Introduction to Facilities

Design
Chapter 1

Chronological list of facilities

planning and design activities
Date

Event

4000 B.C.

Egyptians developed expertise in finding suitable locations for

pyramids according to their astrological calculations

100 B.C. B 100

Romans developed full-fledged methods for the construction of

A.D.

temples, arenas, and other buildings. Detailed planning of public

and residential buildings

1700 B 1900
1910

Industrial revolution period

First industrial engineering text book Factory Organization and
Administration published by Hugo Diemer.

1913

First moving automotive assembly line introduced by Henry

Ford.

Chronological list of facilities

planning and design activities
1954

Quadratic assignment problem for micro- andmcro-levl location

problems introduced by Koopmans and Beckman

1955-1995

Optimal and heuristic algorithms for the quadratic assignment

problem

1959

Systematic layout planning approach introduced by Muther

1963

CRAFT (Computerized relative allocation of facilities technique)

introduced by Armour and Buffa

Chronological list of facilities

planning and design activities
Early 1980s

The flexible manufacturing system concept is introduced and

attention shifts towards achieving plant-wide flexibility via
medium-volume, medium-variety production using cellular
manufacturing techniques

Late 1980s

The term automation introduced to cope with plant flexibility

requirements

1985-present

Modern software for facilities design problems

1990s-present

Research on new layout concepts including dynamic layouts,

robust layouts, and reconfigurable layouts introduced to support
mass customization techniques

Typical Design and Planning

Problems
Facility Location

Type, Number of Material

Handling Devices

Determining Flow of
Products (People)

Type, Volume of Products

to be Manufactured or
Service to be Provided

Determining Material
Handling Methods

Scheduling and planning of

Jobs (Service steps)

Manufacturing (Service)
Processes Required

Layout of Equipment
Within Each Cell

Design of Components
(Service)

Layout of Machine
(Service) Cells

Inventory Control

Type, Number of
Equipment Required

Determination of Machine
(Service) Cells

Distribution of goods

Process Planning

Tooling, Fixture
Determination

Quality Control and

Customer Service

Overall System Design

Levels of decisions
Strategic or Design or Long-term
Planning or Intermediate
Operational or short-term

Why is facilities layout important?

20-75% of product cost attributed to
materials handling (Sule, 1991 and
Tompkins et al. 2003)
Layout of facilities affects materials
handling costs
Facilities includes machines, departments,
workstations, locker rooms, service areas,
etc.

Why is facilities layout important?

Good layout increases productivity
efficiency
Reducing congestion permits smooth flow
of people and material
Space utilization is effective and efficient
Facilitates communication and supervision
Safe and pleasant working environment

Constraints in developing facilities

layout
Some pairs of departments must be
adjacent
Some pairs of departments must not be
adjacent
Some departments only in specific
locations
Existing building constraints
OSHA regulations, fire codes, etc.

Types of layout problems Some

examples
JIT manufacturer
Relayout of an existing facility
Relayout due to increased traffic (resulting from
a merger)
Consolidation of manufacturing operations from
two or more sites to one
Leasing of office space in a multi-story building
Find a better layout in existing space
Introduction of new product lines

Types of layout problems

Layout of a service system

Layout of a manufacturing facility
Warehouse layout
Nontraditional layout

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

Service system layout Dentists

office
Staff Lounge

X-Ray Room

Records Room

Orthodontists
Room

Dentists Room

Oral Hygienists
Room

Oral Hygienists
Room

Mens Rest Room

Reception
Waiting
Area

Womens Rest
Room

Service system layout Grocery

store

Operations review for office layouts

(Suskind, 1989)

Is the company outgrowing its space?

Is available space too expensive?
Is building in the proper location?
How will a new layout affect the organization and
service?
Are office operations too centralized or decentralized?
Does the office structure support the strategic plan?
Is the new layout in tune with the companys image
Does customer physically participate in service delivery?

Office structures

Closed structure
Semiclosed structure
Open structure
Semiopen structure

Closed structure

Semiclosed structure

Teller

Teller

Teller

Open structure

Semiopen structure

Manufacturing layout
Minimize transportation cost of raw materials,
sub-assemblies, work-in-process inventory,
tools, parts, finished products, etc.
Facilitate traffic flow
Improve employee morale
Minimize or eliminate risk of injury and property
damage
Ease of supervision and face-to-face
communication

Assembly facility layout

Driveway layout

Warehouse layout

Nontraditional layout

Keyboard layout
IC board layout
Computer disk storage layout
Airport gate layout