Product Layouts and Group Technologies Essay -- Operations Management

Product Layouts and Group Technologies In today’s world of operations management, layouts of manufacturing processes play a key role in achieving and maintaining long term goals. These layouts need to be well thought out and carefully planned for they can effect the cost or producing goods and delivering services for many years into the future. Layouts are dependent on the technology utilized and product type manufactured. There are four typical layouts: process layout, product layout, fixed position layout and combination layout. A combination layout is a layout that shares properties of two or more layouts. Such as a group technology layout that shares characteristics of a process layout and a product layout. They’re similar in that the cells are designed to perform a specific set of processes, and it is similar to product layout in that the cells are dedicated to a limited range of products. Each layout usually involves compromise and balancing of the process variables and it’s always debatable whether the perfect layout actually exists. â€Å"The purpose of layout planning is: to maximize the efficiency and profitability of a manufacturing operation to allow consistency and quality in products to be produced to allow flexibility and ease of adaptation for machinery and production personnel to products as required by the market†(Anonymous 2). Some characteristics of a good layout would be minimum material movement, workstations close together, easily adjustable to changing conditions and one plant floor so that everyone can see what’s going on. To define and explain, a product layout is a product-orientated layout that is appropriate for producing one standardized product in typically large volumes. Each unit being produced requires the same sequence of operations from beginning till end. During times when product demand is high enough and sustainable over a long period of time, it is usually cost effective to rearrange resources from a process layout to a product layout. In certain cases the equipment layouts are arranged so that the product in manufactured in a sequential and continuous arrangement. A good example would be an assembly line. Assembly lines can vary widely either they can be virtually 100 percent parts assembly by workers or by a transfer line where all the work being done is by machine. An assembly line is ... ...erformance. For example the decision to adopt a process layout which often groups workers according to skills may not be compatible with an operation requiring some persons of all skills to produce a variety of different products. For process and product layouts, the design begins with a statement of the goals and facility. Preliminary layouts are then designed to meet these goals. After initial designs have been developed, improved designs are sought through numerical analysis and discussion with the users. The development of a layout should involve everyone that it is effecting. Computer based models can be used for preliminary estimations to create some preliminary layouts using CAD or similar drawing software. The layouts then can be analyzed against the goals of the facility and improvement made if necessary. In summary while there are a lot of tools for good layout planning and each layout are dependent on the type of products and external variables impacting on the manufacturing process. A skilled layout planner working with manufacturing staff and management should work through objectives and options to determine the optimal solution for a given facility. Product Layouts and Group Technologies Essay -- Operations Management Product Layouts and Group Technologies In today’s world of operations management, layouts of manufacturing processes play a key role in achieving and maintaining long term goals. These layouts need to be well thought out and carefully planned for they can effect the cost or producing goods and delivering services for many years into the future. Layouts are dependent on the technology utilized and product type manufactured. There are four typical layouts: process layout, product layout, fixed position layout and combination layout. A combination layout is a layout that shares properties of two or more layouts. Such as a group technology layout that shares characteristics of a process layout and a product layout. They’re similar in that the cells are designed to perform a specific set of processes, and it is similar to product layout in that the cells are dedicated to a limited range of products. Each layout usually involves compromise and balancing of the process variables and it’s always debatable whether the perfect layout actually exists. â€Å"The purpose of layout planning is: to maximize the efficiency and profitability of a manufacturing operation to allow consistency and quality in products to be produced to allow flexibility and ease of adaptation for machinery and production personnel to products as required by the market†(Anonymous 2). Some characteristics of a good layout would be minimum material movement, workstations close together, easily adjustable to changing conditions and one plant floor so that everyone can see what’s going on. To define and explain, a product layout is a product-orientated layout that is appropriate for producing one standardized product in typically large volumes. Each unit being produced requires the same sequence of operations from beginning till end. During times when product demand is high enough and sustainable over a long period of time, it is usually cost effective to rearrange resources from a process layout to a product layout. In certain cases the equipment layouts are arranged so that the product in manufactured in a sequential and continuous arrangement. A good example would be an assembly line. Assembly lines can vary widely either they can be virtually 100 percent parts assembly by workers or by a transfer line where all the work being done is by machine. An assembly line is ... ...erformance. For example the decision to adopt a process layout which often groups workers according to skills may not be compatible with an operation requiring some persons of all skills to produce a variety of different products. For process and product layouts, the design begins with a statement of the goals and facility. Preliminary layouts are then designed to meet these goals. After initial designs have been developed, improved designs are sought through numerical analysis and discussion with the users. The development of a layout should involve everyone that it is effecting. Computer based models can be used for preliminary estimations to create some preliminary layouts using CAD or similar drawing software. The layouts then can be analyzed against the goals of the facility and improvement made if necessary. In summary while there are a lot of tools for good layout planning and each layout are dependent on the type of products and external variables impacting on the manufacturing process. A skilled layout planner working with manufacturing staff and management should work through objectives and options to determine the optimal solution for a given facility.