FACILITY LOCATION:

Definition: Plant location or facility location may be understood as the function of determining where the plant
should be located for maximum operating economy & effectiveness. An ideal location may not, by itself, guarantee
success, but it certainly contributes to the smooth and efficient working of an organization.
NEED FOR FACILITY LOCATION
The need for selecting a suitable location arises because of three situations.
I. When starting a new organisation, i.e., location choice for the first time.
II. In case of existing organisation.
III. In case of Global Location.
I. In Case of Location Choice for the First Time or New Organizations
Cost economies are always important while selecting a location for the first time, but should keep in mind the cost
of long-term business/organisational objectives. The following are the factors to be considered while selecting the location
for the new organizations:
1. Identification of region: The organisational objectives along with the various long-term considerations about
marketing, technology, internal organisational strengths and weaknesses, region specific resources and business
environment, legal-governmental environment, social environment and geographical environment suggest a suitable
region for locating the operations facility.
2. Choice of a site within a region: Once the suitable region is identified, the next step is choosing the best site from an
available set. Choice of a site is less dependent on the organizations long-term strategies. Evaluation of alternative sites
for their tangible and intangible costs will resolve facilities-location problem. The problem of location of a site within the
region can be approached with the following cost-oriented non-interactive model, i.e., dimensional analysis.
3. Dimensional analysis: If all the costs were tangible and quantifiable, the comparison and selection of a site is easy. The
location with the least cost is selected. In most of the cases intangible costs which are expressed in relative terms than in
absolute terms. Their relative merits and demerits of sites can also be compared easily. Since both tangible and intangible
costs need to be considered for a selection of a site, dimensional analysis is used. Dimensional analysis consists in
computing the relative merits (cost ratio) for each of the cost items for two alternative sites. For each of the ratios an
appropriate weightage by means of power is given and multiplying these weighted ratios to come up with a
comprehensive figure on the relative merit of two alternative sites
The existing firms will seek new locations in order to expand the capacity or to place the existing facilities. When
the demand for product increases, it will give rise to following decisions:
Whether to expand the existing capacity and facilities.
Whether to look for new locations for additional facilities.
Whether to close down existing facilities to take advantage of some new locations.
II. In Case of Location Choice for Existing Organisation
In this case a manufacturing plant has to fit into a multi-plant operations strategy. That is, additional plant location
in the same premises and elsewhere under following circumstances:
1. Plant manufacturing distinct products.
2. Manufacturing plant supplying to specific market area.
3. Plant divided on the basis of the process or stages in manufacturing.
4. Plants emphasizing flexibility.
The different operations strategies under the above circumstances could be:
1. Plants manufacturing distinct products: Each plant services the entire market area for the organization. This strategy
is necessary where the needs of technological and resource inputs are specialized or distinctively different for the different
product-lines. For example, a high quality precision product-line should not be located along with other product-line
requiring little emphasis on precision. It may not be proper to have too many contradictions such as sophisticated and old
equipment, highly skilled and semi-skilled personnel, delicates processes and those that could permit rough handlings, all
under one roof and one set of managers. Such a setting leads to much confusion regarding the required emphasis and the
management policies. Product specialization may be necessary in a highly competitive market. It may be necessary to
exploit the special resources of a particular geographical area. The more decentralized these pairs are in terms of the

management and in terms of their physical location, the better would be the planning and control and the utilization of the
resources.
2. Manufacturing plants supplying to a specific market area: Here, each plant manufactures almost all of the
companys products. This type of strategy is useful where market proximity consideration dominates the resources and
technology considerations. This strategy requires great deal of coordination from the corporate office. An extreme
example of this strategy is that of soft drinks bottling plants.
3. Plants divided on the basis of the process or stages in manufacturing: Each production process or stage of
manufacturing may require distinctively different equipment capabilities, labour skills, technologies, and managerial
policies and emphasis. Since the products of one plant feed into the other plant, this strategy requires much centralized
coordination of the manufacturing activities from the corporate office that are expected to understand the various
technological aspects of all the plants.
4. Plants emphasizing flexibility: This requires much coordination between plants to meet the changing needs and at the
same time ensure efficient use of the facilities and resources. Frequent changes in the long-term strategy in order to
improve be efficiently temporarily, are not healthy for the organization. In any facility location problem the central
question is: Is this a location at which the company can remain competitive for a long time?
For an established organization in order to add on to the capacity, following are the ways:
(a) Expansion of the facilities at the existing site: This is acceptable when it does not violate the basic business and
managerial outlines, i.e., philosophies, purposes, strategies and capabilities. For example, expansion should not
compromise quality, delivery, or customer service.
(b) Relocation of the facilities (closing down the existing ones): This is a drastic step which can be called as Uprooting
and Transplanting. Unless there are very compelling reasons, relocation is not done. The reasons will be either bringing
radical changes in technology, resource availability or other destabilization. All these factors are applicable to service
organizations, whose objectives, priorities and strategies may differ from those of hardcore manufacturing organizations.
III. In Case of Global Location
Because of globalization, multinational corporations are setting up their organizations in India and Indian
companies are extending their operations in other countries. In case of global locations there is scope for virtual proximity
and virtual factory.

