Reordenacion y Operacion de Planta Existente de Almacen

PROPUESTA METODOLÓGICA GENERAL PARA LA REORDENACION
Y OPERACIÓN DE UNA PLANTA YA EXISTENTE DE

ALMACENAMIENTO MODULAR PARA PRODUCTOS NO
PERECEDEROS.
GENERAL METHODOLOGICAL PROPOSAL FOR THE REDEVELOPMENT

AND OPERATION OF AN EXISTING MODULAR STORAGE PLANT FOR
NON – PERISHABLE PRODUCTS
Dora María, Londoño Arias ¹

Carlos Alberto, Hincapie Orrego ²
Oscar, Palacio León ³
¹ Administradora de Empresas, Coordinadora Administrativa División Médica, MSD Colombia

Gerencia Logística Integral, Universidad Militar Nueva Granda, Bogotá, Colombia.
Bogotá, D.C., Colombia,
doritaarias69@hotmail.com
² Ingeniero Industrial, Estudiante de posgrado, Gerencia Logística Integral

Universidad Militar Nueva Granda, Bogotá, Colombia.
chincapie@gategourmet.com
Ing. Industrial, M.Sc., Profesor Asistente, Facultad de ingeniería, Investigador grupo ITE
Universidad Militar Nueva Granada, Bogotá D.C, Colombia.
oscar.palacio@unimilitar.edu.co
Resumen: Este documento enumera una serie de modelos que buscan mejorar la productividad de centros de
almacenamiento ya existente; se mencionan modelos cualitativos, usados hace ya varios años en empresas de gran
éxito a nivel mundial; cuantitativos, modelos matemáticos como el modelo lineal de ordenamiento planteado por
Gilberto Hernández en 1986, hoy día el mercado requiere una mayor eficiencia en los procesos logísticos internos,
en especial aquellos en lo que se puede tener el control de un gran numero de variables, como e los centros de
almacenamiento, buscando permanentemente ejecutar sus procesos de forma mas eficientes ahorrando tiempo,
energía y por ende haciéndolos mas rentables en términos de dinero y satisfacción a las partes involucradas.
Palabras Clave: contractibilidad, procesos, modelo lineal de ordenamiento, logística, warehousing.
Abstract: This document lists a series of models that seek to improve the productivity of existing
storage facilities; mentioned qualitative models used for several years very successful
companies worldwide, quantitative mathematical models as the linear model of order raised
by Gilberto Hernandez in 1986, today the market requires greater efficiency in internal logistics processes,
especially those that can take control of a large number of variables, and storage facilities, permanently
seeking execute their processes more efficiently saving time, energy and thus making them more profitable in terms
of money and satisfaction to the parties involved.
Key words: contractility, processes, linear model of management, logistics, warehousing.

Propuesta metodológica general para la reordenación y operación de una planta ya existente de almacenamiento
modular para productos no perecederos
1 Introducción
Los almacenes son entornos altamente dinámicos donde los recursos deben se reasignados en tiempo real para
satisfacer los pedidos del cliente. La economía actual, que dicta y requiere contantemente formas de optimizar
dichos procesos, hacerlos mas eficientes y amigables con el medio ambiente; han generado la necesidad de
desarrollar métodos cualitativos y cuantitativos, heurísticos, que han permitido un desarrollo en los sistemas de
almacenamiento haciéndolos mas prácticos, rápidos, efectivos y rentables. Los métodos cuantitativos, como los
modelos matemáticos exactos propuestos por la escuela en logística operacional de Gianpaolo Ghiani, Gilbert
Laporte y Roberto Musmanno [1], además de los aportes de Gilberto Hernández Pérez [2], Leopoldo M. Zambrelli y
Octavio Carranza [3] y su estudio del warehousing en Latinoamérica; las nuevas técnicas de construcción y
remodelación, como la contructibilidad [4] que si bien son mas cualitativas, permiten el desarrollo de un sistema de
almacenamiento eficiente, amigable con el ambiente y económicamente rentable por los ahorros en términos de
espacio y energía que genera.
Otros tipos de herramientas cualitativas que permiten una mejor organización, la logística esbelta [5], nos brinda
herramientas con el objeto de minimizar desperdicios y defectos en nuestro sistema, los mapas de cadena de valor
que con su metodología minimizan los pasos y tiempos de espera de los procesos, los cuales en ultimas marcan el
desarrollo de una labor diaria mas eficiente.
El análisis realizado a cada uno de los modelos y metodologías, el más recomendado y para el cual se corrió su
aplicación, es el modelo lineal de ordenamiento, junto con el procedimiento de Falk; propuesto por Hernández
Pérez [6] [7] [8]. Ya que como resultado de su aplicación obtenemos una reducción del consumo de energía [9] en
términos de distancias, espacio, transporte, minimizando los costos y optimizando las capacidades de
almacenamiento de las naves, generando mayores ingresos en la organización [10].
2 Constructibilidad
Es una práctica muy eficiente para lograr mejoramientos en la gestión de proyectos de construcción, no solo en
diseños nuevos sino en remodelaciones de construcciones ya existentes. Captura los conocimientos operacionales no
sólo para aplicarlos en la etapa de la construcción, sino sobre todo para aprovecharlas en etapas más tempranas y de
niveles estratégicos como en las etapas de planificación y de diseño [11].
Figura 1. Esquema de constructibilidad

Fuente: VII Congreso Iberoamericano de Construcción y Desarrollo Inmobiliario – M.D.I. Perú 2003
En las estepas anteriores a la construcción, anteproyecto, factibilidad y diseño, la contructibilidad es importante ya

que es en esta etapa donde se encuentra plasmada lo que será la productividad real de la construcción, teniendo en
cuenta el terreno, lo que permite aprovechar su topografía; esto minimiza los costos y el posibles demoras debido a
inesperados problemas comunes en este tipo de proyectos. Aspectos como la información que se debe trasmitir al los
encargados directos de realizar la obra, capataces, maestros de obra, etc., minimiza los retrasos ya que el diseñador
pocas veces tiene claridad sobre las realidad de la construcción; en esta etapa es importante trasmitir de ambas partes
su experiencia y llegar a un acuerdo entre lo que quiere hacer y lo que se puede hacer realmente en el campo.
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2.1 Remodelación de naves de almacenamiento
El decidir modificar, ampliar o remodelar un almacén ya existente, debe ir de la mano de una adecuada
planificación, en la cual se deben tener en cuenta aspectos como la proyección en el tiempo, tipos de modificación
en la estructura, la cual afectara la forma como se realizan los procesos internos, el tipo componentes y nuevas
estructuras, el aprovechamiento de los escombros generados y el destino final de estos en caso de no ser reciclables,
entre otros, son aspectos que afectan y se deben tener en cuenta al memento de realizar una inversión con este
objeto.
Las buenas prácticas de demolición y construcción parten de un enfoque preventivo en la gestión medioambiental,
incidiendo desde la planificación inicial hasta la fase de vida útil de la edificación, de forma que se propicie una
mejora ambiental en todo el proceso [12].
Hay un sin numero de aspectos a tener en cuenta e el momento de realizar una demolición y construcción
respectivamente; las cuales buscan, mejorar el uso de la energía y el aprovechamiento del especio y desperdicios
generados. De los aspectos más relevantes, tenemos:
Proyecto técnico de derribo: elaborar un proyecto que tenga en cuenta la normativa de demolición vigente y
que procure seguridad para el trabajador y el medio ambiente
Demolición Selectiva: empleo de técnicas que permitan la reutilización de material.
Reciclado: Incorporar, en lo posible los materiales en la propia obra y en cualquier caso gestionar los
desechos y residuos de forma que se garantice su reciclado.
El correcto uso y desecho del material usado en la construcción según normatividad vigente.
2.1.2 Materiales de construcción
La correcta decisión a la hora de escoger los materiales que se usaran en las construcciones o remodelaciones, son
claves y deben estar definidas inclusive desde el momento de evaluar la factibilidad del proyecto, como se
mocionaba con anterioridad en la etapa de contructibilidad del mismo. Los materiales actuales permiten una
construcción más rápida y generan mayores ahorros de energía.
Es importante recalcar que a la hora de escoger materiales para la construcción no se debe guiar por la costumbre;
comprar al proveedor de siempre el material de siempre; debe tenerse en cuenta el tipo de constricción y así el tipo
de material a usar. Hoy en el mercado ofrecen mayor variedad de productos y sistemas constructivos, por lo cual se
pueden elegir materiales según la necesidad que se tenga; el listado de opciones es muy variado y en este trabajo
solo se mencionaran algunos de ellos [13].
Los biomateriales como los bioblock, termita, sudorita, cal hidráulica, según su función puede ser
aisladores efectivos y económicos.
El vidrio doble templado ofrece seguridad y aislamiento térmico, puede ser usado en techos o paredes, es
modular y ofrece la ventaja de poder modificarse fácilmente en caso de ser necesario..
Los techos verdes, son cubiertas de material vegetal, aislado con varias capas de material artificial que se
comportara como el paisaje adyacente y mejorara visualmente la edificación. Ofrece ventajas de
aislamiento térmico y es una tendencia que cada día gana más adeptos.
3 Logística Esbelta [14]
El concepto de lean, representa lo esbelto, lo flexible, la velocidad el flujo y la eliminación de los desperdicios. Para
el tema de este trabajo, este tipo de prácticas ofrece de forma cualitativa, métodos simples y muy usados a nivel
mundial que permiten mejorar de forma continua los procesos internos. A continuación se describen tres
herramientas que permiten mejorar el proceso interno de un almacén de productos no perecederos:
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3.1 Los 8 desperdicios
Desperdicio se define como el recurso que rebasa lo necesario para satisfacer las necesidades del cliente; estos deben
ser identificados y minimizados o eliminados:
1. Sobreproducción: Producir en forma anticipada o en mayores cantidades que las requeridas por el cliente.
produzca solo lo que el cliente quiere y cuando lo quiere.
2. Espera: Consiste en gente o partes que esperan la finalización de otro trabajo.
3. Transporte: Consiste en el traslado innecesario de gente y materiales entre procesos.
4. Sobre-procesamiento: Significa procesamiento mayor que el estándar requerido por el cliente.
5. Inventario: Consiste en materias primas, trabajo inconcluso o productos terminados en mayor numero que
el requerido para mantener flujo.
6. Re-trabajo: Consiste en la repetición o corrección de un proceso.
7. Movimiento: Es el movimiento innecesario de gente o maquinas dentro de un proceso.
8. Potencial de la gente: Consiste en ignorar o menospreciar las capacidades del personal.
Una adecuada identificación de estos desperdicios, su eliminación o minimización garantizaran la ejecución de las
labores de una forma mas eficiente, ahorrando tiempo, energía y por ende dinero.
3.1.2 Metodología de las 5s.
Las 5s, por sus iniciales en ingles, es la metodología necesaria para lograr rediseño de las estaciones de trabajo a
través de 5 pasos en dos etapas básicas, identificación y eliminación de desperdicios y mantenimiento de la mejora:
1. Seleccionar: Determine que es necesario en el área de trabajo y retire los excedentes.

