Page 597 - Introduction to Business

CHAPTER 16 Managing Business Operations 571

oriented layout. In a fixed-position layout, the product stays in one place, while the fixed-position layout A layout where
workers, materials, and equipment come to the product for manufacturing or serv- the product stays in one place, while
the workers, materials, and equipment
ice operations. This layout minimizes the movement of the product and often times come to the product for manufacturing
is the only feasible option. Examples of production systems that use fixed-position or service operations
layouts are manufacturing ships; building highways, bridges, dams, and houses;
and mining and oil exploration. Notice that fixed-position layouts go hand in hand
with project processes.
A process-oriented layout organizes the different activity centers by function. process-oriented layout A layout where
For example, in Exhibit 16.7a, the layout for a furniture manufacturer has been the different activity centers are
organized by function
decided by grouping people, materials, machines, and equipment according to the
functions they provide: office, cutting, drilling, sanding, gluing, painting, and pack-
aging. As another example, in Exhibit 16.7b, the layout for an emergency room has EXHIBIT 16.7
also been organized by function: admissions, triage, laboratory, radiology, surgery, Examples of a Process-
pharmacy, and beds. Oriented Layout
In both layouts the goods and customers,
A Furniture Manufacturer An Emergency Room
respectively, will only visit those activity centers
that are needed. That is, in the furniture manu- Painting Packaging Beds
facturing process, some goods will require paint- Surgery
ing and some other goods will not require Sanding Gluing Pharmacy
painting. Similarly, in the emergency room,
some patients will require surgery while some Cutting Drilling Laboratory Radiology
others will not. Both job processes and batch
processes lead to process-oriented layouts. Office Admissions Triage
A product-oriented layout is one where pro-
duction resources are dedicated to products. For example, another furniture manu- product-oriented layout A layout where
facturer, instead of grouping all cutting machines in a cutting area, all drilling production resources are dedicated to
products
machines into a drilling area, and so on, could consider a product-oriented layout
such as the one in Exhibit 16.8, where the different machines are assigned to product
families, say, desks, chairs, and tables, according to their production requirements.

EXHIBIT 16.8
Example of a Product-Oriented Layout for a Furniture Manufacturer

OFFICE

Product Family A: Desks

Raw Finished
materials Cutting Drilling Gluing Painting Packaging goods

Product Family B: Chairs

Raw Finished
materials Cutting Sanding Gluing Painting Packaging goods

Product Family C: Tables

Raw Finished
materials Cutting Drilling Sanding Gluing Packaging goods

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