Operations Management: Processes and Supply Chains, 12th Edition

Step 2: Develop a Block Plan

The space available for a layout can be represented in a block plan, which allocates available space to operations and indicates their placement relative to each other. To describe a new facility layout, the plan need only provide the facility's dimensions and space allocations. When an existing facility layout is being modified, the current block plan is also needed. OBM's available space is 150 feet by 100 feet, or 15,000 square feet. The designer could begin the design by dividing the total amount of space into six equal blocks ($50\times 50,$ or 2,500 square feet each). The equal-space approximation shown in Figure K.1 is sufficient until the detailed layout stage, when larger departments (such as administration) ...