Page 223 - DMGT206_PRODUCTION_AND_OPERATIONS_MANAGEMENT

Production and Operations Management

Notes
Table 11.2: Area Required by Different Departments
Department Area required in sq. ft.
A -Turning Department (Lathes) 1000
B Shaping Department 900
C -Drilling Department 650
D -Milling Department 750
E -Grinding Department 1100
F -Inspection Department 1200
Store -Incoming 1200
Store -Finished Stock 1200
Total 8000

The spiral method works under following assumptions:
1. The department shape is a combination of square and rectangles.
2. The area of a department varies only slightly with peripheral changes in its shape.

The solution is arrived at by trial and error. The following steps are taken:
1. The activity area is located. Each activity is located in such a manner that the serviced area
and servicing areas are located with a common periphery.

2. Around each of the service activity areas arrange their subsequent servicing or serviced
areas, again maintaining necessary areas assignment for each.

Figure 11.5: A feasible Arrangement by using the Spiral Method

Stores D
E Stock

B

A C F

This process is continued until all departments have been located. Using this schematic, the
departments should be so arranged that a department has at least some common boundary with
each of the departments from which it receives material or to which it delivers material. This
will ensure that material from a department is moved to another department with minimum
cost. This is a trial and error procedure. It does not guarantee that an optimal solution will be
obtained. Also, the solution may not be unique. One of the possible arrangements by this
method for our example is shown in Figure above.

Computerized Relative Allocation of Facilities Technique (CRAFT)—Use of Software to solve
layout problem
A number of computerized layout programs have been developed since the 1970s to help devise
good process layouts. One such program that is widely applied is the Computerized Relative
Allocation of Facilities Technique (CRAFT). The CRAFT method also follows the same basic
idea as the ‘Travel Chart Technique’, but with some operational differences. It requires a load

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