2. Planee un layout optimo; reconfigure el área para que coincida con el layout planeado.
3. Sanitizar: limpie toda el área de trabajo, incluyendo los pisas, paredes, equipos, etc..
4. Estandarizar: defina que se debe hacer de forma regular, para mantener el área de trabajo; establezca un
enfoque estandarizado.
5. Sostener: una vez alcanzados los objetivos propuestos, desarrolle una hoja de auditorias e impleméntela en
el proceso.
Estos pasos, ya son usados en el mudo hace varios años en diferentes industrias con resultados favorables en cuanto
a minimización de pasos en el proceso, re direccionamiento del personal y ahorro de recursos varios.
3.1.3 Cartografía de la cadena de valor
Una cadena de valor el conjunto de acciones (tanto de valor agregado como las que no agregan valor) que se
necesitan para mover un producto o acción en un proceso productivo. Es una herramienta gerencial que identifica
fuentes de ventaja competitiva y hasta puede eliminar procesos innecesarios en la cotidianidad de una empresa,
cualquiera que sea su objeto.
Para explicar el análisis de la cadena de valor nos basamos en el análisis de Porter, quien propuso este concepto de
cadena de valor. Porter distingue entre actividades primarias y actividades de apoyo. Las actividades primarias a las
que se refiere Porter son aquellas relacionadas con la transformación de los inputs y la relación con el cliente.
Las actividades de apoyo están más relacionadas con las estructura de la empresa para poder desarrollar todo el
proceso productivo.
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Figura 2. Concepto cadena de valor

Fuente: Este cuadro pertenece al sitio AulaFácil.com, Estrategia/Lección 32
4 Metodologías para el reordenamiento de naves de almacenamiento
Con el propósito de desarrollar un modelo de sistema que permita determinar el ordenamiento óptimo de los
materiales en los lugares disponibles de almacenamiento, liberar espacio y minimizar el costo del transporte. Se
plantean varios modelos [15].
4.1 Consideraciones sobre el diseño y operación de las naves de almacenamiento
4.1.1 Reorganización del Almacén Actual [16]
Uno de los aspectos aparentes más sencillo pero que en la práctica resulta más complicado es el de la distribución
del espacio disponible en un almacén. Las decisiones sobre la distribución general de un almacén deben satisfacer
las siguientes necesidades de un sistema de almacenamiento:
Un eficiente aprovechamiento del espacio

Reducir al mínimo la manipulación de los materiales
Facilidad de acceso al producto almacenado
El máximo índice de rotación posible
Flexibilidad máxima para la colocación del producto
Facilidad de control de las cantidades almacenadas
La grafica, nos muestra la relación existente entre los diferentes factores a la hora de reorganizar un almacén [17].
Figura 3. Como diseñar y organizar el almacén.

Fuente: Mauleón, Mikel (Autor). Sistemas de almacenaje y picking. España: Ediciones Díaz de Santos, 2003. p ii.
http://site.ebrary.com/lib/umng/Doc?id=10045545&page=56
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En cualquier almacén, como principal premisa deben estar perfectamente definidas las siguientes zonas:
Zona de carga y descarga: Las zonas de carga y descargas para camiones pueden ser de dos tipos,
integradas en el almacén o bien independientes de este.
Zonas integradas en el almacén: Son las que están construidas directamente en los laterales del almacén, de
forma de la carga y la descarga de las mercancías se realizan directamente [18].
Zonas de cargas y descargas independientes: Son aquellas que están localizadas fuera del almacén, aunque
siempre en su entorno.
Zona de almacenaje: Esta únicamente destinada para este fin.
Zona de preparación de pedidos: Estas zonas no son imprescindibles en todos los almacenes. Sólo en
aquellos en los que la mercancía tenga una composición diferente a la de entrada
4.1.2 Sistemas de almacenamiento
Para almacenar mercancías en estantería (sirve también para los almacenes a bloque) bien si es de pallets o en cajas,
existen dos métodos:
Almacenamiento ordenado o a hueco fijo

Almacenamiento caótico o a hueco variable
Figura 4. Sistemas de almacenaje.

Fuente: Mauleón, Mikel (Autor). Sistemas de almacenaje y picking. España: Ediciones Díaz de Santos, 2003. p ii.
4.1.3 Tipos de Almacenamiento
Racks con montacarga convencional: Altura 4-6 mts /pasillo 3.5 mts.
Racks con montacarga retractil: Altura 6-8 mts / Pasillo 2.5 metros
Racks con montacarga trilateral: Altura 12-16 mts/Pasillo 1.5 metros
Racks auto portantes con trans-elevador: Altura 30 o mas metros / pasillo 1 metro
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La utilización del espacio, según los tipos de racks se muestra en la siguiente grafica.
TRANSELEVADORES
TRILATERALES
RETRACTIL
CONVENCIONAL
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7
METROS CUADRADOS POR ESTIBA
Figura 5. Utilización del espacio

Fuente: Manual técnico de almacenaje. MECALUX. 1.998
4.1.4 Clases de Almacenes [19] [20]
Existen diversas clasificaciones según el punto de vista adoptado. Entre otras cabe mencionar:
Según la naturaleza del Producto: Almacén de materias primas, de semielaborados, de productos

terminados, de piezas de recambio y de material auxiliar: embalajes.
Según la Función Logística: Almacén regulador, de delegación, plataforma, de depósito.
Según las Manipulaciones: Almacenes en bloque (o almacenamiento a bloque), con estanterías y
automáticos.
Según el tipo de estanterías de palets: Estantérias convencionales, compactas o drive in, dinámicas,
móviles, Dis, glide-Rail, especiales.
Almacenes Automáticos :
De cargas Ligeras: Carrusel, paternóster, Shutle o megalift.
Trans elevadores: De pqueño piecerio (mini-load), de palets
Auto portantes
Según la naturalez Jurídica: Almacén propio, almacén en regimen de alquiler y almacenamiento en un
operador logístico.
4.1.5 Tipos de Estanterías
Dentro de los recursos más elementales, pero de gran utilidad, se dispone de las estanterías que permiten utilizar la
capacidad vertical de las bodegas. Dentro de una gran gama de modelos, se destacan las compuestas por conjuntos
de bastidores o parales perforados que permiten ubicar los entrepaños a diversas alturas, condición que ofrece la
opción de adecuarlos a las variaciones de dimensiones de las cargas que se almacenen. Dentro de estas estanterías se
ofrecen diseños para carga pesada, mediana y liviana.
Un sistema de almacenamiento se fundamenta en las dimensiones, peso y unidades de carga por productos existentes
en las instalaciones, así como en las características individuales de cada producto. Se describe a continuación los
tipos de estanterías existentes que facilitan y optimizan las operaciones de un almacén.
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Estanterías para cargas ligeras: Se trata de estanterías destinadas al almacenaje de cargas pequeñas, generalmente
de forma manual, sin paletizar y dispuestas en estantes a varias alturas.
Figura 6: Estantería de carga ligera

Fuente: Mauleón, Mikel (Autor). Sistemas de almacenaje y picking. España: Ediciones Díaz de Santos, 2003. p 14.
Estanterías para paletización compacta: Son bloques de estanterías que se disponen formando calles interiores,
con carriles donde se apoyan los palés. Estas estanterías permiten una utilización máxima del espacio disponible,
que oscila entre 60% y 80%. Con estas estanterías se pueden formar dos tipos de almacenes, los drive-in (entrada en
el interior de los bloques) y los drive-through (circulación por el interior de los bloques).
Figura 7: Estantería de palatización compacta

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Estanterías para palatización Convencional: Se trata de estanterías diseñadas para el almacenamiento de cargas
paletizadas o dispuestas en contenedores, aunque también se pueden utilizar para alojar cargas destinadas a la
preparación de pedidos.
Estanterías para palatización dinámica por gravedad: Este tipo de estantería está diseñado para el almacenaje en
sistema "fifo" (el primero que entra y el primero que sale) y permite una utilización total de la superficie de
almacenamiento disponible.
Figura 8: Estantería de palatización dinámica por gravedad

Estantería para preparación de pedidos manual: Son estanterías ligeras en la que la carga se deposita y retira
manualmente. La capacidad de carga de estas estanterías es de unos 350 Kg, lo que se considera suficiente para este
tipo de actividad, y las medidas suelen ser alrededor de los 2m de alto, por módulo con una profundidad entre 400 y
1200mm.
Estanterías para preparación de pedido dinámica: Se trata de un sistema de estantería dinámica, semejante a las
utilizadas para el almacenamiento dinámico, es decir, dotada de rodillos montados sobre un plano inclinado.
Estanterías en Cantilever: Estas estanterías son diseñadas para el almacenamiento de cargas largas, con barras
metalicas, están constituidas por pilares capaces de soportar grandes pesos, formados por perfiles laminados en
forma de "U" o doble "T" fuertemente anclados al suelo por zapatas de apoyo y arriostrados entre si.
Figura 9: Estantería en cantiléver

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Almacenes Autoportantes: Están construidos de forma que la estructura del oficio está compuesta única y
exclusivamente por estanterías lo que convierte su instalación en una autentica obra de ingeniería.
Figura 10: Almacén auto portante

4.1.6 Lay-out del depósito
Para poder llevar a adelante este análisis es necesario en cada alternativa calcular el aprovechamiento resultante de
pallets por m2, y dejar escrito en los planos de cantidad máxima de pallets a almacenar y tipo de pallets (en caso de
variar las dimensiones del hueco). Asimismo debe tenerse en cuenta otras dimensiones que son [20] El
mantenimiento del orden y la limpieza del depósito, que se ve facilitado con un lay-out que favorezca al mismo;
seguridad ante roturas, incendio y robo: Conveniente segregar productos de peligro de contaminación, incendio etc.
La fortaleza del packaging debe ser considerada ya que a modo de ejemplo si la misma es débil no podrán apilarse
pallets y la alternativa de estiba queda descartada [21].
Figura 11: Layout de almacén de lubricantes

Fuente:http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_DctpjkURpVs/ST1hZpvXDAI/AAAAAAAAAA0/kFOidSPRHPA/s400/layout.gif
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4.1.7 Planeación
Una clave para el éxito de la actividad de almacenaje es realizar un plan de lo que va a realizarse dentro del
depósito, y fuera del mismo, y contar con procedimientos detallados cuidadosamente hechos. En aquellas
operaciones donde no se hace un plan y no se cuenta con procedimientos suelen encontrarse problemas. Incluso para
aquellas situaciones poco frecuentes dentro del depósito, debe contarse con procedimientos, pues es en esas
situaciones donde luego se provocan errores, generando diferencias de inventario, roturas, etc.
Dentro del plan están las decisiones sobre el lay-out del depósito. Hay dos operaciones principales a considerar:
Almacenaje en sí mismo, y el movimiento de los materiales en el depósito, tanto de entrada, de salida, de
preparación etc. Para el almacenaje propiamente dicho, un buen termómetro de un buen plan es el estado de orden y
limpieza del sector. Un buen Lay-out permite fácilmente mantener limpio el depósito, los productos en su lugar, sin
haber mercaderías en pasillos, etc. En las decisiones sobre el lay-out debe considerarse un espacio, para los
productos que se rompen con el manipuleo interno, y áreas para devoluciones de almacenaje deben considerarse que
tipo de materiales se almacenarán y su utilización, por ejemplo: Productos con temperatura controlada, peligrosos,
no paletizados, etc. Algunos productos solo pueden estibarse y hasta una cierta cantidad de veces mientras que
otros pueden ser estibados en estanterías.
4.1.8 Software para ubicar los productos en el almacén (locator Systems)

