The document discusses facility layout and plant layout planning. It addresses configuring the flow of materials, equipment, and workstations. Questions to consider include which centers to include, how much space they need, how to configure their space, and where to locate them. The objectives of a good plant layout are to improve space utilization, material and information flow, employee morale and safety, production capacity, and reduce costs and bottlenecks.

1. Facility Layout
Configuration of departments, work –centres and equipment and
machinery with focus on the flow of materials or work through the
production system.
Planning for location of all machines, equipments, utilities, work
stations, customer service areas, materials storage areas, tools
servicing areas, rest rooms, lunch rooms, offices, and computer
rooms and also planning for the patterns of flow of materials and
people around, into and within the buildings.

2. Layout Planning
Involves decisions about the physical arrangement of economic
activity centres within the facility.
Questions to be addressed in layout planning are:
What centres should the layout include?
How much space and capacity does each centre need?
How should each centre’s space be configured?
Where should each centre be located?

3. The Need for Layout Decisions:
1) One of the key decisions that determine the long run efficiency in
operations.
2) Establishes an organization's competitive priorities in regard to
capacity, process, flexibility and cost as well as quality of work
life, customer contact and image.
3) Helps to achieve a strategic advantage that supports
differentiation, low cost, fast response or flexibility.

4. Objectives of a Good Plant Layout
1) Higher utilization of space, equipment and people.
2) Improved flow of materials, information and people.
3) Improved employee morale and safe working conditions.
4) Improved production capacity.
5) Reduced material handling costs.

5. 6) Reduced bottleneck centres.
7) Reduced health hazards and accidents.
8) Efficient utilization of labor, reduced idle time of labor and
equipment.
9) To provide ease of supervision and maintenance.
10) To facilitate better coordination and face to face communication
where needed.