Suppose we want to arrange the 4 departments within a production facility to min
ID: 467267 • Letter: S
Question
Suppose we want to arrange the 4 departments within a production facility to minimize the total interdepartmental material handling cost.
All departments have the same space requirement, 20 feet by 20 feet. The production facility is 40 feet by 40 feet. Materials are transported in a standard-size crate. The transportation cost is $1 per crate between adjacent departments. Only horizontal and vertical moves are allowed in this case. Therefore, for a layout as following, it would cost $2 per crate to transport from Department 1 to Department 4.
Department 1
Department 2
Department 3
Department 4
The table below summarizes the interdepartmental flows we need to manage. For example, a total of 50 crates need to be transported between Department 1 and Department 2. And a total of 75 crates need to be transported between Department 1 and Department 3.
Pair of Departments
Number of crates
1-2
50
1-3
75
1-4
30
2-3
40
2-4
0
3-4
60
Now consider the following process layout:
Department 1
Department 4
Department 2
Department 3
For each pair of departments listed in the table that summarizes the material flows, how much does it cost to transport the required amount of material? For each pair of departments, please provide at least one step of calculation and the correct answer for full credit.
Can somebody help me, I need in about an hour, thanks
Department 1
Department 2
Department 3
Department 4
Explanation / Answer
For the first process layout:
Calculate the total transport cost using the layout information and between department movement data.
Cost of inter adjacent department data transport is 1$ and only horizontal and vertical moves are allowed in this case.
Using Layout 1, we can calculate total transport cost shown in the below table:
Department 1
Department 2
Department 3
Department 4
Calculation shown below:
Step1:
Transport cost between Department 1-2 = Number of crates x Rate/Crate = 50 x 1 = $ 50
Step 2:
Repeat the first step for all other pair of departments shown in the below table.
Step 3: Sum of all transport costs for layout 1 (sum of last column) = $325
Pair of departments
Number of crates
Rate /crate
Transport cost
1-2
50
1
50
1-3
75
1
75
1-4
30
2
60
2-3
40
2
80
2-4
0
1
0
3-4
60
1
60
Total cost of transport for Layout 1 =
325
Using Layout 2, we can calculate total transport cost shown in the below table:
Department 1
Department 4
Department 2
Department 3
Calculation shown below for layout 2:
Step1:
Transport cost between Department 1-2 = Number of crates x Rate/Crate = 50 x 1 = $ 50
Step 2:
Repeat the first step for all other pair of departments shown in the below table.
Step 3: Sum of all transport costs for layout 1 (sum of last column) = $330
Pair of departments
Number of crates
Rate /crate
Transport cost
1-2
50
1
50
1-3
75
2
150
1-4
30
1
30
2-3
40
1
40
2-4
0
2
0
3-4
60
1
60
Total cost of transport for Layout 2 =
330
We need to choose the lowest transportation cost layout. Here we choose layout 1 because transportation cost is $325.
Department 1
Department 2
Department 3
Department 4