El problema de optimizar el espacio pero también la utilización del
equipamiento de manipuleo.
Como mejora a futuro se recomienda este software warehousing (se cubre con los sistemas llamados "locator"), que
nos ayuda con el aprovechamiento del espacio, optimización del movimiento de las máquinas, tomar decisiones de
ubicación, movimiento y tiempo de pallets. Este software toma decisiones de donde ubicar un pallet, y luego
solicita la confirmación del movimiento del pallet, debiendo el operador escanerar la posición de destino donde lo ha
dejado, se puede pensar que la productividad de la máquina, o del operador se pueden medir, ya se puede medir el
tiempo en uso y los pallets movidos.
En resumen nos permite observar las horas de actividad y movimientos por máquina, y por operario, para observar
los parámetros de productividad reales, además de proponer otras oportunidades de mejora en el reordenamiento y
operación de una planta [3]. Para esto suelen utilizarse radios o handies (si no hay equipo de radio frecuencia). Es
decir, no se logra la optimización de máquinas por ciclos combinados, pero si por reducir las distancias a recorrer
por mantener ordenado el almacén. Cuando utilizamos los sistemas de gestión de almacenes (WMS = Warehouse
Management Systems).
4.1.9 Warehousing [3]
El concepto de warehousing, abarca todas las actividades concernientes al correcto almacenamiento de productos y
la preparación para su posterior entrega. En muchas ocasiones se entiende simplemente como el almacenaje en si,
esto es un error.
Warehousing, ahora mas que nunca, es visto como un campo de desarrollo crítico para las empresas; en los últimos
10 años, se ha dado un crecimiento de la sofisticación e integración de la función de warehousing dentro de un
contexto logístico mucho más amplio. Ha pasado a ser un arma estratégica que muchas empresas están usando para
mejorar su posición competitiva.
El verdadero valor del warehousing, esta en tener el producto en el momento oportuno y en el lugar correcto. O sea,
warehousing provee la utilidad del tiempo y lugar necesario para que una empresa cumpla con sus objetivos de
servicio; esto organizando y coordinando sus actividades de aprovisionamiento, almacenamiento y posterior entrega.
El proceso de administración de un almacén tiene tres niveles de decisiones determinantes:
1. Estratégicas, sobre toda la red: donde almacenar, sistema de transporte y niveles de inventario.
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2. Tácticas: Diseño del deposito en si mismo, lay-aout. Aquí hay que tener en cuenta la flexibilidad
requerida, por cambios futuros debido a proyecciones gerenciales o imprevistos.
3. Operacionales: Niveles de inventario a lo largo del tiempo (decisiones de reabastecimiento), son
decisiones dinámicas, según el campo, pueden llegar a ser diarias.
Cuando se habla de algoritmos o lógica del almacén se habla de definir al máximo las siguientes reglas:
El proceso de salida de materiales del almacén

El proceso de entradas de materiales del almacén
El proceso de removido de materiales dentro del almacén
El discernimiento o criterio para decidir que hacer con prioridad en caso haber gran demanda simultanea de
los tres movimientos antedichos.
El flujo de materiales en un depósito, se analiza con las siguientes figuras:
Figura 12: Flujo de entrada y salida warehousing

Fuente: Zambrelli, L.M. y Carranza, O., (2002). Warehousing Latinoamérica. Publicado por la Universidad de
Buenos Aires (Argentina) en asocio con la Universidad Panamericana (México)
Figura 13: Flujo de removidos warehousing
12
Fuente: Zambrelli, L.M. y Carranza, O., (2002). Warehousing Latinoamérica. Publicado por la Universidad de
Buenos Aires (Argentina) en asocio con la Universidad Panamericana (México)
Si se analiza el flujo de depósito, podemos ver que hay una secuencia de ciclos a seguir por flujo que es:
Recepción – Del Staging a ET – De Et a almacén – De almacén a ET – De ET a picking/dock – De picking a

stading – De stading a camión.
Como se podrá imaginar el flujo de Entradas-Salidas-Removidos varía de minuto a minuto. Si esta priorización es
rígida, se sufrirán cuellos de botella por acelerarse por ejemplo las salidas, entonces se puede sufrir de faltantes de
producto por demoras en las entradas.
5 Modelos Matemáticos
5.1 Modelo Lineal de Ordenamiento [22].
Este modelo nos permite determinar en que forma deben realizarse todas las asignaciones para minimizar los costos
totales. La información brindada por este modelo es clave en la toma de decisiones, en el momento de fijar una
oferta al cliente, con el monto total a cobrar y el área arrendada a utilizar.
La ubicación de los materiales dentro de una nave de almacenamiento se presenta como un problema de
ordenamiento objeto – lugar, donde los objetos solo tienen relación con los elementos externos, (lugares de
suministro y extracción) entre los objetos, como tales no existe relación alguna [23]. Este método de asignación tiene
básicamente tres pasos [24]; Determinar la tabla de costo de oportunidad, determinar si se puede hacer una
asignación óptima, revisar la tabla de costo total de oportunidad.
De esta forma la función objetivo que se debe minimizar corresponde al gasto de transporte total Qtotal del sistema; o
sea:
Z L
Qtotal Qij Xij minimo (2.1)
i 1 j 1
Para condiciones:
Z
Xij 1 (j = 1,2…,Z) (2.2)
i 1
L
Xij 1 (i = 1,2…,L) (2.3)
j 1
Xij{01 (i,j = 1,2…, Z, L) (2.4)
Una vez obtenida la matriz Q, la matriz de ordenamiento se obtiene mediante la consecución de los pasos siguientes:
Primera paso: Transformación sucesiva de la matriz de los gastos de transporte Q hasta el paso en que cada
fila y columna de la matriz exista al menos un elemento nulo (cero).
Segundo paso: Selección, en primer termino, de aquellos elementos nulos (0) en la matriz transformada que
en cada fila y columna posibilitan un ordenamiento único.
La situación los elementos nulos identifica la colocación del material i (fila) en el lugar j (columna). Después se
seleccionan lo elemento nulos en las filas o columnas donde exista mas de uno de ellos, fijándose aquella posición,
no coincidente con las anteriormente seleccionadas, pues a cada material u objeto le corresponde un solo lugar y
viceversa. Como resultado de este paso y en iteración correspondiente, se obtiene la ubicación óptima de cada
material o grupo de ellos.
13
5.1.1 Aplicación del Modelo
La compañía ABC en cabeza del ingeniero de operaciones rentó los racks dentro de su nave de almacenamiento de
acuerdo con la distribución de espacio que se indica a continuación:
Figura 14. Solución gráfica del ordenamiento de los materiales en el almacén.

Fuente: Hernández Pérez, G. "Fundamentos de la proyección de fábricas de construcción de maquinarias". Editorial
Pueblo y Educación, 1986.
La nave de almacenamiento maneja la capacidad de 400.000 pallets/año, estos pallets requieren espacio de
almacenamiento de 4X4X4pies, pueden ser apilados 4 niveles por modulo. Los racks de pallets consecutivos tienen
8 pies. Los anchos de pasillo son de 10 pies. El costo de manejo de materiales es de 0.001 dólar/pie2 y el costo
anual-pie de muro de perímetro es de $3. La rotación del almacén es de 8 veces/año con una CT de 50.000
posiciones.
Se pide determinar el ordenamiento óptimo de los materiales (Mi) en los lugares disponibles de almacenamiento
(Li), para ello, de forma al que el gasto de transporte total del sistema sea mínimo
5 7 3 31 13 13 131
I= 15 4 4 S= 22 22 13 13
7 3 4 13 13 31 31
7 0 3
355 283 249 339

Q= 609 410 371 641
338 244 254 380
256 165 184 310
Procedimiento Falk [34]
Donde:
Qij - gasto de transporte obtenido cuando el material. i esta ordenado en el lugar j y esta dado por el producto de
Iik Skj , por ejemplo en t * m/año.
Xij - factor que refleja el estado de ordenamiento de un material i en un lugar j ( Xij 1 , cuando la maquina i ocupa
el lugar j y Xij 0 en el caso contrario).
14
K – elemento u objeto externo al sistema considerado, con los cuales están relacionados los i materiales u objetos,
que pertenecen a este.
El punto de partida para aplicar el método es una matriz de gasto de transporte del sistema parcial considerado (Q),
que se obtiene de multiplicar la matriz de intensidad de transporte del sistema (I) con la matriz de las distancias (S) o
sea:
Q=I*S (2.5)
Para ello se recomienda el procedimiento de Falk.
I Q
El material 1 se almacena en la ubicación L4, el material 2 se almacena en la ubicación L3 el material 3 se almacena

en la ubicación L2 y el material 4 en la ubicación L1. Con un costo total de $1210
Variables:
Xij: 1 cuando el material i se encuentra en la ubicación j. y 0 cuando no se ubica ahí.
Minz = 355x11 + 283x12 + 249x13 + 339x14 + 609x21 + 410x22 + 371x23 + 641x24 + 338x31 + 244x32 +
254x33 S.A.
para
Figura 15. Resultado aplicación Modelo Lineal de ordenamiento

Fuente: Pantallazo del software WinQSB Universidad Militar Nueva Granda
15
El material 1 se ubica en la posición L4;

El materia 2 se encuentra en la posición L3;
El material 3 se encuentra en la posición L2,
El material 4 se encuentra en la posición L1
Con Qtotal = $1.210
5.2 El balnaced score card
El Balanced Score Card ha sido el puntal básico a partir del cual se ha esquematizado la solución. El Balanced
Score Web se utiliza para definir la visión, misión, estrategia y objetivos para la empresa y la planificación, control,
apoyo y seguimiento de las actividades diarias. Por otra parte este es muy necesario para involucrar a las personas
claves en la organización [25] [26] [27] [28].
5.3.1 Algoritmo de Ghiani [29].
Para la resolución del problema a través de un modelo lineal se tiene el algoritmo de minimización de costo con
restricción de capacidad de almacenaje, el cuál se resuelve utilizando el método de gradientes.
Variables: para n el numero de productos en el almacén y j=1…n, la variable es la cantidad de productos j a

ordenar en cada pedido.
Parámetros:
kj con j=1…n el costo de re-orden para el producto j
dj con j=1…n la tasa de demanda del producto j
cj con j=1…n el valor del producto j
hj con j=1…n el costo de almacenamiento para el producto j.
aj con j=1…n es el espacio ocupado por el producto j en el almacén.
y b el tamaño del almacén.
(2.6)
(2.7)
O a través del heurístico.
(2.8)
Donde es la tasa de interés del producto.
16
REFERENCIA: Ghiani, G.P.; Laporte, G. and Musmanno, R., (2004). Introduction to Logistics Systems Planning
and Control, 2ª Edición Inglaterra, Editorial Jhon Willey & Sons, 136p. y 137p.
5.3.3 Algoritmo de Khuri [30]
El ejemplo de una regla conocida para problema de cubicación es la herramienta “First Fit Decreasing” [-]. Diversos
problema de cubicación aplican a esta regla, incluido los de almacenamiento.
empezar
Reiniciar los objetos en orden decreciente de peso
para i = 1, n hacer
para i = 1, m hacer
si B [ j ] + Wϊ ≤ C entonces (2.9)
B [ j ] : = B [ j ] + Wϊ (2.10)
finalizar
Instancias del problema
Objetos: 1 2 … n
Pesos: W1 W2 … Wn
n contenedores, cada uno con capacidad . Los pesos y las capacidades son números reales positivos y Wϊ ≤ C para i
= 1,2,….,n.
Solución factible
ϊ significa que es el i – esimo cliente es asignado al contenedor j, 1 ≤ j ≤ n; y paca

