In
manufacturing engineering
Manufacturing engineering or production engineering is a branch of professional engineering that shares many common concepts and ideas with other fields of engineering such as mechanical, chemical, electrical, and industrial engineering.
Manufa ...
, a product layout refers to a production system where the work stations and equipment are located along the line of production, as with
assembly line
An assembly line is a manufacturing process (often called a ''progressive assembly'') in which parts (usually interchangeable parts) are added as the semi-finished assembly moves from workstation to workstation where the parts are added in se ...
s.
Usually, work units are moved along line (not necessarily a
geometric line, but a set of interconnected work stations) by a
conveyor
A conveyor system is a common piece of mechanical handling equipment that moves materials from one location to another. Conveyors are especially useful in applications involving the transport of heavy or bulky materials. Conveyor systems allow ...
. Work is done in small amounts at each of the work stations on the line. To use the product layout, the total work to be performed must be dividable into small
tasks that can be assigned to each of the workstations.
Because the work stations each do small amounts of work, the stations utilize specific techniques and equipment tailored to the individual job they are assigned. This can lead to a higher rate of production.
See also
*
Process layout
In manufacturing engineering, process layout is a design for the floor plan
A plan is typically any diagram or list of steps with details of timing and resources, used to achieve an objective to do something. It is commonly understood as a t ...
References
*Mikell P. Groover (2007). Work Systems: The Methods, Measurement & Management of Work. Prentice Hall.
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Industrial engineering
Production and manufacturing