An Efficient Algorithm for Using a Perimeter Distance Metric in Unequal Area Facility Layout

The unequal area facility layout problem has been studied using several distance metrics in the objective function, most commonly rectilinear distance and Euclidean distance between departmental centroids. This paper modifies the distance metric to consider material travel along the perimeter of the departments to and from input/output locations. This perimeter distance metric is used in the objective function to produce facility layouts that optimize simultaneous design of departmental shapes, departmental placement and location of the input/output points. The perimeter distance metric is more reflective of actual material flow than is the centroid metric, and is calculated using a network formulation that is quite computationally efficient. The new distance metric and its use in facility design are illustrated using several test problems from the literature.