Q2) (a) Facility layout and design is an important component of a business's overall operations, both in terms of maximizing the effectiveness of the production process and meeting the needs of employees. The basic objective of layout is to ensure a smooth flow of work, material, and information through a system. The basic meaning of facility is the space in which a business's activities take place. The layout and design of that space impact greatly how the work is done. The flow of work, materials, and information through the system.

The key to good facility layout and design is the integration of the needs of people (personnel and customers), materials (raw, finishes, and in process), and machinery in such a way that they create a single, well-functioning system. The objective of layout strategy is to develop an effective and efficient layout that will meet the firms competitive requirements.

Chuan Lee is a owner of Chuan Enterprises, a machine shop is planning to move from small to a new and larger location. The new building will be 60 feet long and 40 feet wide. Chuan Lee envisions the building as having six department of production areas, roughly equal in size. Chuan Lee has developed the following matrix to indicate distance between the six work areas as shown Table Q2(a). The cost of moving one load between adjacent departments is RM10. Moving a load between nonadjacent departments cost RM20

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Table Q2(a): Distance between work areas at Chuan Enterprises Distance Between Work Areas Deparment Material Welding Drills Lathes Grinders Benders Material 5 30 20 15 20 Welding 15 10 Drills 35 5 Lathes 10 0 Grinders 5 Benders 40 10 20 i. Construct Interdepartmental Flow Graph of current layout ii. Propose the new and improved layout of the new building iii. Prepare justifications of proposed layout based on Q2(a)(ii) iv. Outline THREE (3) factors that should be considered when designing office layout