anshuman dutta plant layout- 215111070

8/3/2019 Anshuman Dutta Plant Layout- 215111070

1/14

PLANT LAYOUT

Plant Layout is the physical arrangement of equipment and facilities within a Plant. Process

plants, such as refineries and petrochemical plants, are complex facilities consisting of

equipment, piping systems, instruments, electrical systems, electronics, computers, and

control systems.

The design, engineering and construction of process plants involve a multidisciplinary team

effort. Plant layout and design of piping systems constitutes a major part of the design and

engineering effort. The goal is to design safe and dependable processing facilities in a cost

effective manner.

The fundamental integration phase in the design of productive systems is the layout of

production facilities. A working definition of layout may be given as the arrangement of

machinery and flow of materials from one facility to another, which minimizes material

handling costs while considering any physical restrictions on such arrangement.

Usually this layout design is either on considerations of machine-time cost and product

availability; thereby making the production systemproduct-focused; or on considerations of

quality and flexibility; thereby making the production systemprocess-focused.

It is natural that whileproduct-focusedsystems are better off with a line layout dictated by

available technologies and prevailing job designs,process-focusedsystems, which are more

concerned with job organization, opt for a functional layout. Of course, in reality the actual

facility layout often lies somewhere in between a pure line layout and a pure functional

layout format; governed by the specific demands of a particular production plant. Since our

assignment concerns only plant layout design for process-focused systems, this is the only

layout design we will discuss here.

The main goal to keep in mind is to minimize material handling costs - therefore the

departments that incur the most interdepartmental movement should be located closest to one

another. The main type of design layouts isBlock diagramming, which refers to the

movement of materials in existing or proposed facility.

The location of the plant can have a crucial effect on the overall profitability of a project, and


2/14

the scope for future expansion. Many factors must be considered when selecting a suitable

plant site.

The principal factors are:

Location, with respect to the marketing area Raw material supply Transport facilities Availability of labour Availability of suitable land Environmental impact and effluent disposal Local community consideration Climate Political and strategic consideration

PLANT LOCATION OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT

Plant location may be understood as the function of determining where the plant should be

located for maximum operating economy and effectiveness .The selection of a place for

locating a plant is one of the problems, perhaps the most important , which is faced by anentrepreneur while launching a new enterprise .

A selection on pure economic considerations will ensure an easy and regular supply of raw

material , labour forces ,efficient plant layout, proper utilization of production capacity and

reduced cost of production .An ideal location may not, by itself, guarantee success; but it

certainly contributes to the smooth and efficient working of an organization .A bad location

,on the other hand, is a severe handicap for any enterprise and it finally bankrupts it .It is,

therefore, very essential that utmost care should be exercised in the initial stages to select a

proper place. Once a mistake is made in locating a plant, it becomes extremely difficult and

costly to correct it, especially where large plants are concerned.

Cases are not wanting where mistakes were committed and wrong places selected.

M/s.Samrat Thermo Plastic Industries, for example, are the manufacturers of mixers and

grinders, located in Raipur district in Madhya Pradesh. Seventy-five per cent of the raw

materials required by them had to be bought from Mumbai, and 75%of the finished products


3/14

had to be marketed in Pune and Mumbai. To overcome this difficulty, it was decided to shift

the entire plant to Pune.

Similarly, Associated Breweries & Distilleries first set up its plant for brewing beer at Goa,

though Mumbai is its main consuming centre The plant is now shifted to Vashi, near

Mumbai. This enabled the firm to save considerably on transportation costs .Since the

shifting to, Mumbai; the firm has had a steady run of success. The difficulties experienced by

the proprietors and the cost of shifting the plant can easily be imagined.

The need for the selection of the location may arise under any following conditions:

(a) When the business is newly started;

(b) The existing business unit has outgrown its original facilities and expansion is not

possible; hence a new location has to be found;

(c) The volume of business or the extent of market necessitates the establishment of

branches;

(d) A lease expires and the landlord does not renew the lease; and

(e) Other social or economic reasons; for instance , inadequate labor supply, shifting

of the market etc.

Whatever the reasons, the selection of the location has to be made after considering all the

economic factors which have a bearing on it.It may be impossible to find a place which

abounds in all the facilities that are required to start a factory; but a search has to be made for

a place which enjoys as many facilities as possible. The guiding principle in the search should

be for a place where the cost of the raw material and of fabrication, plus the cost of the

marketing of the finished product will be less.