VIRTUAL PROXIMITY
With the advance in telecommunications technology, a firm can be in virtual proximity to its customers. For a software
services firm much of its logistics is through the information/ communication pathway. Many firms use the
communications highway for conducting a large portion of their business transactions. Logistics is certainly an important
factor in deciding on a locationwhether in the home country or abroad. Markets have to be reached. Customers have
to be contacted. Hence, a market presence in the country of the customers is quite necessary.

VIRTUAL FACTORY
Many firms based in USA and UK in the service sector and in the manufacturing sector often out sources part of their
business processes to foreign locations such as India. Thus, instead of ones own operations, a firm could use its business
associates operations facilities. The Indian BPO firm is a foreign-based companys virtual service factory. So a location
could be ones own or ones business associates. The location decision need not always necessarily pertain to own
operations.

FACTORS INFLUENCING PLANT LOCATION/FACILITY LOCATION:

Facility location is the process of determining a geographic site for a firms operations. Managers of both service
and manufacturing organizations must weigh many factors when assessing the desirability of a particular site, including
proximity to customers and suppliers, labour costs, and transportation costs. Location conditions are complex and each
comprises a different Characteristic of a tangible (i.e. Freight rates, production costs) and non-tangible (i.e. reliability,
Frequency security, quality) nature.
Location conditions are hard to measure. Tangible cost based factors such as wages and products costs can be
quantified precisely into what makes locations better to compare. On the other hand non-tangible features, which refer to
such characteristics as reliability, availability and security, can only be measured along an ordinal or even nominal scale.
Other non-tangible features like the percentage of employees that are unionized can be measured as well. To sum this up
non-tangible features are very important for business location decisions. It is appropriate to divide the factors, which
influence the plant location or facility location on the basis of the nature of the organisation as:

1. General locational factors, which include controllable and uncontrollable factors for all type of organizations.
2. Specific locational factors specifically required for manufacturing and service organizations
Location factors can be further divided into two categories:
Dominant factors are those derived from competitive priorities (cost, quality, time, and flexibility) and have a
particularly strong impact on sales or costs. Secondary factors also are important, but management may downplay or even
ignore some of them if other factors are more important.

General Locational Factors

Following are the general factors required for location of plant in case of all types of organisations.

CONTROLLABLE FACTORS
1. Proximity to markets
2. Supply of materials
3. Transportation facilities
4. Infrastructure availability
5. Labour and wages
6. External economies
7. Capital.

UNCONTROLLABLE FACTORS
8. Government policy
9. Climate conditions
10. Supporting industries and services
11. Community and labour attitudes
12. Community Infrastructure.

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1.

Proximity to markets: Every company is expected to serve its customers by providing goods and services at the time
needed and at reasonable price organizations may choose to locate facilities close to the market or away from the market
depending upon the product. When the buyers for the product are concentrated, it is advisable to locate the facilities close
to the market. Locating nearer to the market is preferred if
The products are delicate and susceptible to spoilage.

 After sales services are promptly required very often.

