A Missouri job shop has four departments-machining (M), dipping in a chemical bath (D), finishing (F), and plating (P)-assigned to four work areas. The operations manager, Mary Marrs, has gathered the following data for this job shop as it is currently laid out (Plan A).
100s of Workplace Moved Between Work Areas Each Year Plan A
|
|
M
|
D
|
F
|
P
|
|
M
|
-
|
6
|
18
|
2
|
|
D
|
-
|
-
|
4
|
2
|
|
F
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
18
|
|
P
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
Distance Between Work Areas (Departments) in Feet
|
|
M
|
D
|
F
|
P
|
|
M
|
-
|
20
|
12
|
8
|
|
D
|
-
|
-
|
6
|
10
|
|
F
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
4
|
|
P
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
It costs $0.50 to move 1 work piece 1 foot in the job shop. Marrs's goal is to find a layout that has the lowest material handling cost.
a) Determine cost of the current layout, Plan A, from the data above.
b) One alternative is to switch those departments with the high loads, namely, finishing (F) and plating (P), which alters the distance between them and machining (M) and dipping (D), as follows:
Distance Between Work Areas (Departments) in Feet Plan B
|
|
M
|
D
|
F
|
P
|
|
M
|
-
|
20
|
8
|
12
|
|
D
|
-
|
-
|
10
|
6
|
|
F
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
4
|
|
P
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
What is the cost of this layout?
c) Marrs now wants you to evaluate Plan C, which also switches milling (M) and drilling (D), below.
Distance Between Work Areas (Departments) in Feet Plan C
|
|
M
|
D
|
F
|
P
|
|
M
|
-
|
20
|
10
|
6
|
|
D
|
-
|
-
|
8
|
12
|
|
F
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
4
|
|
P
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
What is the cost of this layout?
d) Which layout is best from a cost perspective?