The economic construction and operation of a process unit will depend on how well the plant

equipment specified on the process flow sheet and laid out.

The principal factors to be considered are:

1. Economic consideration: construction and operation cost.

2. The process requirement

3. Convenience of operation

4. Convenience of maintenance

5. Safety


4/14

6. Future expansion

7. Modular construction

COSTS:

The cost of construction can be minimized by adopting a layout that gives shortest run of

connecting pipes between equipment, and adopting the least amount of structural steel work.

However, this will not necessarily be the best arrangement for operation and maintenance.

PROCESS REQUIREMENT:

All the required equipment does have to be placed properly within process. Even the

installation of the auxiliaries should be done in such a way that it will occupy the least space.

OPERATION

Equipment that needs to have frequent operation should be located convenient to the control

room. Valves, sample points, and instruments should be located at convenient position and

height. Sufficient working space and headroom must be provided to allow easy access to

equipment.

MAINTENANCE

Heat exchangers need to be sited so that the tube bundles can be easily withdrawn for

cleaning and tube replacement. Vessels that require frequent replacement of catalyst or

packing should be located on the outside of buildings. Equipment that requires dismantling

for maintenance, such as compressors and large pumps, should be placed under cover.

SAFETY

Blast walls may be needed to isolate potentially hazardous equipment, and confine the effects

of an explosion. At least two escape routes for operator must be provided from each level in

the process building.

PLANT EXPANSION

Equipment should be located so that it can be conveniently tied in with any future expansion

of the process. Space should be left on pipe alleys for future needs, service pipes oversized to

allow for future requirements.


5/14


6/14

The importance of a layoutcan be better appreciated if one understands the influence of an

efficient layout on the manufacturing function: it makes it smooth and efficient. Operating

efficiencies, such as economies in the cost of handling materials, minimization of production delays

and avoidance of bottlenecks all these depend on a proper layout.

An ideally laid out plant reduces manufacturing costs through reduced materials handling,

reduced personnel and equipment requirements and reduced process inventory.

The objectives or advantages of an ideal layout are outlined in the paragraphs that follow.

The advantages are common to all the plants, irrespective of age; and whether a plant

employs 50 workers or 50,000 makes no difference in so far as the applicability of the plant

layout advantages is concerned. Some of these advantages are:

Economies in Handling

Nearly 30% to 40% of the manufacturing cost is accounted for, by materials handling. Every

effort should, therefore, be made to cut down on this cost. Long distance movements should

be avoided and specific handling operations must be eliminated. A cynic may say that the

cheapest way to handle materials is not to handle them at all. But, in a factory, materials have

to be handled; and therefore, it all depends on the layout.

EffectiveUse of Available Area

Every inch of the plant area is valuable, especially in urban areas. Efforts should therefore be

made to make use of the available area by planning the layout properly. Some steps for

achieving this end are: location of equipment and services in order that they may perform

multiple functions; development of up-to-date work areas and operator job assignments for a

full utilization of the labour force.

Minimization of Production Delays

Repeat orders and new customers will be the result of prompt execution of orders. Every

management should try to keep to the delivery schedules. Often, the deadline dates for

delivery of production orders are a bug-a-boo to the management.


7/14

Plant layout is a significant factor in the timely execution of orders. An ideal layout

eliminates such causes of delays as shortage of space, long-distance movements of materials,

spoiled work and thus contributes to the speedy execution of orders.

Improved Quality Control

Timely execution of orders will be meaningful when the quality of the output is not below

expectations. To ensure quality, inspection should be conducted at different stages of

manufacture. An ideal layout provides for inspection to ensure better quality control.

Minimum Equipment Investment

Investment on equipment can be minimized by planned machine balance and location,

minimum handling distances, by the installation of general purpose machines and by planned

machine loading. A good plant layout provides all these advantages.

Avoidance of Bottlenecks

Bottlenecks refer to any place in a production process where materials tend to pile up or are

produced at a speed, less rapid than the previous or subsequent operations. Bottlenecks are

caused by inadequate machine capacity, inadequate storage space or low speed on part of the

operators. The results of bottlenecks are delays in productions schedules, congestion,

accidents and wastage of floor area. All these may be overcome with an efficient layout.

