i) Fixed-position layout:

In a fixed-position layout, the product stays in a fixed position. Its component parts are produced in remote workstations and brought to the production area for final assembly. Increasingly, self-managed teams are using fixed-position layouts. Different teams assemble each component part and then send the parts to the final assembly team, which makes the final product. A fixed-position layout is commonly used for products such as jet airliners, mainframe computers, and gas turbines—products that are complex and difficult to assemble or so large that moving them from one workstation to another would be difficult. Even companies that specialize in office architecture have rethought their workspaces.

For example:

• Motorway construction – the product is too large to move.
• Open-heart surgery – patients are too delicate to move.
• High-class service restaurant – customers would object to being moved to where food is prepared.
• Shipbuilding – the product is too large to move.
• Mainframe computer maintenance – the product is too big and probably too delicate to move, and the customer might object to bringing it in for repair.

(2 marks for explanation + 1 mark for any 1 example)

ii) Process/Functional layout:

In a process layout, similar resources or processes are located together. This may be because it is convenient to group them together, or that the utilization of transforming resources is improved. It means that when products, information, or customers flow through the operation, they will take a route from activity to activity according to their needs. Different products or customers will have different needs and therefore take different routes. Usually, this makes the flow pattern in the operation very complex.

Examples of functional layouts include:

• Hospital – Some processes (for example, X-ray machines and laboratories) are required by several types of patients; some processes (for example, general wards) can achieve high staff and bed utilization.
• Machining the parts which go into aircraft engines – Some processes (for example, heat treatment) need specialist support (heat and fume extraction); some processes (for example, machining centers) require the same technical support from specialist setter-operators; some processes (for example, grinding machines) get high machine utilization as all parts which need grinding pass through a single grinding section.
• Supermarket – Some products, such as tinned goods, are convenient to restock if grouped together. Some areas, such as those holding frozen vegetables, need the common technology of freezer cabinets. Others, such as the areas holding fresh vegetables, might be together because, that way, they can be made to look attractive to customers.

(2 marks for explanation + 1 mark for any 1 example)

iii) Line (Product) layout:

Line layout involves locating the transforming resources entirely for the convenience of the transformed resources. Each product, piece of information, or customer follows a prearranged route in which the sequence of activities that are required matches the sequence in which the processes have been located. The transformed resources “flow” along a “line” of processes according to their “product” needs. This is why this type of layout is sometimes called flow or product layout. Flow is clear, predictable, and therefore relatively easy to control. Usually, it is the standardized requirements of the product or service that led to operations choosing line layouts.

Examples of line layout include:

• Automobile assembly – Almost all variants of the same model require the same sequence of processes.
• Mass-immunization program – All customers require the same sequence of clerical, medical, and counseling activities.
• Self-service cafeteria – Generally, the sequence of customer requirements (starter, main course, dessert, and drink) is common to all customers, but layout also helps control customer flow.

(2 marks for explanation + 1 mark for any 1 example + 1 mark for Professional Presentation)