How Process Layout fits the Operations Management Philosophy

Chapter 8

How Process Layout fits the Operations Management Philosophy

Process Layout Chapter 8

Operations As a Competitive Weapon Operations Strategy Project Management L

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¾ Layout planning is planning that involves decisions about the physical arrangement of economic activity centers needed by a facility’s various processes. ¾ Layout plans translate the broader decisions about the competitive priorities, process strategy, quality, and capacity of its processes into actual physical arrangements.

¾ Economic activity center: Anything that consumes space -- a person or a group of people, a customer reception area, a teller window, a machine, a workstation, a department, an aisle, or a storage room. © 2007 Pearson Education

Layout Planning Questions Before a manager can make decisions regarding physical arrangement, four questions must be addressed. 1. What centers should the layout include? 2. How much space and capacity does each center need? 3. How should each center’s space be configured? 4. Where should each center be located? © 2007 Pearson Education

Absolute Locations vs. Relative Locations

Location Dimensions Original layout

¾ The location of a center has two dimensions: 1. Relative location: The placement of a center relative to other centers. 2. Absolute location: The particular space that the center occupies within the facility.

Frozen foods Bread

Meats Dry groceries Vegetables

Revised layout Meats Dry groceries Vegetables

Process Layout

Supply Chain Strategy Location Inventory Management Forecasting Sales and Operations Planning Resource Planning Scheduling


Layout Planning


Process Strategy Process Analysis Process Performance and Quality Constraint Management Process Layout Lean Systems

Frozen foods Bread

Four of the absolute locations have changed but not the relative locations.


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Chapter 8

Strategic Issues ¾ Layout choices can help communicate an organization’s product plans and competitive priorities. ¾ Altering a layout can affect an organization and how well it meets its competitive priorities in the following ways: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Increasing customer satisfaction and sales at a retail store. Facilitating the flow of materials and information. Increasing the efficient utilization of labor and equipment. Reducing hazards to workers. Improving employee morale. Improving communication.


Performance Criteria ¾ ¾ ¾ ¾ ¾ ¾ ¾ ¾ ¾

Customer satisfaction Level of capital investment Requirements for materials handling Ease of stockpicking Work environment and “atmosphere” Ease of equipment maintenance Employee and internal customer attitudes Amount of flexibility needed Customer convenience and levels of sales


Types of Layouts

A Flexible Flow Layout A job shop has a flexible-flow layout.

¾ Flexible-flow layout: A layout that organizes resources (employees) and equipment by function rather than by service or product. ¾ Line-flow layout: A layout in which workstations or departments are arranged in a linear path. ¾ Hybrid layout: An arrangement in which some portions of the facility have a flexible-flow and others have a line-flow layout. ¾ Fixed-position layout: An arrangement in which service or manufacturing site is fixed in place; employees along with their equipment, come to the site to do their work. © 2007 Pearson Education

A production line has a line-flow layout.


Process Layout

Forging

Lathes

Painting

Welding

Drills

Office

Milling machines

Foundry


Creating Hybrid Layouts

Line Flow Layout

Station 1

Grinding

Station 2

Station 3

Station 4

¾ Layout flexibility is the property of a facility to remain desirable after significant changes occur or to be easily and inexpensively adopted in response to changes. ¾ A One-worker, multiple-machines (OWMM) cell is a one-person cell in which a worker operates several different machines simultaneously to achieve a line flow. ¾ A Cell is two or more dissimilar workstations located close together through which a limited number of parts or models are processed with line flows. © 2007 Pearson Education

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Chapter 8

One Worker, Multiple Machines Machine 2 Machine 1

Group Technology (GT)

Machine 3

Materials in

Finished goods out Machine 4

Machine 5


¾ Group Technology (GT) is an option for achieving line-flow layouts with low-volume processes; this technique creates cells not limited to just one worker and has a unique way of selecting work to be done by the cell. ¾ The GT method groups parts or products with similar characteristics into families and sets aside groups of machines for their production. © 2007 Pearson Education

Before Group Technology

Applied Group Technology

Jumbled flows in a job shop without GT cells

Line flows in a job shop with three GT cells

Lathing

Milling

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Receiving and shipping

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Assembly area A

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Designing Flexible-Flow Layouts ¾ Step 1: Gather information ¾ Space requirements by center ¾ Available space ¾ Closeness factors: which centers need to be located close to one another.