daca j, tenemos
∑ Wϊ ≤ C para cada i que pertenece a Bj (2.11)
Donde Bj = { i | Xϊ = j }; por ejemplo, Bj representa los objetos que se encuentran en el contenedor j.
Función objetivo:
Una función P (X) = numero de los diferentes valores del componentes del vector X, donde
vector factible. En otras palabras, P (X) denota el número de contenedores requeridos para la solución representada
por el vector x.
Solución optima
Un vector factible x que da el valor mínimo de P(X).
5.3.4 Algoritmo de Bartholdi [31]
Para cada unidad de almacenamiento se define una variable de decisión que toma el valor de 1 si la unidad de
almacenamiento esa almacenada y 0 si no.
17
Entonces si 1 la posición es ocupada por la unidad de almacenamiento y el beneficio total de la red es
(2.12)
De manera similar se define que es 1 cuando los pallets restantes de la unidad de almacenamiento son
ubicados en una posición adicional y el beneficio total de la red es ; las posiciones adicionales
solo se utilizan si las ubicaciones disponibles ya fueron ocupadas, esto se asegura añadiendo la restricción
Parámetros:
Es el número mínimo de pallets recogidos.
Es el número de pallets movidos en cada recogida.
El numero máximo de pallets movidos en cada recogida
El mínimo numero de pallets almacenado en el área
Es la cantidad máxima de inventario a la mano.
Es el promedio de minutos necesarios para recoger un pallets de inventario a la mano y cada reabastecimiento de
inventario a la mano tarda minutos
el numero de pallets disponible.
El modelo lineal queda descrito como:
(2.13)
Sujeto a:
(2.14)
REFERENCIA: Bartholdi, J.J. y Hackman, S.T., (1998) Warehouse & Distribution Science. McGraw-Hill, Inc., 77p.
y 78p.
6 Resultados
En este artículo se presentan propuestas de mejora para la reordenación y operación de una planta ya existente, frente
al manejo y operatividad de naves de almacenamiento para productos no perecederos. Lograr el Costo Total
Logístico para múltiples escenarios”, que dicho de otra forma es minimizar los costos generados en la operación y
almacenamiento pero con flexibilidad máxima para la empresa, permitiéndonos cumplir con los siete objetivos
básicos por la distribución en planta propuestos [32], simplificación al máximo en el proceso productivo, minimizar
el coste de manejo de materiales, disminuir la cantidad de trabajo en curso, optimizar el aprovechamiento del espacio
dedicado al almacenamiento de la manera más efectiva posible, optimizar el movimiento de las máquinas con ciclos
combinados, evitar inversiones de capital innecesarias y aumentar rendimiento de los operarios.
7 Conclusiones
El modelo Lineal de Ordenamiento [33]. [34] por su sencillez tanto en el procesamiento de la información se ha
convertido en una buena alternativa para resolver problemas de minimización, ya que es más eficaz que el empleado
para resolver el problema del transporte por el alto grado de degeneración que pueden presentar los problemas de
asignación. Su objetivo es determinar en que forma deben realizarse todas las asignaciones para minimizar los
costos totales.
18
Sería deseable a futuro poder implementar el proceso de almacenamiento con la utilización del Warehouse y sus
sistemas de computo asociados, Management System WMS) (WMS = Warehouse Management Systems) [35] Que
en resumen nos permite observar las horas de actividad y movimientos por máquina, y por operario, para observar
los parámetros de productividad reales, además de proponer otras oportunidades de mejora en el reordenamiento y
operación de una planta. [36].
El principal objetivo de este artículo es promover la adopción de mejores prácticas en logística, operación,
remodelación y almacenamiento que permitan incrementar la competitividad y la productividad para el país.
Igualmente, busca analizar y estudiar los procedimientos, pasos y costos involucrados en la remodelación, operación
y reordenación de una planta, con el fin de adoptar las medidas necesarias para optimizar la eficiencia en toda la
cadena logística [37].
El éxito vendrá condicionado, entre otros factores, por la optimización de espacio utilizando estanterías según el tipo
de material a almacenar [38] los costos de almacenamiento y una flexibilización de los procesos que permitan,
entorno a un ambiente cambiante. Como dice [39], que la distribución en planta es fundamento de la industria que
puede coordinar la subsistencia.
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21
7. - 9. 11. 2012, Jeseník, Czech Republic, EU
LAYOUT PLANNING: A CASE STUDY ON ENGINEERING-TO-ORDER COMPANY
Mirosław MATUSEK
Silesian University of Technology, Zabrze, Poland, EU, mmatusek@polsl.pl
Abstract
The type of layout utilized will largely depend on the nature of the manufacturing activities, including the
volume and variety of the products being produced. The plant layout generation is challenging, especially for
the process-oriented layout. This paper presents the practical application of Muther's systematic layout
planning (SLP) in engineering-to-order company.
Keywords: engineering-to-order environment, layout, systematic layout planning
1. INTRODUCTION
Engineering industry companies belong to the production environment called in the literature "engineering -
to - order - ETO". This environment has a production character of a unit production (small-scale series
production) that means production for the custom’s individual order. That type of production refers to the
products for which the client requires specific engineering, significant modification of a buy of new materials
The design and technology are usually developed individually for specific customer’s order. These are
generally unique designs characterized by specific requirements for the technical planning and
management of production and the way of planning and settlement of expenses. A common problem is the
creation of offers for products designed to order in short series. Such projects are carried out on the basis of
incomplete initial data, starting with the preparation of an offer and its evaluation, the development of the
budget and schedule of implementation, and ending with the supervision of the execution and settlement of
the contract. Recurrence of orders is low or even none.
The major problems for a engineering-to-order manufacturing company lie at the front-end of the process
flow rather than on the production shopfloor. The following lists the typical difficulties faced by such a
company: non-standardized parts and specifications largely because of the obligation to fulfill customers’
needs and requirements in order to secure the deals; customers’ ongoing changes partly owing to the long
product manufacturing time which allow customers the opportunity to vary their product specifications;
improper shopfloor layout resulting in non value-added and redundant work. [1]
The main objectives of the plant layout function are to enable the manufacture of the product economically in
the required volume and variety. Other objectives can be stated as effective utilization of manpower, space
and infrastructure, as well as providing for the overall wellbeing and morale of the worker. [2]
Case study was presented in the article on the basis of the production enterprise of industrial automation
equipment which faced the problem of placement the machines and devices in a new-built production hall.
Systematic layout planning procedure (SLP) was applied to solve the problem, where in next stages,
especially in the last one (evaluation) one of the heuristic techniques was used i.e. conception of the
"creative abrasion" by G.Hirshberg.
2. SYSTEMATIC LAYOUT PLANNING (SLP) PROCEDURE

Facilities design consists of the facility systems design, the layout design and the handling systems design.
The layout design considers all equipment, machinery and support structure within the operational perimeter.
[2] Manufacturing factory layouts can be classified as: fixed position layout, process-oriented layout, group
or cellular layout, product-oriented layout. [3,4]
The type of layout utilized will largely depend on the nature of the manufacturing activities, including the
volume and variety of the products being produced. The plant layout generation is challenging, especially for
the process-oriented layout. This paper will focus on plant layout generation for the job shop.
A layout design problem often fall into two major categories as algorithmic and procedural approaches.
Algorithmic approaches usually only involve quantitative input data. The outputs from algorithmic approaches
often need further modifications in order to satisfy detailed design requirements.
Many algorithmic approaches have been developed in the plant layout research include the systematic
layout planning procedure, steepest descent search method by pair-wise exchange, graph-based
construction method, Tabu search, genetic algorithms. Based on these approaches, many computer-aided
layout routines have been developed (CRAFT, MCRAFT, COFAD, CORELAP etc.). Advanced training in
mathematical modeling techniques are often prerequisites for a designer to use algorithmic approaches to
solve a layout design problem.
Procedural approaches can incorporate both qualitative and quantitative objectives in the design process [5]
For these approaches, the design process is divided into several steps that are then solved sequentially. The
success of a procedural approach implementation is dependent on the generation of quality design
alternatives that are often from the outputs of an experienced designer. [6] The success of a procedural
approach implementation is dependent on the generation of quality design alternatives that are often from
the outputs of an experienced designer.
This paper proposes to use Muther's systematic layout planning (SLP) as the infrastructure to solve a layout
design problem in engineering-to-order company. The process involved in performing SLP is relatively
straightforward; however, it is a proven tool in providing layout design guidelines in practice in the past few
decades.[6] SLP procedures can be segmented into four parts containing 11 steps. Part 1 is the inputting of
data as follows: Step 1. P (product), Q (quantity), R (route), S (support), and T (time). Step 2. Flows of
material. Step 3. Activity relationships. Step 5. Space requirements. Step 6. Space available. Step 8.
Modifying constraints. Step 9. Practical limitations. The second part is the procedure process, which is
represented by: Step 4. Relationship diagram. Step 7. Space relationship diagram. The Third part is output
result, which is: Step10. Developing layout. The last part is the evaluation process: Step 11. Evaluation.[7]
3. A STUDY ON PROVIDER OF AUTOMATION SOLUTIONS FACILITIES