Transportation cost is high and increase the cost significantly.
Shelf life of the product is low.
Nearness to the market ensures a consistent supply of goods to customers and reduces the cost of transportation.
2. Supply of raw material: It is essential for the organization to get raw material in right qualities and time in order to
have an uninterrupted production. This factor becomes very important if the materials are perishable and cost of
transportation is very high. General guidelines suggested by Yaseen regarding effects of raw materials on plant location
are:
When a single raw material is used without loss of weight, locate the plant at the raw material source, at the
market or at any point in between.
When weight loosing raw material is demanded, locate the plant at the raw material
source.
When raw material is universally available, locate close to the market area.
If the raw materials are processed from variety of locations, the plant may be situated so as to minimize total
transportation costs.
Nearness to raw material is important in case of industries such as sugar, cement, jute and cotton textiles.
3. Transportation facilities: Speedy transport facilities ensure timely supply of raw materials to the company and
finished goods to the customers. The transport facility is a prerequisite for the location of the plant. There are five basic
modes of physical transportation, air, road, rail, water and pipeline. Goods that are mainly intended for exports demand a
location near to the port or large airport. The choice of transport method and hence the location will depend on relative
costs, convenience, and suitability. Thus transportation cost to value added is one of the criteria for plant location.
4. Infrastructure availability: The basic infrastructure facilities like power, water and waste disposal, etc., become the
prominent factors in deciding the location. Certain types of industries are power hungry e.g., aluminum and steel and they
should be located close to the power station or location where uninterrupted power supply is assured throughout the year.
The non-availability of power may become a survival problem for such industries. Process industries like paper, chemical,
cement, etc., require continuous. Supply of water in large amount and good quality, and mineral content of water becomes
an important factor. A waste disposal facility for process industries is an important factor, which influences the plant
location.
5. Labour and wages: The problem of securing adequate number of labour and with skills specific is a factor to be
considered both at territorial as well as at community level during plant location. Importing labour is usually costly and
involve administrative problem. The history of labour relations in a prospective community is to be studied. Prospective
community is to be studied. Productivity of labour is also an important factor to be considered. Prevailing wage pattern,
cost of living and industrial relation and bargaining power of the unions forms in important considerations.
6. External economies of scale: External economies of scale can be described as urbanization and locational economies
of scale. It refers to advantages of a company by setting up operations in a large city while the second one refers to the
settling down among other companies of related Industries. In the case of urbanization economies, firms derive from
locating in larger cities rather than in smaller ones in a search of having access to a large pool of labour, transport
facilities, and as well to increase their markets for selling their products and have access to a much wider range of
business services. Location economies of scale in the manufacturing sector have evolved over time and have mainly
increased competition due to production facilities and lower production costs as a result of lower transportation and
logistical costs. This led to manufacturing districts where many companies of related industries are located more or less in
the same area. As large corporations have realized that inventories and warehouses have become a major cost factor, they
have tried reducing inventory costs by launching Just in Time production system (the so called Kanban System). This
high efficient production system was one main factor in the Japanese car industry for being so successful. Just in time
ensures to get spare parts from suppliers within just a few hours after ordering. To fulfill these criteria corporations have
to be located in the same area increasing their market and service for large corporations.
7. Capital: By looking at capital as a location condition, it is important to distinguish the physiology of fixed capital in
buildings and equipment from financial capital. Fixed capital costs as building and construction costs vary from region to
region. But on the other hand buildings can also be rented and existing plants can be expanded. Financial capital is highly
mobile and does not very much influence decisions. For example, large Multinational Corporations such as Coca Cola
operate in many different countries and can raise capital where interest rates are lowest and conditions are most suitable.

Capital becomes a main factor when it comes to venture capital. In that case young, fast growing (or not) high tech firms
are concerned which usually have not many fixed assets. These firms particularly need access to financial capital and also
skilled educated employees.

UNCONTROLLABLE FACTORS
8. Government policy: The policies of the state governments and local bodies concerning labour laws, building codes,
safety, etc., are the factors that demand attention. In order to have a balanced regional growth of industries, both central
and state governments in our country offer the package of incentives to entrepreneurs in particular locations. The
incentive package may be in the form of exemption from a sales tax and excise duties for a specific period, soft loan from
financial institutions, subsidy in electricity charges and investment subsidy. Some of these incentives may tempt to locate
the plant to avail these facilities offered.
9. Climatic conditions: The geology of the area needs to be considered together with climatic conditions (humidity,
temperature). Climates greatly influence human efficiency and behavior. Some industries require specific climatic
conditions e.g., textile mill will require humidity.
10. Supporting industries and services: Now a day the manufacturing organisation will not make all the components
and parts by itself and it subcontracts the work to vendors. So, the source of supply of component parts will be the one of
the factors that influences the location. The various services like communications, banking services professional
consultancy services and other civil amenities services will play a vital role in selection of a location.
11. Community and labour attitudes: Community attitude towards their work and towards the prospective industries
can make or mar the industry. Community attitudes towards supporting trade union activities are important criteria.
Facility location in specific location is not desirable even though all factors are favoring because of labour attitude
towards management, which brings very often the strikes and lockouts.
12. Community infrastructure and amenity: All manufacturing activities require access to a community infrastructure,
most notably economic overhead capital, such as roads, railways, port facilities, power lines and service facilities and
social overhead capital like schools, universities and hospitals. These factors are also needed to be considered by location
decisions as infrastructure is enormously expensive to build and for most manufacturing activities the existing stock of
infrastructure provides physical restrictions on location possibilities.

