Traditional Approaches to

Facility Layout
Chapter 4

Source for some slides: John S. Usher class notes

 Applications
• Manufacturing
• Healthcare
• Service
– Restaurants
– Banks
– Airports
– Entertainment
• Logistics and
Distribution
– Ports/Terminals
– Distribution Centers
 Types of Projects
• New Facility
• General Re-layout (retrofit)
– Expansion due to new product(s)
– Expansion due to sales growth in existing products
– Re-organization of work areas (evolutionary design)
– Outsourcing of logistics capability
– Addition of automation technology
– Problem elimination
– Cost reduction
– Product discontinuation
 Significance of Facilities
Planning
• 20-50% of all manufacturing costs are
related to material handling
• FP can reduce MH costs by 10-30%
• Therefore…
– 2-15% reductions in overall manufacturing costs
could be achieved by effective facilities planning.
– Annual productivity would increase 3x more than it
has in the past 15 years.
– Hard to make similar projections to other areas of our
economy
– FP continues to be one of the most promising fields
 Objectives
• Minimize material handling costs
• Utilize space efficiently
• Utilize labor efficiently
• Eliminate bottlenecks
• Facilitate communication and interaction
between workers, between workers and
their supervisors, or between workers
and customers
• Reduce manufacturing cycle time or
customer service time
 Objectives (continued)
• Eliminate waste or redundant movement
• Facilitate the entry, exit, and placement of
material, products, or people
• Incorporate safety and security measures
• Promote product and service quality
• Encourage proper maintenance activities
• Provide a visual control of operations or
activities
• Provide flexibility to adapt to changing
conditions
• Increase capacity
 The Nature of FP Objectives
• As you can see, there are MANY!

• They are conflicting. How?

• There are constraints. Can you list some?

 The Facility Planning Problem
• It is a constrained multi-objective optimization
problem with many non-quantifiable costs and
benefits.
• There is NO OPTIMAL SOLUTION!
• The best we can hope for is a “GOOD” solution.
• Effective designs must consider all stakeholders
– Owners
– Customers
– Suppliers
– Employees
– Neighbors
 Layout Problems
• Design or Optimization?
 Facility Design Process

• Combination of art and

engineering
• Many techniques available
– Muther’s SLP Approach (1973)
– Optimization based approaches
• We will focus on the latter
 Systematic Layout Planning
• Phase I - Determination of the location of
the area where departments are to be laid
out
• Phase II - Establishing the general overall
layout
• Phase III - Establishing detailed layout
plans
• Phase IV - Installing the selected layout
 Systematic Layout Planning
Input Data and Activities
ANALYZE

1. Flow of materials 2. Activity Relationships

3. Relationship Chart

4. Space Requirements 5. Space Available

6. Space Relationship
Diagram
SEARCH

7. Modifying Considerations 8. Practical Limitations

9. Develop Layout
Alternatives
SELECT

10. Evaluation

Source: John S. Usher class notes

 Systematic Layout Planning
• P Product: Types of products to be produced
• Q Quantity: Volume of each part type
• R Routing: Operation sequence for each part
type
• S Services: Support services, locker rooms,
inspection stations, and so on
• T Timing: When are the part types to be
produced ? What machines will be used during
this time period?
Sample relationship diagram

1 2

4 5
SLP
SLP
 Special Considerations in Office
Layout
• Minimizing distance traveled by
employees
• Permitting flexibility so that the current
layout can be changed, expanded or
downsized easily
• Providing a safe and pleasant atmosphere
for people to work in
• Minimizing capital and operational costs of
the facility
 Operations Review
• Is the company outgrowing available space?
• Is the available space too expensive?
• Is the current building not in the proper location?
• How will a new office layout affect the
organization?
• Are office operations too centralized or
decentralized?
• Does the office structure support the strategic
plan?
• Is the office layout in tune with the company's
image?
Aesthetics
Aesthetics
Aesthetics
Aesthetics
Aesthetics
Aesthetics
Aesthetics
Aesthetics
Aesthetics
Cubicles layout
Cubicles layout
Iowa State DOT layout
Albany International Airport layout
 Operations Review for
MortAmerica, Inc.
• Is there a significant increase in mortgage lending
operations of MortAmerica, Inc.?
• Are the costs of leasing and refurbishing interior space
too high?
• Is there a problem with the current location? For
example:
– There is not enough space for expansion
– Major attorneys’ offices, other related financial institutions and
restaurants, are not located within a reasonable distance of
MortAmerica, Inc.
– Adequate parking space is not available
– Traffic is too congested
• Will a change in office location improve business?
 SLP for MortAmerica, Inc.
• Evaluation
• Planning
• Site selection
• Design and layout
 SLP for MortAmerica, Inc.
• Review current space utilization
• Determine space projections
• Determine level of interaction between
departments
• Identifying special consideration
 Current and Future Space
Requirements
Department Name Current/Future Categories of Employees and Number in Each Category
Requirements Senior Senior Staff Clerical/Secretary Net Gross
Executive Staff Space Space,
Required 150%
of Net
Space
Current space/employee 150 100 75
Number of employees 1 4 1
Current total 150 400 75 625 938
Customer Service (CS) space/category
Future space/employee 120 75
Number of employees 6 1
Future space/category 720 75 795 1,193
Current space/employee 200 100 75
Number of employees 2 10 2
Current total 400 1,000 150 1,550 2,325
Mortgage processing/marketing
space/category
(MP/M)
Future space/employee 250 200 100 75
Number of employees 1 1 15 1
Future space/category 250 200 1,500 75 2,025 3,038
Current space/employee 100 75
Number of employees 10 1
Current total 1,000 75 1,075 1,613
Credit check (CC) space/category
Future space/employee 80
Number of employees 5
Future space/category 400 400 600
Current space/employee 200 100 90 75
Number of employees 2 4 15 5
Current total 400 400 1,350 375 2,525 3,788
Operations Audit (O/A) space/category
Future space/employee 250 100 100 75
Number of employees 3 4 20 2
Future space/category 750 400 2,000 150 3,300 4,950
Current space/employee 250 200 100
Top management (TM)
Number of employees 5 2 5
Current total 1,250 400 500 2,150 3,225
space/category
Future space/employee 250 200 100
 Current and Future Space
Requirements
Current net Current gross space150% of Future gross space 150% of
Support service area Future net space
space net space net space

