Plant Layout

The main thing to concentrate here is the no. of machines used to match the capacity of
the plant. And the good way among few is to decide optimum output for one line and
multiply it with total no. of lines.
Another thing to note here is:
For setting a factory of one sewing machine we require
around 175sqft of area.
So from operation bulletin we now total no. of machines to be set up! say 5""! so total
area required will roughly be equal to 5""#175$ %75""sqft.
&enerally the ratio of cutting: sewing: finishing is 1.1: 3.0:1.3.
Importance of aisles
Plant space economy: - Whereas a small building 20 ft wide may have one aisle 3
0r 6 ft wide ta!ing 2" to 30 percent of the available floor space a building 600ft
wide may have three main aisles down centre and sides 300ft apart each #0 ft
wide ta!ing only 3 percent of the space with secondary aisles raising this to #0 to
#2 percent given to aisles in large plant$
%here should usually be a main aisle through the centre of the building straight if
at all possible starting and ending at outside entrances$
Below are some points that we should consider on macro level before getting into
details of each section:-
1. 'hole co(ered area should ha(e two aisles:
a) *rimary + ,t should be -ft wide.
b) Secondary + ,t should be .ft wide.
/. Temperature: 0ormal temperature should be between 1%
o
1. to /2.5
o
1.
3. 0oise 45posure: 4mployees should not be sub6ected to more than %5
decibels during the woring hours.
.. 7a8ardous material storage: 9il! chemicals and other ha8ardous and
combustible materials to be stored in secured and (entilated areas near the
e5terior wall of the building and the same disposed in a safe and legal
manner.
5. 7.:. office should be accessible from both inside and outside the
factory and should be close to the swing floor.
-. ;aintenance and machine storage room should be close to the
production floor.
7. Training room should be (ery far to the production floor cutting any
in(ol(ement of new 6oiner<s with factory operators.
%. 'hene(er possible one should a(oid long sewing lines! racs as they
hinder the mo(ement of man and material when mo(ing from one side
to other. ;a5imum running length should be %%ft. 7owe(er not (alid
if we are using trolley<s.
2. 0o offices should be there on production floor.
1". 0o sitting arrangements should be there e5cept for operators.
&ow before moving further to planning of each independent section it is important to
note some points that are common to layout of each and every section :-
1. There should be at least two e5its per floor! on opposite sides of the room.
/. 45it doors to ha(e a minimum width of 3- inches. The floor on each
side of the e5it door should be le(el on both sides.
3. The doors should open on the outside.
.. All e5it routes must be unobstructed at all times. 45it to be within /"" ft of
all employees
5. 4mployee worstations to be no more than /"" feet from an e5it.
-. Fire e5tinguishers appropriate to the types of possible fires in the (arious
areas of the factory! to be regularly maintained and charged! the date of their
last inspection to be displayed! and to be mounted on walls and columns
throughout the factory so they are (isible and accessible to worers in all
areas. Facility floor ma5imum tra(el distance 75 feet and=or warehouse 1
per 1!""" sq ft
7. Fire e5tinguishers to be mounted on walls and columns! ma5imum
.<-> feet ?1.5 meters) abo(e ground.
%. Fire 45tinguisher within 75 feet for any employee.
2. All emergency e5its to be equipped with emergency lighting! and all
e5it routes adequately lighted. 4mergency lighting has to be pro(ided
for up to -" minutes.
1". Fire alarms should be placed on each floor and emergency lights
should be placed abo(e e5its and on the stairwells. The alarm should
be audible throughout the factory.
11. F,:ST + A,@
The factory should ha(e at least one wellAstoced first aid
it on e(ery factory floor and trained specific staff in basic
first aid.
The bo5 should be located on the production floor and
should ha(e at least one it for e(ery 1"" worers. First aid
it contents:
o Adhesi(e bandages Adhesi(e tape
o Ammonia inhalants Antiseptic wipes
o Burn cream 1ombine pad
o @isposable glo(es 4lastic bandages
o 4ye wash First aid cream
o Fle5ible fabric bandages Forceps ?twee8ers)
o ,nstant cold pacs Alcohol
o Basic medicines a(ailable o(er the counter without
prescription
Factory should ha(e procedures for dealing with serious
in6uries that require medical treatment outside the factory.
