Activity relationship chart
An activity relationship chart (ARC) is a tabular means of displaying the closeness rating among all pairs of activities or departments.[1]. In an ARC there are six closeness ratings which may be assigned to each pair of departments, as well as nine reasons for those ratings (each is assigned by a reason code).
Rating symbols
- A: Absolutely necessary
- E: Especially important
- I: Important
- O: Ordinary
- U: Unimportant
- X: Undesirable [2]
Reason codes
- Same table
- Flow of material
- Service
- Convenience
- Inventory control
- Communication
- Same personnel
- Cleanliness
- Flow of parts[2]
A rule of thumb is used to restrict the choice of rating letters:
- Very few A and X relationships (no more than five percent) should be assigned
- No more than 10 percent should be E
- No more than 15 percent should be I
- No more than 20 percent should be O
- About 50 percent of the relationships should be U
Developing an ARC
- List all the departments within the facility, and draw a rectangle around each one.
- Draw a rhombus between each department, until you fully construct the rhombus as a tree.
- Divide each rhombus into two halves; the upper half will contain the rating letter, while the lower half will contain the rating-reason code.
References
- ^ Groover, M. P. (2007). Work Systems: The Methods, Measurement & Management of Work, Prentice Hall, ISBN 9780131406506
- ^ a b Tompkins, J. A., White, J. A., Bozer, Y. A. (2010). Facilities Planning, Wiley, ISBN 9780470444047