The chosen enterprise is a global solutions supplier in the range of the industrial automation, control of the
processes and information technology. It has its branches, among others, in USA, China, and Poland. The
enterprise delivers integrated control and automation systems, and software industries. Company offers a
broader range of integrated solutions: industrial computers and monitors, industrial keyboards and pointing
devices, limit switches: proximity and photoelectric sensors, limit switches and safety switches, and RFID
and operator safety devices, medium voltage products, from across-the-line starters to soft starters and
variable frequency AC drives, deliver enhanced protection in applications ranging up to several thousand
horsepower. Bringing motors up to speed in a controlled manner limits wear on the motor and other
mechanical components.
The layout planning of a new factory in Poland, will be used to illustrate the concepts mentioned in this study.
The Board of the firm decided to broaden its productive ability by building the next production plant. Poland
as the location was selected. It was assumed that in a new production hall will be manufactured products
such as medium voltage products, switches, starters.
Start-up production of new products ran respectively over three years. This article presents the problem of
distribution of machinery and facilities at the start of production of medium voltage products. The product is
manufactured in engineer-to-order environment (ETO). A short characteristic of next stages taking part in the
process of realization of the order is as follows: 1. Application Engineering Part 1 (preliminary engineering
works to design components with long-term implementation/delivery. 2. Order of Long Lead Items (the order
of components designed in a first stage). 3. Application of Engineering Part 2 (second stage of engineering
works, designing of the remaining components, preparing a drawing). 4. Order Job Specific Parts (ordering
standard components, spare parts). 5. Material Acquisition (ordering a production of metal parts mainly metal
sheets. These elements are made for the specific final product and the size of each is different). 6.
Manufacturing Release. 7. Kitting (assembling the components required for the next stages of production).
8.Sub-assembly (the initial assembly of the product components). 9. Assembly of the frame, wiring
(mounting of the frame and casing of products, fixing the main wiring). 10. Final Assembly (assembling in all
the pre-made components). 11. Test (Initial test of chosen components). 12. System Test (test of the whole
drive). 13.Test for a customer (on request of the client additional tests may be conducted with his
participation). 14.Shipping Preparation (preparations of the products for shipment).
Product can be manufactured in many versions, their number can reach over 600 different versions. The
structure of the product consists of 6 levels, where: 1st level contains about 100-150 components, all levels
contain about 2000 components. The elements building up a product are divided because of the weight and
size of the factors: 1. Large components: sheet metal, bus bars, magnetics (CMC, Line reactor, DC link),
capacitors, fans, isolation switch. 2. Large subassemblies: doors, low voltage tube, all subassemblies. 3.
Medium components: power cage. 4. Small components. 5. Hardware. As a result the maximum dimensions
and a weight can reach 7 m, maximum weight – 7000 kg.
Available area space is 110 x 75 square meter. This new factory will consist of a plant, a material
warehouse, an inspection room, area for power cables preparation, places for components, door assembly
area, fan assembly station, labeling/engraving center, final assembly area, test area, packing area, shipping
area, witness test area. With such initial conditions the project team consisting of: layout engineer, logistics
specialist, quality assurance, Safety at Work, production manager, process engineer, independent expert,
was created.
Step 1: PQRST analysis. In an enterprises for medium voltage drivers production there was planned the use
2 2
of space of 1700 m but the aim was to use 1500m . At present the manufacturing of the same product in
2
the different plant takes 2360 m .
Tab. 2 From-to chart
WS LAB SUB FP DOR UPE PrF PC FA RW Test DrZ CAT SHP

From/to
WS 2 4 1 1 1 2 1 1 0 1 0 1 1
LAB 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
as as as
SUB 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
required required required
FP 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
as
DOR 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
required
UPE 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
PrF 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
PC 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
as as
FA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0
required required
as as as
RW 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
required requied required
as as
Test 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
required required
as as as as
DrZ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
required required required required
CAT 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
SHP 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Source: own preparation

Supervisors are expected to have a throughput rate of 20 drivers out per month under full production. The
routing steps of a medium voltage drive is ranging from 50 to 100 steps. Each step is associated with a
specific tool set. Similar tools and process flow enabled allocating the following areas: Warehouse (WS),
Labels (LAB), SubAssembly (SUB), LVTube (LVT), FanPanel (FP), Doors (DOR), “Uppender” – a special
device for assembling a complicated casing of a product (UPE), PreFa (PrF), Power Cables (PC), Final
Asembly (FA), ReWork (RW), Test (Test), DropZone (DrZ), Catwalk (CAT), Shipping (SHP).
Step 2: Flow of materials analysis. This step aggregates all the process flows among different functional
areas in order to determine the flow intensity. (Table 2) The numbers in from-to chart indicate the required
flow intensity (trips per one shift) for making one of driver.
Step 3: Relationship diagram. Relationship diagram reveals a potential good relative positioning decision
among the functional areas. It provides a quick overview of the potential closeness relationship and it is a
priori for later space relationship diagramming decision. It is achieved through mapping the flow intensity
information among functional areas to create the relationship diagram as shown in Figure 1.
Fig. 1. Relationship diagram

Step 4/5: Space requirements/available analysis. Required surface depends on a kind and quantity of used
machines and devices needed for planning output, which equals 20 drivers/month (one and half drives per
day). The required floor space includes the required support activities space such as maintenance, human-
machine interaction, material handling, future expansion.
On this stage the required size of the surface was measured for each department separately. In this way the
average size of the surface was achieved which was at the next step multiplied by the factor 1.2 (the factor is
an experience value). Finally, the space requirement planning is fine tuned by area experts. The resulting
space requirement for each department is shown in Tab. 3.
Tab. 3. Summing up of the planned surface for medium voltage drivers production
Subassembly area 246 m2

Assembly area 910 m2
Test facilities 404 m2
Shipping area 150 m2

Total 1710 m2
Step 6: Space relationship diagram. This step converts the relationship diagram into space relationship
diagram by mapping each department's area into the relationship diagram (Figure 2). For couples of
departments, with a high intensity of flow it is preferred to locate them close to each other or arrange them
in groups.
Steps 7-9 Practical limitations. Works started from placing monuments (2 cranes, maintenance area,
“uppender”, place where facility will be conducted, packing area, where the crane and truck loading area will
be used). Location, especially maintenance area took into account the need to take into account the
distribution of the production of the following types of products (the production of which will be launched at a
later date). In addition, assumptions have been made: one flow direction – from left to right, final assembly
close to test facility – maximum weight of finished driver is 7000 kg, door assembly close to final assembly,
one main road through the factory, labeling/engraving center close to wiring and planned MCC cell, area for
power cables preparation close to Pre FA, places for components, catwalk close to docks, packing area and
test facility, “uppender” close to conveyor belt, skid store, fan assembly station and side sheets kits.
Furthermore, layout supports elimination of walking, heavy components mounted after “uppender”.
Step 10 Evaluation. For this evaluation purpose, heuristic techniques were used in this case the concept of
"creative abrasion " G. Hirshberg'a, according to which the project should be worked out with different
designers pairs of professionals who differ in approach, style of work, experience, knowledge, etc., it is
assumed that such collisions are a source of creative tension, and any new ideas will be considered by the
other side and balanced a different idea. [8].
Interactions among people with different expertise, bringing different looks and skills increases the chance of
finding innovative solutions. For this purpose a special design team of six people was create from such
departments as: layout engineer, logistician of the quality assurance, Health and Safety, production
manager, process engineer, independent expert. As a result of the regular meetings following interactions
the final layout was elaborated (Figure 3). The proposed system has met most of the selected conditions
and limitations.
Fig. 2 Space relationship diagram

Fig. 3 Final layout

4. CONCLUSIONS
Plant layouts can be varied and can significantly impact the overall effectiveness of production systems. The
type of layout utilized will largely depend on the nature of the manufacturing activities, including the volume
and variety of the products being produced. Existing literatures for a layout design problem often fall into two
major categories as algorithmic and procedural approaches. Algorithmic approaches usually only involve
quantitative input data. Advanced training in mathematical modeling techniques are often basics for a
designer to use algorithmic approaches to solve a layout design problem. The success of a procedural
approach implementation is dependent on the generation of quality design alternatives that are often from
the outputs of an experienced designer. This paper presents the practical application of systematic layout
planning (SLP). In further studies we can consider building a knowledge base on the basis of gathered
experience of experts. Created system could support works prompting good practices, evaluate options for
the deployment of machines and devices.
LITERATURE
[1] NAN SHING ONG, (1997), Productivity improvements for a small "made-to-order" manufacturing environment,
Industrial Management & Data Systems, Vol. 97 Iss: 7 pp. 251 - 258
[2] GOPALAKRISHNAN B., LI WENG, D.P. GUPTA, (2003), "Facilities design using a split departmental layout
configuration", Facilities, Vol. 21 Iss: 3 pp. 66 – 73
[3] LIS S., SANTAREK K., Projektowanie rozmieszczenia stanowisk roboczych, PWN, Warszawa, 1980
[4] RENDER B., HEIZER J., Principles Of Operations Management, eight edition, PEARSON, 2010
[5] FINAN, J.S. and HURLEY, W.J. (1999), Transitive calibration of the AHP verbal scale, European Journal of
Operational Research, Vol. 112, pp. 367-372.
[6] TAHO YANG, CHAO-TON SU, YUAN-RU HSU, (2000), "Systematic layout planning: a study on semiconductor
wafer fabrication facilities", International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Vol. 20 Iss: 11 pp.
1359 – 1371
[7] TE-KING CHIEN, (2004), "An empirical study of facility layout using a modified SLP procedure", Journal of
Manufacturing Technology Management, Vol. 15 Iss: 6 pp. 455 – 465
[8] HAGEL J., SEELY J. BROWN, Productive attrition: as a difficult cooperation among companies causes a quick
creation of innovation, Harvard Business Review Polska” 2008, nr 1 (59)
ARTICLE
International Journal of Engineering Business Management
Special Issue on Innovations in Fashion Industry
Layout Design for a Low Capacity

Manufacturing Line: A Case Study
Regular Paper
Filippo De Carlo1,*, Maria Antonietta Arleo2, Orlando Borgia1 and Mario Tucci1
1 University of Florence - Department of Industrial Engineering
2 Politecnico di Milano - Department of Management, Economics and Industrial Engineering
* Corresponding author E-mail: filippo.decarlo@unifi.it
Received 1 June 2013; Accepted 15 July 2013
DOI: 10.5772/56883
© 2013 De Carlo et al.; licensee InTech. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative
Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use,
distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract The layout re‐arrangement of fashion production Keywords Layout Design, Systematic Layout Planning,
lines realizing many small batches is rarely deployed Lean Production
according to well‐known engineering procedures. In fact, it
would often appear too complex to call a plant engineer for
the proper layout design of such small production lines. 1. Introduction
Rather, it is preferred to apply empirical methodologies
when considering, generally, factory know‐how, general One of the main goals of a manufacturing system is the
business needs, safety requirements, and so on. In the maximization of its productivity. This depends upon
present work, the results of a fashion manufacturing line several factors, such as the kind and the complexity of the
re‐layout were compared by analysing the current situation product made, the quality of the raw materials, the
with the solutions provided by a ʺhomemadeʺ company complexity of the manufacturing process and the
design, both through a systematic layout planning arrangement of the workstations constituting the
approach and a broader lean reengineering activity. production process. Some of these parameters are
determined by the product and, for this reason, are
In order to evaluate the effectiveness of each solution, the unchangeable; others, however, are variable and thus
different alternatives were compared with the help of a improvable. The challenge of determining the best
discrete event simulator, analysing productivity, arrangement of the workstations is one of the elements
transportation times and costs. The result of the case that has a great impact on system performance. It is
study showed a slight advantage with the lean approach known as the “facility layout problem”[1], namely the
in considering such efficiency indicators. In addition, the problem of the arrangement of everything that is
lean production methods allowed the designers to required for the production process. A facility, in fact, is
identify some inefficiencies that other approaches could any element that simplifies an activity’s execution, such
not see, since the latter did not focus on production in a as a machine tool, a work centre, a division, a
holistic way. manufacturing unit, and so on [2]. The literature gives a
www.intechopen.com Filippo De Carlo, Maria Antonietta Arleo,