At least 1A/ super(isors or other personnel! per floor to be
trained in basic first aid or 1*: procedures.
1/. @:,0C,0& 'AT4::
There should be at least one purified drining station for
each production floor! clearly mared.
4mployees should ha(e free access to drining water at all
times.
13. T9,D4TS:A
There should be separate toilets for both genders depending
upon the number of employees of each gender.
The toilet requirement to be as follows:
No of Employees Minimum number of Water closets
1 to 15 1
16 to 35 2
36 to 55 3
56 to 80 4
81 to 110 5
111 to 150 6
Above 150 One additional fixture for each additional 40
employees
&ents urinal to be ept in same ratio! where male employees
are more.
The restroom should be well lit and (entilated! cleaned
regularly and ha(e clean running water! soap! toilet paper and
hand drying capabilities.
The factory should ha(e 1 sin per e(ery 5" worers.
Toilets to be easily accessible! with a(ailability on each floor
and no unreasonable restrictions imposed on usage.
Toilets to be pro(ided with supplies of soap! towels! and toilet
paper ?for 'estern style toilets)
SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT
STPs are needed if there is no gutter ine in the area to
te!"orari# store se$age $aste% $hi&h ater on &an 'e ta(en
'# !uni&i"ait#. No. of su&h "ants de"ends u"on the "eo"e
in the fa&tor# and the fre)uen&# of !uni&i"ait# se$age
$aste &oe&tors. *o$e+er te&hni&a "erson shoud 'e
&onta&ted to ad+i&e on sa!e.
1.. All stairways must ha(e proper railings .Though it is good to use ramp
instead of stairs.
STA:T,0& ',T7 DAE9FT
&ow for the detailed setting of each department let us assume that we are planning to
start a "00 m'c basic men(s shirts factory with daily production of )000 shirts$
&ow the first step will be calculation of area we !now for setting one sewing machine:-
*rea re+uired is #,"s+ft so for "00 m'c total area re+uired will be #,"-"00.),"00s+ft$
%his will act as a chec! point that if a client wants to set up a "00 machine factory the
covered area should be ),"00s+ft considering the LAND C!"#A$" AND %&' limits
of the region$
&ow after ma!ing the operation bulletin we would have /eroed upon the 0*1 of a basic
shirt the ne2t step is to reach the optimum output per line at #003 efficiency after
balancing$
4et(s say it come )00 shirts') hr'line$ &ow to match target output will have to set #0 lines
producing )00 shirts')hr'line further it will also give us the no$ of operators helpers line
feeders supervisor 5 6$7 to run the line$
%he fig$ say is operator- 8) helper- 9 line feeder-2 6$7$ : " per line multiply it with #0
to arrive at total figures$
;n basis of this the layout of all departments is as follows:-
1. ,A-R./ ST0RE:
It should have access from outside as well as inside the factory$ <or store layout it is very
necessary to !now the form in which we(ll receive the raw material$
If it is in form of rolls then the dimensions li!e #oll Diameter And #oll Length will
play crucial roll in deciding the storage system usually rac!s and hence the layout$
&ow daily production . )000 shirts ' day
<abric consumption for solids . #$6"mt chec!s . 2$2mt
%otal fabric re+uired will be . )000-2=avg$> . #6000mts$ - no$ of days of inventory
planned =#0> . # 60000mts
&ow roll diameter . #ft roll length =fabric width ? handle> . , ft
1eters of fabric on roll . 90- #"0mt =average . #00>
0o total rolls re+uired per day is . #60 total rolls re+uired for #0 days . #600
@olume available on truc! . 960 cu$mts$ =appro2$>
%otal truc!s re+uired to bring re+uired rolls =#600> . #0$ %his means at least one truc!
will be there in the factory each day$
So! proper space should be there outside the store for mo(ement of at least two trucs
simultaneously.
And entry to store should be big for easy unloading of raw material through trucs
directly and proper unloading system should be in place lie slides! trolleys etc.
&ow the store should have following divisions:-
a1 Anloading area:- %he place should have rac! space e+ual to the 3 fabric
chec!ing we want to happen i$e$ if we want #03 out of total received fabric
to be inspected then the rac! space should be e+ual to around 203 of daily
received fabric which in this case is #600mts . 30 rolls $
'1 7hec!ing area: - It should include space for chec!ing machines or tables in
case of manual chec!ing ho$e+er the no. of ta'es and !a&hines &an 'e
&a&uated '# di+iding the tota ength to 'e ins"e&ted '# &he&(ing s"eed.
