Directorate of distance education

Overview of the Layout Question
The techniques and methods used to determine facility layout 
depend upon the process used in operations. Product-oriented layouts 
are used in continuous flow shops, assembly lines, batch operations, 
manufacturing cells, and flexible manufacturing systems to take advantage 
of an dominant product flow. 
In most cases, the layout is obvious once the production sequence 
is determined. Basing the facility layout on this flow allows the firm to 
reduce the cost of moving materials and people around the facility. In 
process-oriented layouts, products and people move around the facility in 
many different paths.
Finding the layout that serves these different paths requires a 
different, more detailed, approach to facility layout. The methods and 
techniques for facility layout for each process type are discussed in the 
remainder of the chapter. A fixed-position layout, which is used for 
projects that make large one-or-a kind products, is discussed in the project 
management chapter. 
The following list provides some examples of companies for each 
process type.
Continuous Flow Shop
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Sorting mail
—The U.S. Postal Services sorts millions of pieces of 
bulk mail daily.
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Making paper
—Longview Fibre transforms trees into wood pulp, 
continuously.
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Transaction processing
—Citibank processes checks, Amazon.
com processes customer orders, the federal government processes 
FAFSA (financial aid forms).

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Assembly lines
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Automobiles
—DaimlerChrysler assembles automobiles.
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Food preparation
—DiGiorno assembles frozen pizza for your 
supermarkets.
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