Manish Kumar, M.L. Mittal
Abstract
This paper deals with the Facility Layout Problem (FLP), an important problem having its applicability in manufacturing as well as service organizations. In most of the existing approaches, the aspect ratios of the facilities are considered during optimization which has high probability of missing the optimal solution. In the current research the facilities are considered to be square during optimization, the resulting layout is then modified according to requirement of aspect ratios for the facilities. An algorithm is developed which is based on Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), a recent meta-heuristic approach which has been applied to a wide variety of engineering optimization problems. The proposed algorithm is applied for improving layout of an automotive parts manufacturing company. Results have shown considerable improvement in the layout of the company.
Keywords- Particle swarm optimization; Facility layout problem; Meta-heuristic method; Optimization