&1 1ain storage area: - *fter unloading the rolls should move to this place after
!eeping aside #03 of total rolls aside for chec!ing in unloading area rac!s$
*nd it should have an arrangement of rac!s for storing fabric e+ual to the
inventory planned i$e$ for #0 days$
Ma2i!u! height of ra&(s shoud not 'e !ore than 3 ft and running ength
shoud not 'e !ore than 33 ft. *nd rac! should be slightly above the floor to
avoid e2cessive bending but it is advisable to use vertical space with proper
arrangement of unloading it from height$
&ow if we use height of rac!s as )ft then leaving ground clearance 5 space
between each roll we can easily place " rolls in one column and in length of
)) ft we can easily place 60 such columns$
%hat means 300 rolls can be placed in one such arrangement and we need
around 6 such arrangements to accommodate #600 rolls of inventory$
d1 0toc! lot area: - %his can be utili/ed to store any e2tra'left over fabric from
the current lot$ %he area for this depends upon the space available after
allocating space to above mention$
4. /5TT.NG
Pieces to be cut daily . daily production . )000 ? "3 e2tra . )"00 shirts
*verage consumption per shirt. 2mt so total fabric re+uired to be cut . #,000mts$
<rom above we are sure that we have to plan a cutting room with capacity to cut )"00
shirts$
&ow the ne2t step should be to decide what mar!er we are planning to do which is
directly proportional to:-
o %he length of table re+uired to lay the fabric e$g$ a si2 way mar!er will re+uire to
lay fabric up to #2mt on one table$
o 0pace available in the cutting room i$e$ if there is no room to put a #2mt table
then we can(t plan a si2 way mar!er$
4et(s say we decided to do si2 way mar!ers now the calculations are as follows:-
%otal garment to be cut in one lay . 6
&o$ of plies . #"0
%otal garments cut in one lay . 900
%he important thing to consider is the ratio of solids to chec! say it is "0:"0
0preading of one lay of solids with #"0 plies on a si2 way mar!er will ta!e around 2 hrs
7utting of same lay will ta!e around # hr if done with straight !nife by two cutters$
,or soids:6
<urther calculations of no$ of tables re+uired will depend on the cutting time i$e$ if in # hr
one can cut 900 garments then in " hrs the pieces cut with si2 way mar!er will be. 8"00$
0o for cutting to happen continuously the cutter should always have the spread ready for
ne2t cutting for this to happen we should have at ma2 3 spreading tables as it ta!es 2 hrs
to lay #"0 plies on a si2 way mar!er$
,or &he&(s:6
0preading time for a lay of #"0 plies on a si2 way mar!er . 2$"hrs
7utting time for same when doing bloc! cutting . # hr =with one cutter>
0o here also we re+uire 3 spreading tables$
Tota s"reading ta'es 7 8
/utters 7 3
S"readers 7 149t$o "er ta'e1
Straight (nife 7 :
<rom here the cut pieces will move to band !nife however chec!s will be relayed before
band !nife cutting$
0*1 of relaying one whole garment by one operator . 3 minutes
%otal time to relay 82"0 pieces . 2""00 which translates into 2, relay helpers$
%ime to cut relayed pieces on band !nife . #) seconds
0o total no$ of band !nives re+uired . 6
Rea# he"ers 7 4;
-and (nife 7 8
Rea#ing ta'es 7 ; of 3ft<8ft
0o area of cutting room depends upon the area re+uired to place all these tables plus
given below:-
,using !a&hine 9arge 'ed1 7 4 for &oar% &uff% fa" = &oar 'and.
Roer fusing !a&hine 7 4 for front "a&(et.
>#e &utting !a&hine.
*rea of these can be ac+uired from catalogues given by manufacturers$
Bowever when we are using automatic cutting and spreading the calculations done
above will depend again on the cutting 5spreading speed which further can be your
criteria in choosing these machines$ %he calculations done above can help in doing for
your investment$
*o$e+er the aises running in &utting roo! 'et$een ta'es $i foo$ the
s"e&ifi&ation:6
:ft for !an !o+e!ent s"a&e ? 3ft for troe#.