Int. j.Orlando
eng. bus.Borgia and2013,
manag., MarioVol.
Tucci:
5, 1
Layout Design Special
for a Low Capacity
Issue Manufacturing
Innovations in FashionLine: A Case
Industry, Study
35:2013
lot of definitions of various layout problems: one of the families. It is suitable when the production volume
first dates back to 1957, when it was defined as an does not support the choice of mass production [18].
ordinary industrial problem with the aim of minimizing  Flow line: this is used for the realization of one
the cost of transporting materials between the different product in high quantity through a series of closely
workstations [3] [4]. Transportation, as a matter of fact, connected workstations.
is the key factor in the facility layout problem. A well‐
known study of the 1970s [5], in fact, has highlighted The classification of Figure 1 is only an initial step in
that from 20% to 50% of total operating manufacturing identifying the possible facility layout configurations for
costs are related to the material handling activities and a specific manufacturing plan. The development of the
that these costs could be reduced by 10% to 30% best and more suitable plant layout configuration, in fact,
annually with efficient facility planning. In addition to is usually made with some specific technique in which
the direct target of minimizing material handling costs, many other parameters are considered, such as the
effective facility layout planning also has indirect relationships between the different workstations,
advantages: for example, it can help to decrease the problems in their proximity, etc.
work in process (WIP) and the throughput times (TT)
[6], or it can simply facilitate the control of information According to Figure 1, the optimal layout for the
and material flows [7]. production of a few parts with high variety is the cellular
layout. The ‘group technology’ or ‘cellular layout’ is
A more recent description [8] defines the facility layout effectively proposed for small batch production [19]. It
problem as an optimization problem that tries to improve gives many advantages related to improving productivity
layout efficiency, considering all the interactions between and cost reductions [20].
facilities and material handling systems while designing
layouts. During this optimization phase, there are a lot of
elements to be considered: safety, flexibility for future
design changes, noise and aesthetics are examples of
basic qualitative factors in the facility layout planning
process [5] [9].
The industrial significance of the facility layout problem

is attested also to by the numerous references in the
literature: some texts offer an exposition of the plant
layout principles [10] [11] [12] or a review of all the
different approaches to the facility layout problem [9]
[13]; others present case studies with possible optimal
solutions to the problem [14].
Figure 1. Variety‐quantity production relationship. In the picture is

The choice of the best facility layout configuration is
shown the best layout for several combinations of quantity and
clearly a decision to be made during the early plant variety. Generally speaking, if the layout is different from the one
design phase, even if it could be modified during a proposed, higher opportunity costs or lower efficiencies are faced.
redesign phase due, for example, to a plant extension.
For many low‐volume batch production lines – as, for
According to the different properties of a manufacturing instance, in the fashion industry ‐ the choice of plant
process – mainly, the productive capacity and the variety layout type is essential in order to ensure not only high
of products ‐ the workstations should be organized productivity and cost control but also a high level of
appropriately. It is possible to refer to a schematic flexibility. This strongly depends upon the facility layout:
classification, represented in Figure 1 [15], that highlights the possibility of changing the production type easily and
the presence of four kinds of layout. quickly, in fact, is strictly related to the workstations’
 Fixed position: this is used for the realization of very disposition.
big products, such as ships, aircrafts and heavy
machinery [16]. Increased international competition and its growing
 Job‐shop: this is the production area is divided into economic importance have caused, in recent years, a
different departments, each of which is specialized growing attention on the part of researchers to the
in a particular technology [17]. fashion field, where problems and solutions are moving
 Cellular layout: this is characterized by cells closer and closer to those of more mature industries. The
(namely, groups of different workstations) and used topics dealt with by researchers comprehend methods to
to produce similar products of few different enhance logistics innovation and integration [21] [22],
2 Int. j. eng. bus. manag., 2013, Vol. 5, www.intechopen.com

Special Issue Innovations in Fashion Industry, 35:2013
tools in performing effective performance measurement 2.1 SLP
[23], proper layout selection [24], the appraisal of the
brand equity [25] and suitable adaptations of forecasting SLP, developed in 1973 by Richard Murther, is one of the
techniques [26] [27]. most frequently used methods in the design or redesign
of a facilities layout.
An important element to be considered in choosing the SLP includes three specific phases [32], namely:
proper layout configuration for small batch fashion  Data collection and analysis;
production lines is the level of the similarity of the  Searching among the possible layout solutions;
products in the manufacturing processes. If an item  Evaluating alternatives and the choice of the best
differs a little from the others (for example, only in terms layout.
of colour, size, etc.) and the manufacturing sequence of
operations remains unchanged, the optimum layout may The output of the first step of SLP is the relationship chart, or
be somewhat different from the classical cellular layout. ‘buff diagram’. It derives from information such as the flow
In this case, it is necessary to adopt one or more of the of materials between the different workstations [2], their
specific layout models currently available. adjacency requirements and the corresponding reasons. In a
relationship chart, we can see the different operations ‐ on
The aim of the present study is to make a comparison of the right side ‐ and a specific letter code with a number,
the different layout design methods for low‐volume batch corresponding to each department pair. Each letter code
fashion manufacturing lines. In particular, a case study represents a specific class of adjacency, in particular:
was investigated analysing a manufacturing line of felt  A: absolutely necessary.
hats. The results show that the best approach to be  E: especially important.
adopted – i.e., to gain an appropriate layout arrangement  I: important.
‐ is the facility layout coming from a wider “lean  O: ordinary.
production” analysis and reengineering process. This  U: unimportant.
result was achieved through a discrete events simulation  X: undesirable.
analysis, which permitted us to compare the costs and
productivity performance of each solution investigated. Alternatively, the number is related to the reason why the
The remainder of the present paper is organized as relationship code is appointed, such in terms of safety,
follows: in section 2 the principal layout design methods ease of supervision, etc.
are presented; section 3 gives the case study analysis and
the description of its manufacturing process; the results of The next step is the construction of the relationship
the analysis are explained in section 4, while the fifth diagram. This represents the activities of the buff diagram
section provides a discussion of the results and presents with the ASME notation, connected with lines. The
some conclusions. number of lines linking two activities derives from the
level of desired nearness: four lines for the A class of
2. Methods adjacency, three for the E class, and so on.
To design or re‐design the facility layout of a The relationship diagram, which derives from the
manufacturing process, it is possible to apply many relationship chart, allows the consideration of alternative
different methods. Each one is based on a specific idea layout configurations. Among them we will find the best
and goal to be achieved. Since a method usually gives an solution, chosen considering more than just factors of
optimal layout configuration different from the others, it economy, such as the improvement of material flow and
is important to have a performance measurement tool in waste reduction, etc.
order to gain hints about the best method to adopt. This
2.2 Lean facility layout system
comparison could be made through a score, such as the
total closeness rating index [28], or a simulation analysis Lean manufacturing is a production system born in Japan,
highlighting the results of the main production process based on the Toyota Production System. This was founded
parameters, such as costs, times, the throughput rate, the on certain central ideas: the most significant are total quality
WIP or the line availability [29] [30] [31]. management, total productive maintenance and the ‘just in
time’. The first is related to the quality of the product, of the
Before investigating the best facility layout design process itself and of each element related to the production
method, we present in this section some of their major process. The second refers to the strategic role of
features, especially those of the systematic layout maintenance activities, while the last refers to the
planning (SLP) technique [32] and the layout suggested optimization of the logistic flow so as to decrease stock
by the wider activity of “lean” redesign, through the levels. The central idea of lean manufacturing is waste
value stream mapping tool. elimination [33] [34], which is essential to increase
www.intechopen.com Filippo De Carlo, Maria Antonietta Arleo, Orlando Borgia and Mario Tucci: 3
Layout Design for a Low Capacity Manufacturing Line: A Case Study
profitability. The elimination or reduction of waste, in fact, is of waste, such as transporting time, space and
oriented towards both efficiency and quality. unnecessary workstations.
The presence of waste in a manufacturing framework is 3. Case Study

intrinsic to the nature of the manufacturing system itself. To
make a product ‐ as is known ‐ a lot of processes and This paper refers to a felt hats production line with a
operations are needed. Some of these add value to the throughput time of about 50 days for every batch. Each
production, while others are not value‐adding and, batch is composed of about 10 hats. The production
therefore, may be considered to wasteful. In particular, three process is described in what follows.
different kinds of operations have been identified [35]:
 Non‐value adding: these operations are pure waste Fur is the raw material for the felt production, especially
and should be removed [36]. rabbit and hare fur. The first processing phase is
 Necessary but non‐value adding: since they are “blowing”, in which hair is mixed and blown in a
necessary to existing operating practices, they could particular machine called, properly, a “blower”. Next,
be eliminated by revising the operation procedures with the “basting and pre‐fulling” phase, the hair is
such as, for example, redesigning the facility layout. compacted around a cone with a jet of hot water. This
 Value adding: these operations give value added to operation creates a bell‐shaped product, called a “cloche”,
the process’s transformation of raw materials to that is carefully checked for any defect. After the cloche
final products. inspection, it undergoes “steeping” treatment, which
gradually shrinks its size. The next phases are “drying”
Taiichi Ohno [37], Toyota’s Chief Engineer, identified and “dying”, following which the bell is shrunk further
seven types of “muda” (viz., the Japanese word for until it reaches the desired size. The hood is then treated
‘waste’), namely: with certain natural substances (lac) in the “stiffening”
 Overproduction; phase: the lac makes the cloche bright and resistant. Next,
 Waiting; there is the first “blocking” step, which gives the right
 Transporting; shape and size required by compression on specific
 Inappropriate processing; aluminium moulds. The final form and size are
 Unnecessary inventory; completed after the second and last blocking step,
 Unnecessary motion; occurred after the “pumicing” phase which sands the felt
 Defects. outside. The production process ends with the “finishing”
phase, which includes the application of final standard
In recent years, the underutilization of employees has accessories (lining, leather bands, etc.) and those required
been added to the seven original categories of waste. by customers. The hat is then ready for further packaging
activities.
The specific features of lean manufacturing are used to
design facility layouts too. This activity, from the initial To summarize, there are 11 activities to be accomplished
layout, gives a final lean facility layout scheme [38]. It is and 9 workstations needed in the line:
based on four phases: A. Blowing;
 Identification of the process’s value stream and the B. Basting and pre‐fulling;
definition of the current state mapping [39]: the aim C. Steeping;
of this phase represents the “as is” state of the D. Drying;
studied system through a map that represents all the E. Dying;
actions required to make a specific product. The F. Stiffening;
value stream is the set of all these actions, namely G. Blocking;
are design and manufacturing activities. H. Pumicing;
 Waste elimination and the identification of I. Finishing.
alternative solutions: these lean manufacturing
techniques are useful to remove or reduce all
elements of the muda.
 Representation of the future state map [39].
 The design of the new facility layout, based on the
changes and improvements identified in the
previous phases.
Figure 2: Production diagram. The figure shows the production
phases required to produce a felt hat. The phases are: Blowing
The facility layout obtained according to this process has (A), Basting and pre‐fulling (B), Steeping (C), Drying (D), Dying
properties and goals similar to the lean manufacturing (E), Stiffening (F), Blocking (G), Pumicing (H) and Finishing (I).
ideas: it will be oriented towards a reduction of each kind Notice that the C and G phases must be performed twice.