LOCATION THEORY:
Alfred Weber, a German economist, enunciated a systematic theory of industrial location in 1909.
Webers theory of location is purely deductive in its approach. He analyzed the factors that determine the
location of industry and classified these factors into two divisions. These are:
(i) Primary causes of regional distribution of industry (regional factors)
(ii) Secondary causes (agglomerative and deglomerative factors) that are responsible for redistribution of
industry.
(i) Primary Causes (Regional Factors)
According to Weber, transport costs and labour costs are the two regional factors on which his pure theory is
based. Assuming that there are no other factors that influence the distribution of industry, except transportation
costs. Then it is clear that the location of industry will be pulled to those locations which have the lowest
transportation costs. The key factors that determine transportation costs are
(i) the weight to be transported and

(ii) the distance to be covered.

Weber lists some more factors which influence the transportation costs such as (a) the type of transportation
system and the extent of its use, (b) the nature of the region and kinds of roads, (c) the nature of goods
themselves, i.e., the qualities which, besides weight, determine the facility of transportation.
However, the location of the place of production must be determined in relation to the place of consumption and
to the most advantageously located material deposits. Thus, locational figures are created. These locational
figures depend upon (a) the type of material deposits and (b) the nature of transformation into products.
Weber classifies and calls those raw materials, which are available practically everywhere as ubiquities (like
brick-clay, water, etc) and localized (like iron-ore, minerals, wood, etc) which are available only in certain
regions. It is clear that localized materials play a more important role on the industry than the ubiquities.
Further, regarding the nature of the transformation of materials into products, Weber categorized the raw
materials as pure and weight losing. Pure materials impart their total weight to the products (eg. cotton,
wool, etc) and the materials are said to be weight losing if only a part enters into the product (eg. wood, coal,
etc.). Hence, the location of industries using weight-losing materials is drawn towards their deposits and that of
industries using pure-materials towards the consumption centers.
Weber further examines the cause of deviation of industrial location from the centers of least transport costs.
The existence of differences in labour costs leads an industry to deviate from the optimal point of transport
orientation. Geographical distribution of the population would give rise to differences in wages for labour.
Naturally, the transport oriented location of an industry is drawn out and attracted towards the cheaper labour
centers. Such migration of an industry from a point of minimum transport costs to a cheaper labour centre may
be likely to occur only where the savings in the cost of labour are larger than the additional costs of transport
which it ought to incur.
(ii) Secondary Causes (Agglomerative and Deglomerative Factors)
An agglomerative factor is an advantage or a cheapening of production or marketing which results from the fact
that production is carried on at one place. A deglomerative factor is a cheapening of production which results
from the decentralization of production i.e., production in more than one place. To some extent these
agglomerative and deglomerative factors also contribute to local accumulation and distribution of industry.
These factors will operate only within the general framework formed by the two regional factors, i.e., costs of
transportation and costs of labour. The advantages which could be derived in this context are external
economies.
The pulls which the agglomerative factors possess to attract an industry to a particular point are mainly
dependent on two factors. Firstly, on the index of manufacture (the proportion of manufacturing costs to the
total weight of the product) and secondly, on the locational weight (the total weight to be transported during all
the stages of production). To deduce a general principle, Weber uses the concept of co-efficient of
manufacture which is the ratio of manufacturing cost to locational weight. Agglomeration is encouraged with
high co-efficient of manufacture and deglomeration with low co-efficient of manufacture and these tendencies
are inherent in their nature.
Split Location:

