CHAPTER

8
Facility & Work Design
Ronaldo B. Convento
EMBA507 – Production and Operation Management
MBA1223 – Sat (7am to 10am)
Prof : Dr. RONALDO A. POBLETE
LEARNING OUTCOMES
1. Describe Four Layout Patterns and when they should be used
2. Explain how to design Product Layouts using Assembly-Line
Balancing
3. Explain the concepts of Process Layout
4. Describe issues related to Workplace Design
5. Describe the human issues related to Workplace Design
Facility Layout
• Specific arrangement of physical facilities
• Studies are necessary when:
• New facility is constructed
• Significant change in demand or throughput volume is observed
• New good or service is introduced to the customer benefit package
• Different processes, equipment, and/or technology are installed
Objectives of Layout Studies, Part 1
• Minimize delays in materials handling and
customer movement
• Maintain flexibility
• Use labor and space effectively
• Promote high employee morale and customer
satisfaction
Objectives of Layout Studies, Part 2
• Minimize energy use and environmental impact
• Provide for good housekeeping and maintenance
• Enhance sales as appropriate in manufacturing
and service facilities
Layout Patterns in Configuring Facilities
Product Layout, Part 1
• Arrangement based on the sequence operations
performed during the manufacture of goods or
delivery of services
• Supports a smooth and logical flow of goods or
services from one process stage to the next
Product Layout, Part 2
Process Layout
• Functional grouping of equipment or activities that do
similar work
• Advantages
• Entire system is not affected if a piece of equipment fails
• Disadvantages
• High material-handling costs
• Complicated planning and control systems
• Higher worker skill requirements
Cellular Layout
• Based on self-contained groups of equipment
(cells) needed for producing a particular set of
goods or services
• Facilitates the processing of families of parts with
similar processing requirements
• Group technology - Procedure of classifying parts into
families
Advantages of Cellular Layout
• Reduced materials-handling requirements
• Quicker response to quality problems
• Efficient use of floor space
• Greater worker responsibility that leads to an
increase in morale and satisfaction
Fixed-Position Layout
• Consolidates the necessary resources to
manufacture a good or deliver a service in one
physical location
• Work remains stationary
• High level of planning and control required
Exhibit 8.4 Comparison of Basic Layout Patterns
Characteristic Product Layout Process Layout Cellular Layout Fixed-Position Layout
Demand volume High Low Moderate Very Low
Equipment utilization High Low High Moderate

Automation potential High Moderate High Moderate

Setup/changeover High Moderate Low High

requirements

Flexibility Low High Moderate Moderate

Type of equipment Highly specialized General purpose Moderate Moderate specialization
specialization
Facility Layout in Service Organizations, Part 1
• Based on product, process, cellular, and fixed-
position layouts to organize different types of
work
• Design of service facilities requires the integration
of layout with the servicescape and process design
to support service encounters
Facility Layout in Service Organizations, Part 2
• Determined by the degree of specialization versus
flexibility of services
• Organizations that need the ability to provide a wide
variety of services to customers use process layouts
• Organizations that provide highly standardized services
tend to use product layouts
Flow Shop Product Layout Design
• Consists of a fixed sequence of workstations separated by buffers
(in-process storage)
• Sources of delay
• Flow-blocking: Occurs when a work center completes a unit but cannot
release it because the in-process storage at the next stage is full
• Lack-of-work (starving): Occurs when one stage completes work and no
units from the previous stage are awaiting processing
Exhibit 8.6 Typical Manufacturing Workstation Layout
Assembly Line
• Type of product layout that combines the
components of a good or service that has
been created previously
• Helps lower costs and makes goods and
services affordable to mass markets
 Assembly-Line Balancing

• Technique that helps distribute the same amount of tasks among

workstations
• Involves identifying:
• Set of tasks to be performed and time required to perform each task
• Sequence in which the tasks must be performed
• Desired output rate or forecast of demand for the assembly line
Cycle Time (CT), Part 1
• Interval between successive outputs coming off
the assembly line
CT = A/R
• Where
- A - Available time to produce output
- R - Demand forecast or required output
• Maximum operation time ≤ CT ≤ sum of operation
times
Cycle Time (CT), Part 2

• Balance delay = 1 − Assembly-line efficiency

Line-Balancing Approaches, Part 1
• Use decision rules, or heuristics, to assign
tasks to workstations
• Decision rules are incorporated into computerized
algorithms and simulation models for large line-
balancing problems
• Depend on assigning the longest or shortest
task time to a workstation first
 Line-Balancing Approaches, Part 2

• Precedence network
- Helps visually determine the feasibility of a
workstation assignment
- Helps ensure that certain precedence
restrictions are met in the sequence of
performing a task
 Designing Process Layouts
• Arranging departments or work centers
relative to each other
• Approaches
• Calculating the costs associated with moving
materials between work centers
• Optimizing the total closeness rating of a layout
 Effective Workplace Design
• Allows for maximum efficiency
and effectiveness to perform a
work task or activity
• Needs to facilitate service
management skills in high-
contact, front-office environments
 Job Design, Part 1
• Involves determining:
• Specific job tasks and responsibilities
• Work environment
• Methods by which tasks will be carried
out to meet the goals of operations and
competitive priorities
 Job Design, Part 2
• Helps make jobs safe, satisfying, and motivating
• Job enlargement: Horizontal expansion of job duties
to give a worker more variety
• Job enrichment: Vertical expansion of job duties to
give workers more responsibility
- Involves the use of teams, such as natural work
teams, virtual teams, and self-managed teams
(SMTs)
Safety
• Function of the job, the person performing the
job, and the surrounding environment
• U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) was
enacted in 1970 to ensure workplace safety
• Involves:
• Designing injury-proof working environments
• Educating employees about the proper use of
equipment and methods
Ergonomics
• Takes into account the physical capabilities of people
while designing jobs to improve the productivity and
safety
• Helps:
• Reduce fatigue, cost of training, human errors, cost
of doing a job, and energy requirements
• Increase accuracy, speed, reliability, and flexibility
Workforce Ethics
• Involves improving of working the
conditions of employees
• Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI)
• Alliance of companies, trade unions, and
non-governmental organizations promoting
respect for workers’ rights globally
 KEY TERMS
• Facility layout • Assembly line
• Product layout • Assembly-line balancing
• Process layout • Cycle time
• Cellular layout • Job
• Fixed-position layout
• Job design
• Flow-blocking delay
• Job enlargement
• Lack-of-work delay
(starving) • Job enrichment
• Ergonomics
 SUMMARY
• Product, process, cellular, and fixed-position are the different
types of layout patterns
• Assembly-line balancing helps distribute the same amount of
tasks among workstations
• Designing process layouts involves arranging departments to
reduce costs
• To improve productivity, Safety, Ergonomics, and Ethics need to
be considered while designing a workplace
THANK YOU !