Figure 2 highlights the described sequence of activities
required to produce felt hats.
However, a linear configuration of workstations is

difficult observe in real cases. Steeping, in fact, is usually
made on a unique machine and the same is so for
blocking; since these operations occur twice, the flow
material is not linear but rather becomes interlaced
(Figure 3).
Figure 4. Plan of the felt hat facility. On the left side is the actual
configuration of the main departments, while on the right is the
new building made available for the production and finishing
operations.
The re‐design study presented in this paper is only

concerned with the new building in Figure 4, which
Figure 3. Usual process diagram for felt hat production. The
material flow is not linear but instead interlaced.
comprises two different areas, as shown in Figure 5.
Moreover, in recent years, the manufacturing process

analysed has exhibited significant efficiency
degeneration for a number of reasons, such as work in
progress growth, a loss of control of manufacturing
activities and a high variance of cycle time. Taking
advantage of a corporate reorganization opportunity,
it was decided to redesign the production area layout.
So, the first step was the identification of the best
design method to adopt: would it be better to design
the facility layout based only on the production crew’s
experiences, or should it adopt a more skilled
engineering approach, such as an analysis based on Figure 5. New building area. The workstations for the felt hat
SLP? production (Blowing, Basting & Pre‐Fulling, Steeping, Drying,
Dying, Stiffening, Blocking, Pumicing and Finishing) will be
The actual production area constituted a unique, huge reorganized into this new plant in order to eliminate all the
space, where there were also offices, packaging areas, waste
raw materials and final product storage space.

Therefore, the separation of the production activities The main goal of the layout redesign is the elimination or
from all the other auxiliary ones was the first ‐ at least ‐ the reduction of the principal problems
requirement expressed for the new layout. Referring to highlighted in the actual organization. The main
the actual state represented in Figure 4, the criticalities are summarized below:
manufacturing activities from the initial blowing (A) to  Excessive distance between workstations: this
the pumicing (H) are represented by the “production” configuration causes an increase in moving times
area, which is about 470 m2, while the finishing activity and enhances the complexity of the visual controls
(I) is represented by a “finishing operation” area of 210 of the raw material flows. In addition, the finishing
m2. process is divided into two, near different
workstations. With this arrangement, the operators
The “production” and “finishing” operations are the have to move to do the same operation, causing
areas that need a redesign and to which a new building time inefficiencies.
of about 1300 m2 will be assigned. In particular, the  Logical subdivision among workstations: at the
production workstations will be reorganized according present, there is no separation among the different
to certain factory requirements (see below). The other kinds of workstations, though it would be desirable
activities will be re‐arranged in the already existing that similar operations would be arranged next to
plant. Figure 4 highlights the original configuration on each other. Conversely, conflicting ones should be
the left side and the desired one on the right. separated. Blowing, basting and pre‐fulling, and
pumicing, in fact, are “dirty” operations because they Among the alternative solutions, the most impressive
produce pollution during the fur processing. Dying is layout was chosen. The selection technique was the factor
another operation that is classifiable as “dirty” analysis method, which identifies the principal desirable
because of the use of chemical substances. By closely features (factors) for the new layout. The main factors
positioning these operations, it might be possible to considered were: worker flow; process flow; flow
have a unique air vacuum and purification system. visualization; possible expansion; interaction among
On the other hand, steeping and drying are strictly departments; grouping of equipment; flexibility. Each
related for technological reasons. The hat’s final factor has a weight representing its importance. A score
quality, in fact, also depends upon the time passing was assigned to all the layouts identified for each factor.
between these operations: in fact, it must not be too Next, it was multiplied for the weight of the respective
long. Moreover, for stiffening and finishing there is factors. Finally, each solution received its total score: the
an organizational constraint. These operations are layout with the best total value was the preferred layout.
directly related to the visual quality of the hat and use Figure 6 shows the selected empirical layout.
similar machines for final quality control. For this
reason, they should be placed close together. This result combines product and process layout features.
 Raw materials’ availability: raw materials and The workstations, in fact, have a U‐shaped configuration
accessory elements are stored in three different areas, that follows the sequence of the manufacturing process
two of which are very far from the blowing station. activities. However, machines with similar features are in
 Disorganization of tool arrangements: all the the same zone. The new layout partially follows the main
accessory elements used in the production phases workstations’ unification requirements, according to the
have a messy arrangement. reasons presented in section 3: steeping and drying are
nearby, and stiffening and finishing are neighbours in the
4. Results same area.
The manufacturing process re‐design was made through The empirical layout also facilitates a reduction of the
three different methodologies. The first one is an distance between the final phases (stiffening and
empirical method while the others are engineering finishing) and the other workstations. At the same time,
techniques. In the following sections, the results of each the tool arrangement was reorganized in a unique area.
method will be summarized. This first new layout thus seems to provide important
improvements to the production system.
4.1 Empirical approach
4.2 SLP
The first layout was identified empirically. According to the
problems recognized and the goals sought, various different The first step of a layout redesign with SLP is the
solutions have been suggested in an attempt to place similar construction of a relationship chart. The buff diagram
operations or activities with specific needs close together.
Figure 7. Relationship chart. The buff diagram highlights the

Figure 6. Empirical approach layout. Eight operations out of the relationships between pairs of process operations. The
eleven are organized sequentially, while for four operations intersection of two division lines shows a letter specifying the
more complex moves are necessary. importance of their proximity.

allows the definition of an optimal operations sequence As is clearly visible, this layout has a workstation
with a corresponding block layout. This will need to be configuration with a more complex material flow than the
successively adapted to the size and shape of the empirical layout. The U‐shaped configuration is available
allowable functional area. only for a few operations, in a similar fashion to the
empirical layout case. As for the empirical layout, the SLP
Figure 7 represents the relationship chart for the process gives a more efficient organization of the auxiliary elements
activities of the felt hat manufacturing process. and generates a reduction of the distances between the final
phases and the other workstations. Finally, the main
From the buff diagram, the relationship chart of Figure 8 requirement of keeping similar operations close to one
was acquired. The various relationships of proximity for another is only respected to a limited extent.
the workstations add to the complexity the diagram, as
4.3 Lean approach
it is difficult to satisfy all the requirements at the same
time. The layout derived from the application of a wider lean
Manufacturing approach, was obtained according to the
four progressive phases presented in the methods section.
In particular, the value stream map was performed so as

to better understand the actual configuration of the
process production and to identify and eliminate waste.
Figure 8. Relationship diagram. In image, all the workstations

are shown; they are connected by lines, the thickness and colour
of which are dependent upon the strength of the desired
relationship.
Figure 9 shows the optimum layout obtained with the

SLP method.
Figure 10. Value stream map of the “as‐is” state. In the picture is
shown the production process with the duration of each activity
and the waiting time between workstations.
Figure 9. Layout obtained with the SLP method: eight operations Figure 11. Future value stream map. The main time reductions
out of the total of eleven are organized sequentially, while two of are related to the raw materials’ processing times and the final
the operations have a woven path. transportation and waiting activities.
Figure 10 shows the value stream map of the “as is” state, Orders
Throughput Workers Yearly
from which the future and desired layout was obtained. fulfilled
time moving revenue
per year
[%] time [%] [€/y]
[#/y]
The future value stream map is shown in Figure 11. It is
Empirical ‐ 2.95% + 8% ‐0.25 ‐500
possible to note that the main changes concern the reduction
SLP ‐ 3.9% ‐ 15% +1.8 +3,600
of waiting times between the final operations and the
Lean ‐ 4.15% ‐ 24% +3 +6,000
reduction of the processing time for the raw material. In the Table 1. The layouts’ production performance. The table shows
desired configuration, there is also a new storage area for the production efficiency performance of each layout tested in
semi‐finished products between the two final workstations. comparison to the actual layout’s performance.
The layout obtained through this lean approach is shown To examine the productive performance of every layout,
in figure 12. As is clearly visible, this new layout offers a discrete event simulation was performed. The
many benefits, since it derives from an overall redesign of simulation model allowed us to analyse the efficiency of
the felt hat manufacturing process. One of the most each layout through its quantitative results. For each
representative elements is the presence of cells: the three layout configuration, a corresponding simulation model
operations of steeping, drying and dying are grouped was realized, generating many important productive
into a cell and, therefore, the operator of these activities parameters such as: the production time, the operator
can work in a smaller, more ergonomic area than before. waiting time, the ratio between throughput time and value
This causes a significant reduction of the transportation of added time, the number of annual orders, and so on.
waste, which is a no‐value added time. Furthermore, this
new layout enables for easier blocking and pumicing, Table 1 summarizes the simulation results of some of
since they are grouped and organized into two parallel these parameters.
lines. For this layout, and similar to the previous results,
the workstations are organized sequentially according to Table 1 highlights the following elements:
the manufacturing process flow. The advantages of the  The production time (the sum of all the times
previous layouts are proved here again. necessary to make a felt hat, from the first operation
on the raw material to the last packaging phase) is
barely conditioned by the chosen layout. The transfer
operation times, which are a direct consequence of
the layout configuration are in fact very low when
compared to the production time. The lean layout
ensures the best production time reduction, because
it better respects the operation sequence.
 The lean layout enables the fulfilment of 1,381 orders
a year, 13 more than the value reachable with the old
workstation configuration.
 The annual turnover increases by €5,722 compared with
the value estimated with the old layout. In contrast, the
empirical layout causes a decrease of this parameter.
Hence, the simulation results prove that the layout

derived from the lean approach is the best for the
production of felt hats in this case study.
Lean ideas have also allowed the identification of a

Figure 12. Layout obtained through the main ideas of the lean potential improvable element of the manufacturing
production. It is possible to note that some activities have been process. To reduce all the waste as much as possible, it
matched and that the operations are organized in a completely was determined to introduce a recipe control weighing
sequential manner. system (RCWS) at the beginning of the process. Its aim is
to optimize and check the starting phases of the
5. Discussion and Conclusions manufacturing process: the realization of the felt cloth.
RCWS, in fact, enables the better use of the proper
The three layout configurations obtained with the three amount of raw materials by avoiding unnecessary waste.
different methodological approaches presented are, at Moreover, RCWS makes it possible to improve the
first glance, very similar. The mere graphical traceability of all the information about an order and the
representation and empirical conclusions of each layout, associated raw materials’ quantities. Finally, the
however, are not sufficient to compare them efficiently. introduction of RCWS in the process production would

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GUIDELINES FOR TURKEY PROCESSING
PLANT LAYOUT
Marketing Research Report No. 1036
Agricultural Research Service

