PLANT LAYOUT
•Plant layout is the most effective physical
arrangement, either existing or in plans of
industrial facilities i.e. arrangement of
machines, processing equipment and service
departments to achieve greatest co-ordination
and efficiency of 4 M's (Men, Materials,
Machines and Methods) in a plant.
INTRODUCTION
•The ability to design and operate manufacturing
facilities that can quickly and effectively adapt to
changing technological and market requirements is
becoming increasingly important to the success of any
manufacturing organization.
•In the face of shorter product life cycles, higher
product variety, increasingly unpredictable demand,
and shorter delivery times, manufacturing facilities
dedicated to a single product line cannot be cost
effective any longer.
•Investment efficiency now requires that manufacturing
facilities be able to shift quickly from one product line
to another without major retooling, resource
reconfiguration, or replacement of equipment.
OBJECTIVES OF PLANT LAYOUT
•Economies of materials, facilitation of manufacturing
and handling of goods Proper and efficient use of floor
space .
•Ensure proper flow of goods and processes without
any delay Provision for supervision and control.
•careful planning to avoid changes and re-layout of a
plant Provision of safety to workers.
•Meet quality and capacity requirement in the most
economical manner Provision of adequate medical
facilities and refreshment facilities Have enough of
material handling spaces
Plant layout problems
•In industry sectors, it is important to manufacture the
products which have good quality and meet customers’
demand. This action could be conducted under
existing resources such as employees, machines and
other facilities. However, plant layout improvement,
could be one of the tools to response to increasing
industrial productivity.
•Plant layout design has become a fundamental basis
of today’s industrial plants which can influence parts of
work efficiency. It is needed to appropriately plan and
position employees, materials, machines, equipment,
and other manufacturing supports and facilities to
create the most effective plant layout.
SYMPTOMS OF POOR LAYOUT
•A good layout results in Comfort,
Convenience, Safety, Efficiency,
Compactness And Finally In Profits To
the Organization.
•A poor layout results in Congestion,
Wastes, Frustration, Inefficiency And
Finally A Lower Profit Or loss to An
Organization.
FACTORS AFFECTING LAYOUT
•Factory Building The nature size of building determines
the floor space available for layout While designing the
special requirements i.e. Air conditioning , dust control ,
Humidity control ,Noise proofing etc must be kept in mind
•Nature of product Product layout is suitable for uniform
products Process layout is suitable for custom made
products production process In assembly line industries
product layout is better. In job order or intermittent
manufacturing process layout is desirable
•Types of machinery General purpose machines are
arranged as per process layout , Special purpose
machines are arranged as per product layout
FACTORS AFFECTING LAYOUT
•Repairs Maintenance Machines / Equipments must be
arranged keeping in mind the movement of operators
maintenance tools
•Human Needs Adequate arrangement should be made for
Wash rooms, drinking water / Canteen other employee
facilities
•Plant Environment Heat / Noise / Light / Ventilation other
aspects should be duly considered e.g. Paint shop /
Fabrication / Plating section should be located separately to
protect employees from harmful fumes etc. Adequate safety
arrangement should be made
SUMMARY
•Decisions about layout are made only
periodically. As they have long term
consequences ,they must be made with
careful planning .
•The layout design affects the cost of producing
goods delivering services for many years in
future.Here we have discussed three
•Traditional Basic layouts
–1) Process 2) Product 3) Fixed Position.
•Process Layout arrange work centers according to
function. Product Layouts ( Assembly layout) arrange
work centers equipments in line to perform specialized
sequence of tasks.
•In Fixed position Layout ,the product remains in one
location resources are brought to it. In process product
layouts , the design begin with a statement of goals of
facility. The layouts are designed to meet these goals.
•After initial designs have been developed , improved
designs are sought which will be cumbersome ,hence to
take care of it quantitative computer based models are
used.
SUMMARY