/utting roo! shoud aso ha+e s"a&e for storing &ut "arts e)ua to the da#s of
in+entor# "anned. /a&uations for that are aread# e2"ained in store se&tion.
3. SEW.NG
a) <or setting sewing room the basic re+uirement is no$ of machines helper
5 chec!ing tables
*nd the operation bulletin will give these figures$ 0ay for "00 machine shirt(s factory the
figures above mentioned are:-
Ma&hine6 :3% he"er ta'e6 @% &he&(ing ta'es A B
b) &ow ne2t step should be what material movement system is planned$
I$ <or over head system : distance between two machines and two lines
will depend upon the specification given by the vendor of such systems$
II$ <or centre table :
i$ Width of table should be : #" inches for preparatory 5 28 inches
for assembly as assembly involves handling of larger parts$
ii$ Cistance between two machines in a line should be 22 inches
with or without wor! aids i$e$ space for entering the wor!station
should be 22 inches$
iii$ Cistance between two lines should be 8 ft i$e$ straight line
distance from the end of ma2imum width machine in a line to the
start of another machine in another line$
III$ <or trolley movement :
i$ Instead of centre table the space will be used for movements of
trolleys with in the line so this space should be around )-#0 ft$
ii$ Cistance between two lines should be 6ft for easier movement in
between lines$
Note: 6 ,or an# of the s#ste! $e shoud a+oid ong ines usua# not !ore than 33ft
'e&ause it resuts in in&reased !o+e!ent fro! one side to another% so there shoud 'e
'rea( after 33ft.
c) The placement of machines should be such that one side of operator should
always be free for mo(ement i.e. when using centre table the operators either
side of table should face each other as this way they will always be disposing
to their right side which has centre table.
d) Two pigeon hole should be placed one at start of line before preparatory to
store cut parts to load to preparatory and one after preparatory G before
assembly to load parts to assembly.
e) Attention should be laid on fact that flow of wor should be smooth in the
line with proper demarcation as to how a bundle will mo(e in the line.
:. ,.N.S*.NG
%he layout of finishing depends upon the product being produced$
., T*ERE .S N0 WAS*.NG T*EN WE /AN *ACE A PA/DE> P0LE -AG
05TP5T ,R0M EN> 0, SEW.NG L.NE AS .N T*.S /ASE T*ERE .S N0 NEE>
T0 S0RT T*E P.E/ES S*A>E AN> S.FE W.SE.
,0R WAS*.NG% T*EN% ALL T*ESE PR0/ESSES S*05L> -E A PART 0, T*E
,.N.S*.NG AREA AN> SPA/E S*05L> ALS0 -E ALL0/ATE> T0 S0RT.NG
-E,0RE /ART0N PA/D.NG.
"%%L("N) )#"A)*"N) PLAN) + If washing is in house then D%P can(t be
dispensed with though apparel par!s have centrali/ed D%P(s but it is critical to chec!
their capacity$ %he main purpose of D%P is to recycle chemical rich water so that it can be
used for gardening mopping cleaning toilets etc$
Actually the need to have an ")P depend upon the local laws i,e$ whether the factory
should have:-
EDF; CI07B*FGD$
3 CI07B*FGD *44;WDC$
The last two steps will be ,.NAL A5>.T = /ART0N PA/D.NG both should be in
finishing room whate(er the case may be.
&ow if followed above calculation and steps the area re+uired for maHor operations in a
garment factory can be calculated however for proper functioning space should also be
allocated to below departments:-
"$ Internal 4aboratory
6$ 7*C room
,$ 7utting room waste storage
)$ **1% training center
9$ 1aintenance room
#0$ 1achine storage
##$ Provision for 1etal disposal
#2$ ;ffice space for 2"-30 people and 0ample room
#3$ 7ompressor room Ciesel storage Generator area Par!ing area
#8$ 0taff dining room 1edical room crIche$
-., /or0er1s canteen:-
)he total area re2uired for setting up canteen hinges on the information
whether the canteen will be having coo0ing facility or not,
Area re2uired without coo0ing, + -34-.s2ft per person,
Area re2uired with co0ing, + 5.s2ft per person