Productive activities could be divided depending on the nature of raw-materials, industry and market. Weber
considers the location for an industry at more than one place. According to Weber, a split of production into
several locations will be the rule for productive process which can technically be split. For instance, the first
stage of production may be near the raw material deposits and the subsequent stages near the place of final
consumption. Likewise, in a paper industry the manufacture of pulp may be carried on near the supplies of the
raw materials and the second stage of paper manufacture near the consumption outlet.
Locational Coupling:
Weber also conceived the advantages of setting up different types of industries in the same locality. The
production of quite different articles may be combined in one plant because several raw materials may diverge
from a common source. This may be either due to technical or economic reasons: for instance, certain chemical
industries, garments factories which manufacture over-coats, shawls, blouses, etc. Locational coupling may also
occur due to connection through materials. If the by-product of an industry happens to be the raw material of
another industry, then the two industries may select a single place of location. For instance, the dye-stuff
industry is connected with other industries using coke, because coal tar (upon which the dye-stuff industry is
based) is a by-product of the burning coke.
Criticisms:
Webers theory of location has been criticized on various grounds which may be summarized as follows:
1. Weber has been criticized for his unrealistic approach and deductive reasoning. According to Sargant
Florence, vague generalizations cannot provide suitable solutions to the theory of location as non-economic
considerations will also influence which are not mentioned in the pure theory. He says that Webers theory fails
to explain locations resulting from historical and social forces.
2. A.Predohl criticizes Webers theory as more a selective theory than a deductive theory. The very distinction
between primary and secondary is itself artificial, illogical and arbitrary.
3. Weber assumes fixed labour centers and unlimited supplies of labour which are unrealistic. The rise of
industry may create new labour centers and we cannot assume unlimited labour supplies at any centre.
4. In a competitive market structure, the assumption of fixed points of consumption is unrealistic. Country-wise
scattering, usually, of consuming public is a reality and there may be a shift in the consuming centers with a
shift in industrial population.
5. A. Robinson also considers Webers division of raw materials into ubiquities and localized as artificial.
Webers deductive theory of location, in spite of the shortcomings, is the only theory which has been neither
enjoying the universal acceptance and application, as all the other alternative suggestions are neither complete
nor comprehensive.
STEPS IN FACILITY LOCATION SELECTION:

Developing a formal and generic location model is very difficult as a number of diverse factors affect the
location decision. A complete study of all the sites available for evaluating and identifying an optimal one is
very expensive and time consuming. Though location decisions are long-range decisions, there is a lot of scope
for approximation and inference. So, instead of optimal decisions, satisfying decisions are developed by
approximation.
The actual approach to the location decision process varies with the size and scope of operations of the firm.
Though there is no standard procedure, the following steps serve as a guideline for making a location decision:
Define the Location Objectives and Associated Constraints
The location objectives and associated constraints are defined on the basis of the views and requirements of the
promoters, owners, employees, suppliers and customers of the firm.
Identify the Relevant Decision Criteria
Firms should select a location by formulating relevant decision criteria. The criteria should include several
economic factors such as labor and material costs, and non-economic factors such as impact of the plant on the
surrounding environment.
Relate the Objectives to the Criteria Using Appropriate Models
Using the models like break-even analysis, linear programming, and qualitative factor analysis, the relevant
decision criteria should be evaluated. Though it is preferred to model the location decision process in a
systematic and quantitative manner, it is difficult to quantify the intangible criteria. Therefore, the judgment of
responsible managers is taken into consideration to obtain a solution.
Do Field Research to Get Relevant Data and Use the Models to Evaluate Alternative Locations
Firms should collect the possible primary and secondary data to evaluate different alternative locations. Primary
data is the data that is collected for a specific purpose for the first time. Firms mainly use survey methods like
personal interviews, telephonic interviews, and mail interviews to collect the primary data. Secondary data is
the data that is already available but might have been collected for some other purpose or by some other
institutions. Publications of Center for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), Journals of Federation of Indian
Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), Central Statistical Organization (CSO) are some of the
secondary data sources. Firms collect the possible primary and secondary data and evaluate different alternative
locations on the basis of this data using the given decision criterion.
Select the Location that Best Satisfies the Criteria
A location, which can meet the defined objectives, is able to satisfy the criteria and provides benefits to the
community should be selected.

