A Cluster-Analytic Approach to Facility Layout

Michael Scriabin and Roger C. Vergin
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Michael Scriabin: Laboratory for Applied Research in Computer Systems (ARCS), British Columbia Institute of Technology, 3700 Willingdon Avenue, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada V5G 3H2
Roger C. Vergin: Faculty of Business Administration, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada V5A 1S6

Management Science, 1985, vol. 31, issue 1, 33-49

Abstract: Due to the combinatorial nature of the facility layout problem, current heuristic computer procedures do not always provide better solutions than visual methods. A new algorithm, FLAC (Facility Layout by Analysis of Clusters), is described which emulates the visual methods used by industrial engineers in solving facility layout problems. Initially side-stepping the combinatorial nature of the problem, FLAC is found to perform well in problems with high as well as low flow dominance, and in the presence and absence of line dominance. Computation time is attractive, especially on larger problems.

Keywords: facilities/equipment planning: layout; statistics: cluster analysis; networks/graphs: flow algorithms (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1985
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:inm:ormnsc:v:31:y:1985:i:1:p:33-49

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