Copying/Printing Area (C/P) 300 450 465 700

File Storage Room (FS) 300 450 80 120

Customer Waiting Lounge (CW) 300 450 800 1200

Conference Rooms (CR) 500 750 1000 1500

Employee Break Room (EBR) 200 300 850 1275

Rest Rooms (RR) 200 300 500 750

Total 1800 2700 3695 5545

 Relationship diagram for
MortAmerica, Inc.
Customer service (CS)
E
Mortgage processing (MP) I
E I
Credit check (CC) E O
I I O
Closing/underwriting (C/U) O E I
O I I I
Top Management (TM) I O I A
O I I U A
Operations/audit (O/A) U I X U O
O U U U A
I
X U U O
Copying/printing (C/P) A
U U O
A U
U U I
Files storage (FS) O
U I U I
Customer waiting (CW) U U X
A U U
Conference room (CR) X U
X A
Employee break room (EBR) X
I
Rest rooms (RR)
Activity relationship diagram for
MortAmerica, Inc.
TM

CC
MP

O/A
RR
C/U

CS

CW
FS

CR

C/P EBR
Space relationship diagram for
MortAmerica, Inc.
TM

CC
MP

O/A
RR
C/U

CS

CW
FS

CR

C/P EBR
Pre-architectural layout for
MortAmerica, Inc.
TM

CC

MP

RR RR
O/A
M W C/U

CS
CW

CR FS

C/P EBR
Engineering design approach

1. Identify the problem

2. Gather the required data

3. Formulate a model for the problem

4. Develop an algorithm for the model and solve it

5. Generate alternative solutions, evaluate, and select

7. Implement the solution

8. Continuously review after implementation

OSHA, ADA and Local Codes
OSHA, ADA and Local Codes
OSHA
ADA
and
Local
Codes
 Service and Manufacturing Facilities
Organization Showers Lavatories Water Closets Water Others
Fountain
Restaurants - 1 per 200 1 per 75 1 per 500 1service
sink
Arenas (capacity - 1 per 200 1 per 120 (male); 1 1 per 1000 1 service
more than 3000) (male); 1 per 60 (female) sink
per 150
(female)
Churches - 1 per 200 1 per 150 (male); 1 1 per 1000 1 service
per 75 (female) sink
Schools - 1 per 50 1 per 50 1 per 100 1 service
sink
Airports - 1 per 750 1 per 500 1 per 1000 1 service
sink
Factories Section 1 per 100 1 per 100 1 per 1000 1 service
411 sink
Hospitals 1 per 15 1 per room 1 per room 1 per 100 1 service
sink
Prisons 1 per 15 1 per cell 1 per cell 1 per 100 1 service
sink
Hotels 1 per 1 per room 1 per room - 1 service
room sink
Dormitories 1 per 8 1 per 10 1 per 10 1 per 100 1 service
sink
 Service and Manufacturing Facilities
Organization Parking spaces
Restaurants (with drive- One space per 75 square feet of floor area or 1.5 persons
through facilities) (whichever is greater)
Theaters, Arenas, and One space per 8 feet of bench length or 4 seats (whichever is
Assembly areas greater)
Secondary schools and One space per 8 students, one-and-a-half spaces per classroom,
Colleges and number of spaces for gymnasium/assembly hall seating
Factories One space per 1000 square feet of area plus number of spaces for
offices
Hospitals Two spaces per bed
Churches One space per three persons
Hotels One space per guest room plus number of spaces for accessory
uses
Warehouses One space per 2000 square feet of floor area
 Table 4.5 Minimum dimensions for parking stalls

Parking Angle Aisle-width Aisle-width Stall width Stall length

(two-way) (one-way)
76-90o 25 feet 15 feet 9 feet 20 feet
30-75o 25 feet 12 feet 9 feet 22 feet
0-29o 18 feet 12 feet 9 feet 25 feet
 Table 4.3 Accessible spaces for persons with disability

Total spaces in 1-25 26-50 51-75 76-100 101- 151- 201- 301- 401- 501-
parking lot 150 200 300 400 500 1000

Minimum 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 2%
Accessible
spaces