¾ Closeness matrix: A table that gives a measure of the relative importance of each pair of centers being located close together. ¾ Step 2: Develop a Block plan: A plan that allocates space and indicates placement of each department. ¾ Step 3: Design a detailed layout.

Process Layout

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Gather Information Example 8.1

Office of Budget Management

Space Requirements Department

Area Needed (ft2)

1. Administration 2. Social services 3. Institutions 4. Accounting 5. Education 6. Internal audit

3,500 2,600 2,400 1,600 1,500 3,400 Total

15,000

Current Block Plan 3

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150'


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Chapter 8

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First put departments 1 and 6 close together

Example 8.1 Office of Budget Management

Next put departments 3 and 5 close together

Trips between Departments

Department 1. Administration 2. Social services 3. Institutions

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4. Accounting 5. Education


Then put departments 2 and 3 close together

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Proposed Block Plan

150'

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Departments 1 and 6 have the most interaction. Departments 3 and 5 have the next highest. Departments 2 and 3 have next priority.

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Applying the Weighted- Distance Method ¾ Weighted-distance method: A mathematical model used to evaluate flexible-flow layouts based on proximity factors.

Distance Measures

Euclidian Distance dAB =

¾ Euclidean distance is the straight-line distance, or shortest possible path, between two points. ¾ Rectilinear distance: The distance between two points with a series of 90 degree turns, as along city blocks.


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(x (xA – xB)2 + (y (yA – yB)2

Rectilinear Distance dAB = |x |xA – xB| + |y |yA – yB| © 2007 Pearson Education

Application 8.1

Calculating the WD Score Load Distance Analysis

Example 8.2

Current Plan

What is the distance between (20,10) and (80,60)? Euclidian Distance dAB =

(20 – 80)2 + (10 – 60)2

= 78.1 Rectilinear Distance dAB = |20 – 80| + |10 – 60| = 110 © 2007 Pearson Education

Process Layout

Proposed Plan

Dept Closeness Distance Distance Pair Factor, w d wd Score d wd Score 1,2 1,3 1,4 1,5 1,6 2,3 2,4 2,5 3,4 3,5 4,5 5,6 © 2007 Pearson Education

3 6 5 6 10 8 1 1 3 9 2 1

1 1 3 2 2 2 2 1 2 3 1 2

3 6 15 12 20 16 2 1 6 27 2 2 ld = 112

2 3 1 2 1 1 1 2 2 1 1 3

6 18 5 12 10 8 1 2 6 9 2 3 ld = 82

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Chapter 8

First Proposed Plan

Second Proposed Plan

Excel Solver evaluation of solution


Excel Solver improved solution


Application 8.2


Application 8.2


Other Decision Support Tools

Application 8.2

¾ Automated layout design program (ALDEP): A computer software package that constructs a good layout from scratch, adding one department at a time. ¾ Computerized relative allocation of facilities technique (CRAFT): A heuristic method that begins with the closeness matrix and an initial block layout, and makes a series of paired exchanges of departments to find a better block plan. © 2007 Pearson Education

Process Layout


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Chapter 8

Warehouse Layouts

Warehouse Layouts

Out-and-back Pattern

Zone System

¾ The most basic warehouse layout is the out-and-back pattern. The numbers indicate storage areas for same or similar items.

