Session2.

ii & iii

Plant Location
And Layout

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2
 Plant Location And Layout
The efficient operation of a plant depends up on the
proper selection of the site and lay out of the plant.

The following factor have a significant influence on the

choice of location site and lay out.
Differentiation of factors between the problems of
location of site :
Choose the general area
1. Conduct detailed survey to find out possible site.
2. Final decision be taken on detailed factors.
Source: Study material on Industrial Engineering-II, By Andhra Pradesh Productivity Council,
3
Chp. No.3, From Pg No. 1 to 27
 Factors which influence the
choice of Location
1. Integration with group companies
2. Availability of labor
3. Availability of housing
4. Availability of amenities
5. Availability of transport
6. Availability of materials
7. Availability of parking space
8. Availability of dirculation
9. Availability of services, gas-electricity, water,
drainage and waste disposal 4
 Factors which influence the
choice of Location
1. Stability of land & climate
2. Local building and planning regulation
3. Room for expansion
4. Safety requirements
5. Cost of sight
6. Political situation
7. Industrial climate (Labor)
8. Subsidies from Government

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 Selection of A Particular Location
1. Identify the key factors.
2. Rank the chosen sites with appropriate weightage.
3. Examine all factors and rank them based on
importance – Rank factor by factor and not location
by location.
4. Multiply the ranking by the weightage factor. The
total indicates the desirability of the possible
location.

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 Selection of A Particular Location –
A Hypothetical Example
Factor Weight Possible Location
A B C D E
Integration 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0
Labor 9 1 5 4 2 3
9 45 36 18 27
Housing 6 3 3 2 5 1
18 18 12 30 6
Amenities 6 1 2 4 5 3
6 12 24 30 18
Transport 4 5 4 3 2 1
20 16 12 8 4
Materials 4 4 1 2 3 5
16 4 8 12 20
Car park 6 3 4 5 1 2
18 12 30 6 12
Circulation 6 1 4 3 5 2
7
6 24 18 30 12
 Selection of A Particular Location –
Assessment of Possible Factory Location
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7)
Services 5 1 2 2 5 4
5 10 10 25 20
Land and 2 4 2 5 3 1
Climate 8 4 10 6 2
Planning 8 5 2 4 3 1
Regulations 40 16 32 24 8
Expansion 2 3 4 2 5 1
6 8 4 10 2
Safety 0 - - - - -
0 0 0 0 0
Cost 1 5 1 2 3 4
5 1 2 3 4
Political 0 - - - - -
Situation 0 0 0 0 0
Special 2 2 1 5 4 3
Subsidies 4 2 10 8 6
Totals 161 184 208 210 141 8
 Plant Layout

• Factors affecting the design of the plant.

• Detailed design can be prepared by an architect with
a brief sent by the client which should indicate.
1. Accommodation required
2. Latest possible completion data
3. Quality / standards and expected life of the new
building
4. Proposed site
5. Anticipated cost of plant.

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 Decision Considerations 1/2
1. Size
2. Head room required (height)
3. Loads to be carried
4. Access
5. Lighting
6. Ventilation and heating
7. Services to be provided
8. Waste disposal

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 Decision Considerations 2/2

1. Special process requirements

i. Temperature controls
ii. Type of flooring vibrations
iii. Special security measures
iv. Special lighting needs
v. Special amenities if any
2. Number of Floors

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 Plant Layout
• Layout is the physical disposition of the plant and the
various sections of the plant
• The layout will encompass both the location of the
equipment within a specific department and location
of different departments.
• Types of Layout
– Product Layout
– Process Layout
• The techniques of Layout are generally as discussed in
work-study. However the process & Layout must be a
creative one.
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Criteria to be satisfied in a good layout
1. Maximum flexibility 1. Minimum discomfort
2. Maximum coordination 2. Inherent safety
3. Maximum usage of 3. Maximum security
volume (cubic space) 4. Uni flow
4. Maximum visibility 5. Visible routes
5. Maximum accessibility 6. identification
6. Minimum distance of
movement
7. Minimum handling

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 Advantages of a Good Layout

1. Reduced cost and process time through minimized

material handling.
2. Labor productivity through visible and open layout.
3. Easy accommodation of changes.
4. Maximum and better utilization of space.
5. Better quality and safer methods.
6. A conducive environment to motivate employees.
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 Preparation of Layout 1/2
1. Collect all information needed
i. Type / quality/ quantity of work force
ii. Dimensional plan of space to be laid out
iii. Volume of work to be produced or material to be
stored
iv. Operations, process, sequence and standard times
v. Equipment needed to carry out the production /
operation
vi. Movement of material between the work station
(quantity & method) and the frequency (to
construct travel charts)
vii. Time for ageing, stabilizing, normalizing, e.t.c 15
 Preparation of Layout 2/2
i. Quantity of material stores / sub stores in process
storage etc & buffer stock
ii. Location of main stores and volumes to be stored
iii. Lines of communication & fire exits
iv. Special security arrangements, burglars alarms,
safety alarms etc.
v. Inspection needs
vi. Special needs for geographical location of specific
section such as dispatch
vii. Contingency arrangements for stand bye
equipments.
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Tools used for preparing Plant Layouts