Better Production Control

Production Control is concerned with the production of the product of the right type, at the

right time and at a reasonable cost. A good plant layout is a requisite for good production

control and provides the production control officers with a systematic basis upon which to

build organization and procedures.

Better Supervision

A good plant layout ensures better supervision in two ways:

1. Determining the number of workers to be handled by a supervisor and

2.Enabling the supervisor to get a full view of the entire plant at one glance.


8/14

A good plant layout is, therefore, the first step to good supervision.

Improved Utilization of Labour

Labour is paid for every hour it spends in the factory. The efficiency of a management lies in

utilizing the time for productive purpose. A good plant layout is one of the factors in effective

utilization of labour. It makes possible individual operations, the process and flow of

materials handling in such a way that the time of each worker is effectively spent on

productive operations.

Improved Employee Morale

Employee morale is achieved when workers are cheerful and confident. This state of mental

condition is vital to the success of any organization.

Morale depends on:

(a)Better working condition;

(b)Better employee facilities;

(c)Reduced number of accidents;

(d)Increased earnings.

Plant layout has a bearing on all these.

Avoidance of Unnecessary and Costly Changes

A planned layout avoids frequent changes which are difficult and costly. The incorporation of

flexibility elements in the layout would help in the avoidance of revisions

Types of plant layout

Fixed Position Layout or Location Layout

As the term itself implies, fixed layout involves the movement of men and machines to the

product which remain stationary. In this type of layout, the material or major components

remain in a fixed location, and tools, machinery and men as well as other pieces of material

are brought to this location. The movement of men and machines to the product is advisable

because the cost of moving them would be less than the cost of moving the product which is

very bulky.


9/14

Also called the fixed location layout, this type is followed in the manufacture of bulky and

heavy products such as locomotives, ships, boilers, aircraft and generators. The construction

of a building requires a fixed location layout because men, cement, sand, bricks, steel, wood

and others are taken to the site of the construction. This is equally true of a brick kiln.

Another example is that of a hospital, where doctors and nurses (workers) and medicines and

other paraphernalia (materials) are taken to the patient (product).

The advantages of a fixed position layout are:

1. Men and machines can be used for a wide variety of operations producing different

products.

2. The investment on layout is very small.

3. The worker identifies himself with the product and takes pride in it when the work is

complete.

4. The high cost of and difficulty in transporting a bulky product are avoided.

Cellular Manufacturing (CM) Layout

In CM, machines are grouped into cells and the cells function somewhat like a product layout

within a larger shop or process layout. Each cell in the CM layout is formed to produce a

single parts familya few parts, all with common characteristics, which usually means that

they require the same machines and have similar machine settings.

Advantages of CM :

Among the advantages of cellular layouts are lower work-in-process inventories, reduced

material handling costs, shorter flow times in production, simplified production planning


10/14

(material and labor), increased operator responsibilities, improved visual control and fewer

tooling changes, therefore facilitating quicker set-ups. Overall performance often increases by

lowering production costs and improving delivery on time. Quality also tends to improve.

Disadvantages of CM

Disadvantages include reduced manufacturing flexibility and potentially increased machine-

down time (since machines are contained to cells and may not be used all the time) and

finally duplicate pieces of equipment may be needed so that parts need not be transported

between cells.

Combined Layout

The application of the principle of product layout, process layout or fixed location layout in

their strict meanings is difficult to come across. A combination of the product and process

layouts, with an emphasis on either, is noticed in most industrial establishments. Plants are

never laid out in either pure form. It is possible to have both types of layout in an efficiently

combined form if the products manufactured are somewhat similar and not complex.

In plants involving the fabrication of parts and assembly, fabrication tends to employ the

process layout, while the assembly areas often employ the product layout. In soap

manufacturing plants, the machinery manufacturing soap is arranged on the product-line

principle; but ancillary services, such as heating, the manufacturing of glycerine, the

powerhouse, the water treatment plant are arranged on a functional basis.

To extend the logic of the combined layout, we may refer to the application of the fixed

location principle in every industrial establishment. Is it not true that workers are bought from

different places in buses to the factory every day? Will not material and tools be carried to the

place of manufacture every time?

Process layout:

It is also called functional layout. All machines performing similar type of operations are

grouped at one location in the process layout e.g. all lathes, milling machines, cutting

machines etc. in the engineering shop will be clustered in their like groups. Thus all forging

will be done in one area and all the lathes will be placed in another area.


