facilitate efficient operation of production system. Show
Objectives of Plant LayoutThe primary goal of plant layout is to maximize profits by the arrangement of all plant facilities to the best advantage of the total “manufacturing equation” – men, materials, machines, and money in fulfilling this goal. Objectives of plant layout are :
Types of LayoutThe pattern by which departments and facilities within departments are arranged may be viewed either in terms of work flow or the function of the productive system. According to work flow pattern, four basic types of layout are used in manufacturing operations. Types of layout are following :-
Group layout is based on group technology philosophy is accepted as the fourth type of layout. In this type of layout an existing functional layout is converted to group layout to derive all benefits of product layout. 1. Fixed Position LayoutIn fixed position plant layout, the product by virtue of its bulk or weight remains at one location. The equipment, personnel required for the product manufacture are removed to the product, rather vice versa. This layout is observed to be used under following conditions :
Examples of this type of layout are : sound stages on a movie lot, aircraft, locomotive, ship assembly shops, shipyards, etc. Advantages of fixed position layout are :-
2. Product LayoutIn product layout, the equipment or assembly work stations are arranged according to the progressive steps of sequence or operations by which the product is made. Product plant layout is used advantageously in the continuous-production system where :
This type of layout is exemplified in automobile assembly, food processing, and furniture manufacture. Advantages of product layout1. Reduced handling of material by transfer machines or conveyors. Disadvantages of product Layout are :-
3. Process LayoutIn process layout, all operations of the same type are grouped according to the general function they perform, without regard to any particular product. Conceptually, same type of operations are performed in the same area. For example, all drilling machines may be grouped together in one area, all milling equipment will be in another work center, and work involving spot welding is still another, etc. Refer Fig. 1.2.
This type of layout is exemplified in custom jobshop, department stores, hospitals, etc. Advantages of Process Layout are :1. Better machine utilisation allows lower machine investment. Disadvantages of Process Layout
4. Group LayoutIn group plant layout, the existing job shop/batch manufacturing shop is partitioned in a few groups of machines where each group produces its associated families of components. Group technology (GT) philosophy uses similarity of components from the processing point of view to create component families. By using the philosophy, a job shop is transformed into a group technology environment which facilitates optimization of product scheduling. The essence of GT makes use on similarities in recurring tasks in three ways.
Fig shows how a job shop can be partitioned to GT shops. It can be noted that the four components are the representative components of the component families. Which plant layout produce large variety of products?Combination Layout
Here machinery is arranged in a process layout but the process grouping is then arranged in a sequence to manufacture various types and sizes of products.
Which type of layout should be preferred when variety of products?Process Layouts
This type of layout is seen in companies with intermittent processing systems. You would see a process layout in environments in which a large variety of items are produced in a low volume.
Which production layout is suitable for large quantity production?A fixed-position layout is appropriate for a product that is too large or too heavy to move. For example, battleships are not produced on an assembly line.
What type of layout is commonly used for large operations?Fixed-position layout
Fixed-position layouts are common in the manufacturing of large, cumbersome items that are too heavy to move throughout an assembly line.
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