PLANNING TOOLS & TECHNIQUES IN PLANT LAYOUT:

In designing or improving the plan of plant layout, certain techniques or tools are developed and are in common
use today. The techniques or tools are as follows:
1. Charts and diagrams:
In order to achieve work simplification, production engineers make use of several charts and diagrams for
summarizing and analyzing production process and procedure. These include

Operation process chart: It subdivides the process into separate operations and inspection. When a
variety of parts and products are manufactured which follow a different path across several floor areas,
an operation process chart may be necessary for the important material items or products. The flow lines
of the charts indicate the sequence of all operation in the manufacturing cycle.

Flow process chart: This chart is the graphic summary of all the activities taking place on the
production floor of an existing plant. By preparing this type of chart, it can be found out as to where
operations can be eliminated, rearranged, combined, simplified or subdivided for greater economy.

Process flow diagram: The diagram is both supplement and substitute of process flow chart. It helps in
tracing the movement of material on a floor plan or layout drawing. A diagram may be drawn to scale on
the original floor plan to show the movement of work. It is a good technique to show long materials
hauls and backtracking of present layouts, thereby indicating how the present layout may be improved.
Colored lines can show the flow of several standards products.

Layouts, thereby indicating how the present layout may be improved. Colored lines can show the flow of
several standard products. This diagram can be used to analyze the effectiveness of the arrangement of the plant
activities, the location of specific machines, and the allocation of space. It shows how a more logical
arrangement and economical flow of work can be devised.
2. Machines data card: This card provides full information necessary for the placement and layout of
equipment. The cards are prepared separately for each machine. The information generally given on these cards
include facts about the machine such as capacity of the machines, scape occupied, power requirements,
handling devices required and dimensions.
3. Templates: Template is the drawing of a machine or tool cut out from the sheet of paper. Cutting to scale
shows the area occupied by a machine. The plant layout engineer prepares a floor plan on the basis of reel vent
information made available to him. The template technique is an important technique because (i) it eliminates

unnecessary handlings, (ii) minimize backtracking of materials, (iii) it makes the mechanical handling possible,
(iv) it provides a visual picture of proposed or existing plan of layout at one place, (v) it offers flexibility to
meet future changes in the production requirements.
4. Scale models: Though the two-dimensional templates are now in extensive use in the fields of layout
engineering but it is not much use to executives who cannot understand and manipulate them .One important
drawback of template technique is that it leaves the volume, depth, height and clearance of the machines to the
imaginations of the reader of the drawing. These drawbacks of the template technique have been removed
through the development of miniature scale models of machinery and equipment cast in metal. With scale
models, it has now become possible to move tiny figures of men and machines around in miniature factory .The
miniature machines and models of material handling equipment are placed in a miniature plant and moved
around in pawn on a chessboard.
5. Layout drawings: Completed layouts are generally represented by drawings of the plant showing wall,
columns, stairways, machines and other equipments, storage areas and office areas.
The above techniques and tools are used for the planning of layout for the new plant.
RECENT TRENDS IN LAYOUT
Plant layout is the art and science of bringing to gather men, materials, methods and supporting facilities in the
form of a given arrangements that suits individuals industrial activity to have the benefits of profits
maximizations through economy, efficiency, effectiveness and productivity. The designing and instilling a
layout is the responsibility of Engineering and planning department. The process of preparing layout is an art
and well as science. The recent trends in layout are as follow:

The use of computerized facilities design:

The various techniques have been developed and used in layout engineering such as ALDEP (Automated layout
design program), CORELAP (Computerized relationship layout planning), CRAFT (computerized related
allocation of facilities technique), CALP (computer Aided layout planning) etc. These and other programme can
save time and effort in large and complex layout problems.

The use of various tools and techniques for planning the layout.

The commonly used technique is use are templates, model equipments, layout drawing etc.
Templates: Is pattern which consists of thin plate of wood or metal which serves as gauge or guide
in mechanical work. A plant layout template is a scaled representation of physical object in a layout.
Model equipment: Model or three dimensional models represents machinery installed in a factory. It
is a replica or a miniature prototype of machine and equipment. These show minor details and can be mounted
on a thick plastic sheet.
Layout drawing: Layout drawings are the replica of a factory floor plan showing the space
management. It is blue print which indicates the total square feet where all the equipment has to be arranged.
Plot plan: Is a miniature of the entire factory building including the facilities of workers.
Line balance: is phase of assembly line study that equally divides then works to be done among
workers so that the total number of employees required is minimum. OR concepts like linear programming,
dynamic programming and optimal methods are used to study line balance problem.