In both manufacturing and service operations, the relative location of facilities is a critical decision affecting costs and efficiency of operations. The facility layout problem (FLP) deals with the design of layouts wherein a given number of discrete entities are to be located in a given space. The definitions of entities and spaces can vary considerably, making solution techniques applicable in a wide variety of settings, as can be seen from the examples given below.
Entities |
Space |
---|---|
Departments |
Office building |
Departments |
Factory floor |
Departments |
Hospital |
Interdependent plants |
Geographical market |
Indicators and controls |
Control panel |
Components |
Electronic boards |
Keys |
Typewriter keyboard |
We first discuss approaches used to model the FLP, followed by optimal algorithms and heuristic approaches to solving these problems, and end with some remarks concerning directions for future research.
THE QUADRATIC ASSIGNMENT FORMULATION
The FLP is most often treated in the OR/MS literature as the...
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Kaku, B.K. (2001). Facilities layout. In: Gass, S.I., Harris, C.M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Operations Research and Management Science. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-0611-X_326
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