CHAPTER SUMMARY

Layouts make a substantial difference in operating efficiency.

The seven layout situations discussed in this chapter are

$(1)$ office, $(2)$ retail, $(3)$ warehouse, $(4)$ fixed position,

$(5)$ process oriented, $(6)$ work cells, and $(7)$ product oriented.

A variety of techniques have been developed to solve these

layout problems. Office layouts often seek to maximize infor$-$

mation flows, retail firms focus on product exposure, and

warehouses attempt to optimize the trade$-$off between storage

space and material handling cost.

The fixed$-$position layout problem attempts to minimize

material handling costs within the constraint of limited

space at the site. Process layouts minimize travel distances

times the number of trips. Product lay,

outs focus on reducing waste and the

imbalance in an assembly line. Work

cells are the result of identifying a farm.

ily of products that justify a special con$-$

figuration of machinery and equipment

that reduces material travel and adjusts

cross$-$trained personnel.

Often, the issues in a layout problem are

that finding an optimal solution is not possible, por por this

son, layout decisions, although the subject of sob bretery

research effort, remain something of an art.