Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
1134771 | Computers & Industrial Engineering | 2011 | 9 Pages |
We present an efficient iterative heuristic procedure for solving the integrated layout design and product flow assignment problem. The layout design decisions involve planar location of unequal-area machines with duplicates. The product flows are assigned to machines according to the product processing routes. The integrated decision problem is a nonlinear mixed integer model which cannot be efficiently solved using classical methods for large problems. We propose a novel integrated heuristic procedure based on the alternating heuristic, a perturbation algorithm and sequential location heuristic. Since the alternating heuristic between facility layout design and product-machine assignment sub-problems terminates with local optima, we developed a perturbation algorithm based on assignment decisions. The results of an experimental study show that proposed procedure is both efficient and effective in identifying quality solutions for small to very large-sized problems.
Research highlights► We consider the integrated layout design and product flow assignment problem. ► The integrated decision problem is a nonlinear mixed integer model which cannot be efficiently solved using classical methods for large problems. ► We propose a novel integrated heuristic procedure based on the alternating heuristic, a perturbation algorithm and sequential location heuristic. ► Our experimental study results show that proposed procedure is both efficient and effective in identifying quality solutions for small to very large-sized problem instances.