11/14

In this layout, several products may share a machine to make its full use. The sequential

arrangement of the machine group is generally, but not necessarily made on the basis of labor

operations. In this type of layout the process rather than the product has a dominating role.

The product is given secondary consideration and is moved for the purpose of operations to

the process section with like machines stationed at a particular point. This type of process is

more suitable to job order type of production. In such production the operation differs from

product to product. So, it is desirable to arrange the machines on the basis of process rather

than on the products.

The typical arrangement of the machines in the process layout will be as under:

Product A and Product B with their differential sequence will be routed for the processingin the manner.

Advantages: The process layout avails of the following advantages:

1) Like product layout it eliminates the duplication of machines an enables the optimum use

of installed capacity.

2) It facilitates the flexibility in production. It is more flexible than a line layout. Different

products can be made without the changes in the arrangement of machine. The production

capacity is not arranged in rigid sequence and fixed rated capacity with line balancing.

3) Like product layout, the breakdown of one machine does not interrupt the entire

production flow.

4) Specialization in supervision becomes possible.

5) Individual incentive schemes can be developed.

Disadvantages: The following are the main disadvantages of the process layout:

1) Due to lack of straight line sequence of production, it is impossible to maintain the line

balancing in production. So the problems of bottleneck and waiting and idle capacity arise.

2) The cost of material handling increases due to long routing and back tracking between the


12/14

processes.

3) The processing time is prolonged which reduces the inventory turnover and increase the

investments in inventories.

4) The inspection cost increases. Due to frequent changes in the machine set-up inspection is

required at each stage of the process.

5) The cost of supervision increase due to specialist supervisors and more number of

supervisors are required at each process unit.

6) The production planning and control becomes difficult due to complexities arising in

routing, scheduling, dispatching and follow up.

7) It is not possible to implement the group inventive schemes on the basis of quantity of the

products manufacturing

8) More space is required for internal storing, reservoir of materials and provision for the

expansion of the particular process section.

Product layout:

In this type of layout, the machines are arranged in the sequence as required by the particular

product. All machines as required to balance the particular product the product line layout. In

this layout, one product goes through all the machines lined up, in the order required by its

manufacture. The best known example of this type of layout is seen in motor car production.

To make this layout successful, the work load on the various machines must be balanced. The

process of getting even loading at each stage of production is called line balancing.

In this type of layout, the product is dominating over the process, in the sense that the product

is given the primary importance and the process machine must remain present at a point

where the product needs its services. Thus, unlike the process layout, the process is given

secondary importance in relation to the product. Product layout suitable for continuous flow

production with few items of production:

It does not require frequent changes in machine set up. The typical arrangement of the

machines in the product with the separate independent product lines for the Product A and

Product B will be as shown.


13/14

Advantages: The product layout is advantageous as under:

1) Reduced material handling cost due to straight line production flow.

2) Mechanization of material handling is possible due to handling between fixed points.

3) Line balancing may eliminate bottlenecks an idle capacity.

4) Shorter operating cycle due to shorter and speedier movement of materials.

5) Maximum utilization of machine and labor capacity through developing proper balance

between them.

6) Effective control over production with reduced supervision by generalist supervisors. By

reducing the manufacturing to simple steps we can often use less skilled labor.

7) Effective quality control with reduced inspection points. It does not require frequent

changes in machine set-up.

8) Effective production planning and control. Unlike process layout, the routing, scheduling,

dispatching and follow up are relatively easier.9) Maximum use of space due to straight production flow and reduced need of interim

storing.

10) It facilitates the implementation of the group inventive schemes for the workers.

11) It is relatively easy to control

To sum up

In the final analysis, the combination that produces the desired volumes of products at the

least total cost is preferred. Marketing is concerned with maximizing income, industrial

engineering is concerned with minimizing cost and management is gambling that there is a

sufficient difference in its favour

A properly designed plant layout is an important source of competitive advantage. It can:

Operate At Low Cost Provide Fast Delivery Accommodate Frequent New Products


14/14

Produce Many Varied Products Produce High or Low Volume Products Produce At The Highest Quality Level Provide Unique Services Or Features

.

anshuman dutta plant layout- 215111070

Documents