1. String diagram
2. Flow Process chart
3. Travel Chart
4. Flow diagram
5. Multiple activity chart
6. Template Models

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 String diagram 1/6
The string diagram is a scale plan or model on
which a thread is used to trace and measure the
distance traversed which has to be minimum by
•Workers
•Material or
•Equipment
during a specified sequence of events

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• Observe the clusters of points, pins, turning
points.
• Also observe the grid lines which represent a
measure of the distance between the points.
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 Construction of a String diagram

• Step-1
– Preparing a study chart
• Step-2
– Drawing a scale plan of the working area
• Step-3
– Combining steps 1,2 to construct the final diagram

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 Step-1: Preparing a study chart

• Worker being studied is followed and all the

points along the working areas are noted in a
study sheet until a representative picture of the
workers is obtained.
• Thus the movements are noted down for
enough number of cycles so as to capture the
actual work in terms of the journey made by the
worker with their respective frequencies.

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Step-2: Drawing a scale plan of the
working area
• Machines, benches, stores and all other points
at which calls are made are drawn to scale
together with doorways, pillars etc that effect
the path movements.
• Then attachments like soft wood, composition
board and pins are driven firmly at every point.
Pins are driven also at turning points on the
route.
• This ensure a shop floor environment which
helps to do the study accurately. 22
Step-3: combining the steps 1 and 2

• A measured length of thread is wound from the

starting point of the movement of the worker
and leading through all the points on the path of
the worker in the same order noted in the step-
1
• This results in a String diagram.

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 Process activity symbols
• Operation

• Inspection

• Transport

• Temporary storage or Delay

• Permanent storage

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 Flow process chart 2/6
Purpose:
To set out the sequence of the flow of a
product or a procedure by recording all the
events under review ( Inspection ) using the
appropriate process chart symbols.

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 Process chart symbols
• Used to represent different types of
activities or events.
• Very convenient, widely understood type
of short hand, saves a lot of writing and
helps in making the sequence of
activities clear.

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 Three types of flow process charts

• Man type
– Flow chart which records what the worker does
• Material type
– Flow chart which records how material is handled or
treated
• Equipment type
– Flow chart which records how the equipment is
used

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Man type flow process chart for dinner at a hospital

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 Travel chart 3/6
• A travel chart is a tabular record for
presenting quantitative data about the
movements of workers, materials or
equipment between any number of places
over any given period of time.

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 Why Travel chart ?

 Although the string diagram is a neat and

effective way of record the movement of worker
or material for critical examination,
o they take long time to construct
o look increasingly like a complex maze with
increasing complexity of movement paths
 When the movement patterns are complex, the
travel chart is quicker and more manageable to
record.
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Travel chart

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 More about Travel chart

• Always a square
• A column at (m,n) is checked only when there
is a direct movement from station at m to
station at n direct.
• The number of times a column at (m,n) is
checked over a period of time gives the
frequency of movement of a worker or material.
• The matrix is always a symmetrical matrix.
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FLOW DIAGRAM (4/6)

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 ACTIVITY DIAGRAM
• Multiple activity chart is a chart on which
the activities of more than one subject
(workers, machine or item of equipment)
are each recorded on a common time
scale to show their inter relationship.

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 ACTIVITY DIAGRAM…
• No such time scales are used in the charts
we saw previously.
• Can be used equally effectively even if
there is no movement of workers. Primary
focus, if movement of workers is there, is
to identify the idle time on the part of either
the workers or the machines.

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MULTIPLE ACTIVITY CHART

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 TEMPLATE MODELS
• Template models are used to study the
layout and the positioning of various
machines by pasting templates on the
plant layout diagram.
• This can be extended by using the string
diagram technique to visualize the flow of
the material.

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A String Diagram Storing Tiles (Original Method)

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A String Diagram Storing Tiles (Improved Method)

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Flow Diagram Serving Dinners in a Hospital Ward

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Flow Process Chart – Man Type Dinners in a Hospital Ward

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 Layout of work stations

Having located the departments and the

equipments to be stationed within the
department, the layout process is
generally a trial and process keeping
the principles of layout and material
handling in mind.

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 Planning Sequence
1. Locate key operations
2. Locate main gangways
3. Avoid back tracking/crisis crossing
4. Locate doorways (in/exit)
5. Locate remaining work areas
6. Locate minor gangways / aisles
7. Locate the departments and sections with the plant &
matching
8. Complete location of subsidiary equipments (materials,
tool boxes, scrap bins, telephones, electric panels)
9. Check final layout against companies general policies
and specifications. 44
 References
• “Introduction to Work Study”, chapter
10, pages 110-130, International Labour
Office, Geneva
– Publisher: Raju Primlani for Oxford & IBH
Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi.

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