Capacity and Facilities Design free essay sample

Based on it, labor productivity will be higher. 5. Facilitate communication and interaction Question 7-11: Facility layout probably is one of the most crucial elements affecting efficiency and can take many different forms. Five common types of layout include: Process layout, Produce layout, Fixed position layout, Cellular layout and Combination layout. Process layout: Process layouts are found primarily in job shops, or firms that produce customized, low-volume products that may require different processing requirements and sequences of operations. Process layouts are facility configurations in which operations of a similar nature or function are grouped together. As such, they occasionally are referred to as functional layouts. Their purpose is to process goods or provide services that involve a variety of processing requirements. A manufacturing example would be a machine shop. A machine shop generally has separate departments where general-purpose machines are grouped together by function (e. g. , milling, grinding, drilling, hydraulic presses, and lathes). Therefore, facilities that are configured according to individual functions or processes have a process layout. This type of layout gives the firm the flexibility needed to handle a variety of routes and process requirements. Services that utilize process layouts include hospitals, banks, auto repair, libraries, and universities. The most advantage of this layout is greater flexibility in the production and also reduction investment on machines as they are general purpose machines. However, the disadvantage if inefficiency. There is a difficulty in production control, in movement of materials and this type of layout requires more floor space†¦ Product layout: Product layouts are found in flow shops (repetitive assembly and process or continuous flow industries). Flow shops produce high-volume, highly standardized products that require highly standardized, repetitive processes. In a product layout, resources are arranged sequentially, based on the routing of the products. In theory, this sequential layout allows the entire process to be laid out in a straight line, which at times may be totally dedicated to the production of only one product or product version. The flow of the line can then be subdivided so that labor and equipment are utilized smoothly throughout the operation. The advantage of this layout is its efficiency and ease to use. It avoids production bottlenecks and there is an economy in manufacturing time. The disadvantage is inflexibility. Significant changes in product design may require that a new assembly line be built and new equipment be purchased. Any breakdown of equipment along the production line can be disrupting the whole system. Fixed position layout: A fixed-position layout is appropriate for a product that is too large or too heavy to move. In this type of layout, the materials or major components remains in a fixed location, amp; tools, machinery amp; men as well as other pieces of material are brought to this location. The movement of men amp; machines is advisable as the cost of moving them would be lesser. This is fallowed in manufacturing of bulky amp; heavy products, such as, construction of buildings, locomotives, ships, boilers, aircraft amp; generators. Due to the nature of the product, the user has little choice in the use of a fixed-position layout. Disadvantages include: * Space. For many fixed-position layouts, the work area may be crowded so that little storage space is available. This also can cause material handling problems. * Administration. Oftentimes, the administrative burden is higher for fixed-position layouts. The span of control can be narrow, and coordination difficult. Cellular layout: Cellular manufacturing is a type of layout where machines are grouped according to the process requirements for a set of similar items (part families) that require similar processing. These groups are called cells. Therefore, a cellular layout is an equipment layout configured to support cellular manufacturing. Workers in cellular layouts are cross-trained so that they can operate all the equipment within the cell and take responsibility for its output. Sometimes the cells feed into an assembly line that produces the final product. In some cases a cell is formed by dedicating certain equipment to the production of a family of parts without actually moving the equipment into a physical cell (these are called virtual or nominal cells). In this way, the firm avoids the burden of rearranging its current layout. However, physical cells are more common. The advantage of Cellular layout are: reduced material handling and transit time, reduced setup time, reduced work in process inventory, better use of human resources, easier to control and automate. The disadvantages are inadequate part families, poorly balanced cells, expanded training and scheduling of workers and increased capital investment. Combination layout: a combination of process amp; product layout is known as combined layout. It is possible to have both types of layout in an efficiently combined form if the products manufactured are somewhat similar and not complex. Based on these studies, we can identify which type of layout would be appropriate for the following items: Items| Type of layout| A grocery store| Cellular layout| Home construction| Fixed position layout| Electronic assembly| Product layout| A university| Process layout| Question 7-13: A/ Block diagram: What it is: A bock diagram is a specialized, high-level type of flowchart. Its highly structured form presents a quick overview of major process steps and key process participants, as well as the relationships and interfaces involved. When to use it: A block diagram is a useful tool both in designing new processes and in improving existing processes. In both cases the block diagram provides a quick, high-level view of the work and may rapidly lead to process points of interest. Because of its high-level perspective, it may not offer the level of detail required for more comprehensive planning or analysis. Team members who construct a block diagram must have a clear understanding of how the process operates. This diagram will be used when quantitative data are available. To start block diagramming historical or predicted movement of material in the existing or proposed facility must be analyzed. This info is usually provided with a from/to chart, or load summary chart. This gives the average number of unit loads moved between departments. A unit load can be a single unit, a pallet of material, a bin of material, or a crate of materialhowever material is normally moved from location to location. The next step in designing the layout is to calculate the composite movements between departments and rank them from most movement to least movement Composite movement 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 B/ Relationship diagram: What it is: Relationship diagram is a schematic diagram that uses weighted lines to denote location preference. When to use it: Relationship diagram will be use in the situations for which quantitative data are difficult to obtain or do not adequately address the layout problem. So the load summary chart can be replaced with subjective input from analysis or managers. Richard Muther developed a format for displaying manager preferences for departmental locations, known as Muthers grid. Muthers diagram uses codes and letters to represent how close departments are to one another. The info from Muthers diagram can be used to make a relationship diagram to evaluate a current layout or proposed layouts