Below we explain main types of plant layout, oriented to process, product, cellular or fixed position. In this layout distribution the activities are organized in a functional way, without any relationship with the product, which will be moved from one activity to next one in each operation.
Definition: Plant Layout involves the optimum physical arrangement of the economic activity centres so that they are easily manageable. It aims at finding the quickest route for efficient material flow at minimum cost.
Plant layout is the overall arrangement of the production process, store-room, stock-room, tool-room, material handling equipment, aisles, racks and sub-stores, employee services and all other accessories required for facilitation of the production in the factory.
Describe four major types of facility layouts: process, product, cellular, and fixed position. The next step in production planning is deciding on plant layout—how equipment, machinery, and people will be arranged to make the production process as efficient as possible.
Introduction – classification of layout, advantages and limitations of different layouts, layout design procedures, over view of the plant layout. Heuristics for plant layout-ALDEP, CORELAP, CRAFT, Group Layout, Fixed position layout- Quadratic assignment model. Branch and bound method.
A fixed-position layout is appropriate for a product that is too large or too heavy to move. For example, battleships are not produced on an assembly line. Other fixed-position layout examples include construction (e.g., buildings, dams, and electric or nuclear power plants), shipbuilding, aircraft, aerospace, farming, drilling for oil, home ...
The fulfilling the objectives of a good layout as per yearly product requirement and product types, the layouts are classified into four major categories namely fixed or position layout, line or product layout, process or functional layout and combination or group layout.
Fixed Position Layout: This type of layout is the least important for today's manufacturing industries. In this type of layout the major component remain in a fixed location, other materials, parts, tools, machinery, man power and other supporting equipment's are brought to this location.
This layout is also called as Static Layout or fixed Location Layout Example - In hospital, the robotics (Equipments) are fixed in operation theatre and they are flexible to move as per doctor's directions while performing an surgery
Plant layout refers to the physical arrangement of production facilities. It is the configuration of departments, work centres and equipment in the conversion process. It is a floor plan of the physical facilities, which are used in production.