Zones

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Dock

Control station

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Aisle

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Tractor trailer Feeder lines

Storage area © 2007 Pearson Education

Feeder lines

Overflow


Designing Line-Flow Layouts

Office Layouts

¾ Line balancing is the assignment of work to stations in a line so as to achieve the desired output rate with the smallest number of workstations. ¾ Work elements are the smallest units of work that can be performed independently. ¾ Immediate predecessors are work elements that must be done before the next element can begin. ¾ Precedence diagram allows one to visualize immediate predecessors better; work elements are denoted by circles, with the time required to perform the work shown below each circle.

¾ Most formal procedures for designing office layouts try to maximize the proximity of workers whose jobs require frequent interaction. ¾ Privacy is another key factor in office design. ¾ Four common office layouts: 1. Traditional layouts 2. Office landscaping (cubicles/movable partitions) 3. Activity settings 4. Electronic cottages (Telecommuting) © 2007 Pearson Education


Line Balancing Example 8.3 Green Grass, Inc., a manufacturer of lawn & garden equipment, is designing an assembly line to produce a new fertilizer spreader, the Big Broadcaster. Using the following information, construct a precedence diagram for the Big Broadcaster.

Work Element A B C D E F G H I

Time Immediate Description (sec) Predecessor(s) Bolt leg frame to hopper 40 None Insert impeller shaft 30 A Attach axle 50 A Attach agitator 40 B Attach drive wheel 6 B Attach free wheel 25 C Mount lower post 15 C Attach controls 20 D, E Mount nameplate 18 F, G

Total

Line Balancing Green Grass, Inc. D B

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Process Layout


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Shipping doors

Click to add title

Storage area

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Chapter 8

Desired Output and Cycle Time

Theoretical Minimum Theoretical minimum (TM ) is a benchmark or goal for the smallest number of stations possible, where total time required to assemble each unit (the sum of all work-element standard times) is divided by the cycle time. It must be rounded up

¾ Desired output rate, r must be matched to the staffing or production plan. ¾ Cycle time, c is the maximum time allowed for work on a unit at each station: 1 c=

Idle time is the total unproductive time for all stations in the assembly of each unit.

r

Efficiency (%) is the ratio of productive time to total time. Balance Delay is the amount by which efficiency falls short of 100%.



Calculations for

Output Rate and Cycle Time

Example 8.4 continued

Example 8.4

Theoretical minimum (TM ) - sum of all work-element standard times divided by the cycle time.

Green Grass, Inc. ¾ Desired output rate, r = 2400/week Plant operates 40 hours/week r = 2400/40 = 60 units/hour

TM = 244 seconds/60 seconds = 4.067 It must be rounded up to 5 stations Cycle time: c = 1/60 = 1 minute/unit = 60 seconds/unit

¾ Cycle time, c = 1/60

Efficiency (%) - ratio of productive time to total time.

1 r

= 1 minute/unit

Efficiency = [244/5(60)]100 = 81.3%

= 60 seconds/unit

Balance Delay - amount by which efficiency falls short of 100%. (100 − 81.3) = 18.7%



The goal is to cluster the work elements into 5 workstations so that the number of work-stations is minimized, and the cycle time of 60 seconds is not violated. Here we use the trial-and-error method to find a solution, although commercial software packages are also available.

Green Grass, Inc.

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Process Layout

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50 c = 60 seconds/unit TM = 5 stations Efficiency = 81.3%

Application 8.3

Line Balancing Solution

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Chapter 8

Application 8.3


Application 8.3


Application 8.4

Other Considerations

Finding a Solution

In addition to balancing a line, managers must also consider four other options: 1. Pacing: The movement of product from one station to the next as soon as the cycle time has elapsed. 2. Behavioral factors of workers. 3. Number of models produced: A mixed-model line produces several items belonging to the same family. 4. Cycle times depend on the desired output rate, and efficiency varies considerably with the cycle time selected. Thus exploring a range of cycle times makes sense. © 2007 Pearson Education

Process Layout


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How Process Layout fits the Operations Management Philosophy

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