Facility layout problems are an important class of operations research problems that has been studied for several decades. Most variants of facility layout are NP-hard, therefore global optimal solutions are difficult or impossible to compute in reasonable time. Mathematical optimization approaches that guarantee global optimality of solutions or tight bounds on the global optimal value have nevertheless been successfully applied to several variants of facility layout. This review covers three classes of layout problems, namely row layout, unequal-areas layout, and multifloor layout. We summarize the main contributions to the area made using mathematical optimization, mostly mixed integer linear optimization and conic optimization. For each class of problems, we also briefly discuss directions that remain open for future research.

Mathematical optimization approaches for facility layout problems: The state-of-the-art and future research directions

The concept of reconfigurable manufacturing systems (RMSs) is a current subject that has attracted intensive research. This latter covers the entire RMS life cycle, from the design to the exploitat...

Reconfigurable manufacturing systems from an optimisation perspective: a focused review of literature

Facility layout planning (FLP) involves a set of design problems related to the arrangement of the elements that shape industrial production systems in a physical space. The fact that they are cons...

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00207543.2021.1897176

Facility layout planning. An extended literature review

The layout is an important issue in the design of manufacturing systems. In conventional systems, the layout rarely changes after the initial design. However, as the market demands are changing more frequently, layout configurations must be capable of reconfiguring the arrangement of resources to suit new production requirements, while minimising material handling and relocation costs and maximising savings in material flow and inventory costs. This paper presents a literature review on the layout design of reconfigurable manufacturing systems (RMS), focusing on reconfigurable layouts, which have been attracting increasing attention in recent years. A systematic literature network analysis was applied to identify trends, evolutionary trajectories and key issues that are influencing the development of knowledge in this field of study. The results are analysed and discussed using a bibliometric and a chronological citation network analysis. The major findings of this research includes (1) the layout design of RMS must be integrated in the process of RMS design, which, in turn, should be considered as a cyclic process, instead of divided into phases. (2) The core characteristics of reconfigurability and the layout design cannot be dissociated. (3) Operational performance measures are rarely considered in the reconfigurable layout problem, despite their importance. (4) Optimisation approaches have been widely used to solve the reconfigurable layout problem. However, they might not be the most suitable approach to deal with the uncertainty and variability present in manufacturing environments in which reconfigurable layouts are required. Finally, this paper identifies gaps in the literature and suggests directions for future research.

The layout design in reconfigurable manufacturing systems: a literature review

Global market competition and fluctuating customers’ demands require manufacturing enterprises to focus on cost reduction and efficiency improvement to increase competitiveness and sustainability. ...

Combination of Lean value-oriented conception and facility layout design for even more significant efficiency improvement and cost reduction

Facility layout problem (FLP) is defined as the placement of facilities in a plant area, with the aim of determining the most effective arrangement in accordance with some criteria or objectives under certain constraints, such as shape, size, orientation, and pick-up/drop-off point of the facilities. It has been over six decades since Koopmans and Beckmann published their seminal paper on modeling the FLP. Since then, there have been improvements to these researchers’ original quadratic assignment problem. However, research on many aspects of the FLP is still in its initial stage; hence, the issue is an interesting field to work on. Here, a review of literature is made by referring to numerous papers about FLPs. The study is mainly motivated by the current and prospective trends of research on such points as layout evolution, workshop characteristics, problem formulation, and solution methodologies. It points to gaps in the literature and suggests promising directions for future research on FLP.

Sepideh Fereidouni

Papers

Classification of facility layout problems: a review study