In a mass
customisation, short Higher utilisation of
lead time space, equipment, and
environment, layouts people
need to have,
Improved flow of Improved employee
LAYOUT information, materials, morale and safer
and people working conditions
Improved Flexibility (whatever the
customer/client layout is now, it will
interaction need to change)
TYPICAL LAYOUT TYPES
1. Office layout: Positions workers, their equipment, and spaces/offices to provide for movement
of information.
2. Retail layout: Allocates display space and responds to customer behaviour.
3. Warehouse layout: Addresses trade-offs between space and material handling.
4. Fixed-position layout: Addresses the layout requirements of large, bulky projects such as
ships and buildings.
5. Process-oriented layout: Deals with low-volume, high-variety production (also called “job
shop,” or intermittent production).
6. Work-cell layout: Arranges machinery and equipment to focus on production of a single
product or group of related products.
7. Product-oriented layout: Seeks the best personnel and machine utilisation in repetitive or
continuous production
Not all options can
be mathematical
Material handling
modelled, therefore
equipment:
judgemental in
some instances.
WHAT’S Cost of moving
between various
Capacity and space
NEEDED? work areas
requirements
Flows of Environment and
information aesthetics:
• Need to maximise space while ensuring
movement of goods, and the associated costs.
• Remember it also floor to ceiling!
• Many use Automated Storage and Retrieval
Systems (ASRS) (Robot Automation)
“The robots save Amazon $400–$900 million a year
WAREHOUSES in fulfillment costs by
reducing the number of times a product is “touched.”
The Kiva robots pare
20% to 40% from the average $3.50-to-$3.75 cost
of sorting, picking, and
boxing an order.”
(The Wall Street Journal (Nov. 20, 2014) and
(Dec. 9, 2013).)
WAREHOUSING,
CROSS
DOCKING
• Materials processed so minimise
storage.
• Manufacturing, direct to product
line e.g. Synchro, JIT
• Warehouse labelled, resorted on
entry.
• The type of activity this
eliminates have no value adding
thus 100% cost saving.
• However requires robust and
accurate scheduling and
identification.
AUTOMATIC IDENTIFICATION SYSTEMS
• Bar Coding Systems
• RFID Systems (Radio Frequency Identification Systems)
Customising
o Sometimes called Random Stocking Using warehousing to add value
o Need accurate records to be effective. to a product through
component
o Computerised modification, repair, labelling,
o Maintaining a list of “open” locations and
packaging.
o Maintaining accurate records of existing inventory and its locations
o Sequencing items to minimize the travel time required to “pick” orders
o Combining orders to reduce picking time
o Assigning certain items or classes of items, such as high-usage items, to particular warehouse
areas so that the total distance travelled within the warehouse is minimized
When we go to the product.
Typically, Ship building, Surgery, Aircraft
manufacture, House building.
Sometime a slight variant where modules
are used in the manufacture.
FIXED POSITION Three potential impacts on this strategy,
LAYOUT • Available area for project can be an issue
• Material critically varies during project, issue with access
and work spaces.
• Volume of required materials varies with project phases,
logistical issues.
Solution may be to use a modular approach
PROCESS LAYOUT
• A layout that deals with low-volume, high-
variety production in which like machines and
equipment are grouped together.
• Typically:
• Handles a wide variety of products
• Efficient with different requirements or
customers with differing needs.
• Different sequence of operations in various
departments.
PROCESS LAYOUT
Advantages: Disadvantages:
1. Flexibility of equipment and resource • Elongated times, due to difficult
(People). scheduling changing setups, and unique
material handling.
2. Manufacture of parts in small batches
(Job lots) • Increased WIP, high labour skills.
3. Producing a wide variety of parts in
various sizes or forms.
CONSIDERATIONS FOR PROCESS
LAYOUT
• Normally based on cost, minimising cost
of material handling.
CELLULAR
LAYOUT
• Also know as cellular
manufacturing.
• Used to make particular part or
group of related parts.
• Prerequisites for cell creation:
• Identification of family of parts.
• Comprehensive Training of
employees together with flexibility
and empowerment.
• Autonomous in its operation.
• Self contained quality control.
CELLULAR MANUFACTURING
Advantages: Disadvantages:
• Reduced work-in-process inventory • Time and cost of setup
• Less floor space • Potential issue if experienced staff leave
• Reduced raw material and finished goods
inventories
• Reduced direct labour cost
• Heightened sense of employee participation
• Increased equipment and machinery utilization
• Reduced investment in machinery and equipment
• Improved Inspection (immediate)
• More efficiently balanced
• Improved Communications
CELLULAR
MANUFACTURING
OTHER
REQUIREMENTS
• You need to Resource (labour) and balance the cell:
• Takt Time: the pace (frequency) of production units
necessary (time per unit) to match requirements both
internal and external customers.
• Takt time = Total work time available / Units required to
satisfy customer demand.
• Resource Required = Total operation time required /
Takt time
• A work balance chart is also valuable for evaluating the
operation times in work cells.
• Focused work centre (Plant in a Plant): A permanent
or semi permanent product-oriented arrangement of
machines and personnel. (Modular)
• Focused factory: A facility designed to produce similar
products or components. (Component of the large
production strategy), (specialist parts, after market,
customisation?)
Products or families of similar high-volume, low-
variety products.
• Fabrication line: A machine-paced, product-
oriented facility for building components.
• Assembly line: An approach that puts fabricated
parts together at a series of workstations; used in
repetitive processes.
PRODUCT • Number of Requirements:
ORIENTED LAYOUT 1. Volume high enough to justify equipment, and achieve
high utilisation.
2. Demand needs to be stable for investment decisions
3. Standardised product, and or life cycle point justifies
investment in equipment.
4. Suppliers can supply to requirements of production and
quality.
PRODUCT ORIENTED LAYOUT
Advantages: Disadvantages:
1. The low variable cost per unit usually 1. The high volume required because of
associated with high-volume, investment
standardised products
2. Downtime / process stoppage affect
2. Low material-handling costs whole operation.
3. Reduced WIP 3. Minimum process flexibility necessary
for a variety of products.
4. Easier training and supervision
4. Constant production demand must be
5. Rapid throughput
achieved
Line balancing still needs to be done, but often with the use a of
computer based systems due to complexity and whole line interaction.
DIFFERENT PROCESS LAYOUTS ARE
APPROPRIATE FOR DIFFERENT VOLUME –
VARIETY COMBINATIONS
ALTERNATIVE LAYOUT TYPES FOR EACH
PROCESS TYPE
THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF
THE BASIC LAYOUT TYPES
IN CONCLUSION
Warehouse
Product
Fixed
Orientated
Position
Layout
Layouts
Cellular Process
Layout Layouts
REFERENCES
Slack, N. and Brandon-Jones, A., 2018. Operations and process management: principles and practice for strategic impact.
Pearson UK.
Heizer, J., Render, B. and Munson, C., 2017. Operations management: Sustainability and supply chain management. Chennai:
Pearson.
EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
• https://hbr.org/video/5236216251001/what-makes-a-leader
CASE STUDY
• Black and Decker