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
In Cooperation With
Department of Food Science and Technology
University of California, Davis
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The study, conducted and reported herein, was made possible through
cooperative effort of the University of California, Davis, Departments of Food
Science and Technology and Agricultural Engineering, and the Agricultural
Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Appreciation is expressed to inspection personnel of Animal and Plant
Health Inspection Service for their cooperation.
The wholehearted cooperation of commercial plant personnel and manage-
ment, who helped to make this research possible, has added greatly to the
meaningfulness of this report. Without their support, this research would not
have been possible.
The authors acknowledge the contributions of Thomas W. Tesche, and
George W. Mock, civil engineering students, University of California, Davis,
who prepared field notes on refrigeration and floor material tests.
CONTENTS
Page
1
Summary
1
Background
Systematic layout planning 2
The facility layout
3
Live bird receiving area 3
5
Slaughtering area
Scalding and defeathering 5
Scalding area 5
Defeathering area 1
Offal room 8
Eviscerating and chilling 8
Eviscerating area 8
Chilling area 10
Packaging 10
11
Shipping
Offices and personnel facilities 12
Expansion of basic plant 12
Blast freezing area 12
Cold storage area 14
Further processing area ^ 14
Refrigeration system 18
Storage of packaging materials 18
Plant structure 19
Site location and plan 20
Additional regulatory requirements and considerations 22
Literature cited 22
May 1975
GUIDELINES FOR TURKEY PROCESSING
PLANT LAYOUT
By W. SHUPE, research mechanical engineer, and E.W. SPANGLER, engineering technician (retired), Agricultural
L.
Research Service (ARS) t Western Region, University of California, Davis; JOHN A. HAMANN, Chief (retired), Dairy and
Poultry Products Marketing Laboratory, Agricultural Marketing Research Institute, ARS,Beltsville,Md.;
BRANT, food technologist, University of California, Davis
SUMMARY
An efficient layout of a basic plant for proc- vary from 160,000 pounds of turkey products per
essing whole, ready-to-cook turkeys and provision day, using a single eviscerating line, up to
for further processing is developed and described
300,000 Ib/day when a double line is used, For
in this report. The intent is to assist plant
good manageability, a plant layout design should
operators with layout and design features for provide for expansion and product diversification.
completely new plants as well as additions to, and The major guidelines taken into account in pre-
renovation of, existing facilities when production paring the plant layout include the following:
rates are increased and new products are proc- (1) Where a specific operation is performed, each
Step-by-step_ additions to the basic plant
essed. area is arranged to permit efficient operation and
(slaughter and evisceration operations) include a direct flow of the product; (2) in the overall
fast freezing, frozen storage, and further process-
plant layout, each area is connected in sequence
ing of the whole carcass into convenience items. to allow smooth flow of products and materials
This layout provides for efficient product flow
throughout the entire operation without inter- through the entire plant; and (3) provisions for
fering with production or necessitating major meeting regulatory requirements include (a)
changes in any completed section of the plant if product wholesomeness, (b) personnel health and
and when the additions are made. safety, (c) employee comfort and convenience, and
Planned production rates for this plant layout (d) plant maintenance.
BACKGROUND
Turkeys are a seasonal crop. A large percentage normally have been shut down. By further proc-
of the annual crop is slaughtered from early fall
essing whole, ready-to-cook turkeys into conven-
through the holiday season. In the past, these ience items such as turkey parts, boned turkey
birds were marketed as whole turkeys only meat, rolled roasts, frozen dinners, and pot pies
first as New York-dressed, later as ready-to-cook many turkey processing plants have become
(eviscerated) birds. If these were not all sold dur- year-round These
operations. modern methods of
ing the holiday season, the balance was held in marketing turkeys have changed the plant from
commercial cold storage plants until they were the early day slaughterhouse into a modern food
marketed as whole birds. In the early days, proc- processing facility. In accomplishing this complex
essing plants were designed for processing New step, turkey processors greatly increased their
York-dressed turkeys and generally shut down investment in facilities and equipment. In many
when the marketing season was over. The season cases, alterations and additions were made to ex-
generally lasted from September to January. isting structures. This usually required a plant
Freezing and low temperature storage facilities shutdown during alteration, which, under today's
were provided by commercial cold storage houses. operating conditions, is inconvenient and costly.
With the advent of plants converting to ready- Unfortunately, the layouts that resulted, in many
to-cook operations and U. S. Department of Ag- cases, were inefficient.
riculture (USDA) inspection for wholesomeness, Much progress has been made by processors,
it became possible to further process turkeys into researchers, and equipment manufacturers in
specialty items at times when the plants would improving methods and equipment used in the
1
MARKETING RESEARCH REPORT 1036, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
industry. Compliance as to product wholesome- design features for completely new plants as well
ness and facility acceptability is now required as additions to, and renovation of, existing
under the terms of the Poultry Products Inspec- facilities when production rates are increased and
tion Act of 1957 (II), 1 the Williams-Steiger Oc- new products are processed.
cupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (9), and
the Federal Water Pollution Control Act as This information is based on studies made at a
amended in 1972 (8). When planning new struc- number of turkey processing plants in the West-
tures or remodeling existing facilities, plant ern United States and supplemented with re-
management has to meet the requirements set by search data from earlier work reported in publi-
these laws while developing an efficient layout cations
by the Agricultural Research Service, Ag-
for processing operations. The intent of this re- ricultural Marketing Service, and Animal and
port is to assist plant operators with layout and Plant Health Inspection Service (2, 7, 10, 12, 13).
SYSTEMATIC LAYOUT PLANNING

The basic factors to consider when planning an spect (11), controls the production rate. A pro-
efficient industrial food processing plant layout duction rate of 300,000 pounds of dressed turkey
(4, 5,6) are: (1) Nature of the raw materials and per day was selected for this report, based on re-
finished products; (2) production rate for each cent research (7) with optimum worker utiliza-
product; (3) number of work stations and area re- tion. Figure 1 shows the relationship of one activ-
quired for each operation; (4) location of specific ity area to another and of the space requirements
work areas in relation to one another; and (5) for each in a turkey processing plant of this pro-
structural design required for economic future duction rate. The diagram also shows product and
expansion with minimal disruption of operations. packaging materials flow lines, which are very
In addition to these considerations, location of
important and must be given considerable atten-
facilities auxiliary to the production operation, tion when planning the overall layout for an effi-
such as management offices and personnel cient operation. Auxiliary or service areas are
amenities, should be conveniently located. These also shown in this diagram and must be con-
areas would include office space, restroom and sidered in the final plant layout.
toilet facilities, and a lunchroom, which can be The use of scaled templates and a layout board
planned for convenience without interfering with are useful tools in planning a layout. This method
plant operations. offers the designers a chance to
To convert live turkeys into whole, ready-to- try many changes
in arriving at the most efficient layouts without
cook carcasses, the live birds are hung on a making time-consuming changes in drawings.
shackle and moved through the entire process on Turkey processors who start with the preparation
overhead monorail conveyors in an assembly line of whole, ready-to-cook, chilled birds and change
type of operation. The first step in the operation is over to more complex operations by adding freez-
to place the live bird on the conveyor at the
ing, cold storage, and further processing facilities
receiving dock. The steps that follow in sequence will benefit by this approach.
are slaughter, scald, defeather, and wash. The de-
feathered and washed carcass is then transferred
to the overhead eviscerating conveyor that car-
ries the bird through the eviscerating area in the
process of converting "it into the whole body,
ready-to-cook form. It is then chilled. This is fre-
quently done in an inline-type chiller that sub-
merges the bird in water and crushed ice as it is
moved forward and emerges ready for draining,
wrapping, or further processing.
In establishing the most desirable production
rate for the plant, the most complex processing
operation value is used for a base. In a turkey
processing plant, more than 50 percent of the
lineworkers are involved with the eviscerating
operation. The optimum rate at which this opera-
tion can be accomplished, as well as the rate at
which the USDA inspector can adequately in-
1
Italic numbers in parentheses refer to Literature
Cited, p. 22. FIGURE I. Space relationship flow diagram.
TURKEY PROCESSING PLANT LAYOUT
THE FACILITY LAYOUT

The basic plant layout shown in figure 2 illus- to-cook birds. The auxiliary or service areas
trates the location and space requirements of the such as live bird truck washing, boiler room,
various areas for a plant processing 300,000 utilities room, offal handling, ice
manufacturing
pounds. of whole, ready-to-cook turkey daily with and storage, offices, personnel facilities, and
provisions for step-by-step additions to handle packaging materials storage and makeup (fig.
rapid freezing, frozen and cold storage, and 1) have been placed in locations that permit a
further processing. The first addition is the blast smooth product flow
through the facility. The
freezer. 2 Its capacity is 300,000 pounds, or one three additions, blast freezing, frozen storage,
day's production. The next addition is the cold and further processing (fig. 2), can be brought
(35 F) and frozen (0) storage areas. A capacity of about without costly renovations to existing areas
3 million pounds, which is 10 days' production, of operation or disruption of production.
Thus,
was chosen arbitrarily. Marketing conditions with minimal congestion, bottlenecks, and cross
cause the storage capacity to vary greatly from traffic, live bird trucks unload at one aide of the
place to place. plant, supplies and packaging materials are re-
The further processing area is the third addi- ceived on the other, offal trucks are loaded at the
tion planned. Further processed turkey products rear, and the product is loaded at the front next to
are quite numerous and require a large assort- the office.
ment of packaging materials, necessitating addi-
tional dry materials storage space. This storage For a smaller operation with a daily production
space is provided on the second floor over the rate of 150,000 pounds, the basic plant for proc-
blast freezer addition (fig. 3). essing whole, ready-to-cook chilled birds can be
A receiving dock for plant supplies and packag- operated with a single eviscerating line and cor-
ing materials is included in the third addition. respondingly less slaughtering, scalding, and de-
This eliminates crowding and confusion in the feathering capacity. Structural dimensions of the
product shipping area when further processed basic plant should not be reduced for this lower
products are produced. production rate because relocating major equip-
The basic layout was developed with the fun- ment in these areas when production is increased
damentals of systematic planning in mind. It con- would be very costly and time consuming. The
sists of major activity areas for live bird receiv- three additions can vary in dimensions best
ing, slaughtering and defeathering, eviscerating, suited to the needs established by area and
chilling, packaging, and shipping whole, ready- marketing requirements.
LIVE BIRD RECEIVING AREA
In the case-study plants observed in this re- the desired height to permit workers on raised
search, birds were transported to the processing platforms a convenient reach into each compart-
plant in vans in battery-type cages permanently ment level. The dock is wide enough to provide for
attached to the vehicle, when the van first ar- a walkway and permits unloading from both sides
rives at the plant, it is weighed and then moves to of the truck. In addition, the dock is long enough
the unloading area (fig. 4), where adjustable to accommodate double trailers in areas where
height conveyors and worker platforms provide doubles are used.
easy reach for workers while hanging birds in Avan-washing area is provided for cleaning
shackles (fig. 5). An electric hoist and cable sys-
tem can position either side independently, allow-
after
unloading. The whole dock area should be
covered to provide shelter for workers, birds, and
ing for variations in work rates. Another method equipment during inclement weather. Suction
of doing this can be accomplished by means of a
fans are suggested for use over the center of the
hydraulic hoist (fig. 6). The hoist raises the van to dock area for ventilation and picking up the loose
feathers.
In the area between unloading birds from the
truck and dispatching birds, a clear area for
initially, access is through a temporary doorway
USD A ante mortem inspection and necessary
(not shown) in the shipping dock wall. After the second facilitiesmust be provided. A small office and
addition is completed, the door opening is moved to the restroom for truckdrivers, receiving clerk, and
cold storage room wall, and access to the freezer is other workers in this area of the plant, have been
through a door from the freezer to the cooler, establish- provided in the office and personnel facilities sec-
ing a vestibule effect for the freezer. tion of the plant (see p, 13),
SECTION A-A
C==}FLOOR WELL
FOR
BOX CHUTE
'Sliding door
BOX MAKEUP BOX MAKE UP

AND
STORAGE
ADDITION NO, I
DRY MATERIALS STORAGE

1FLOOR WELL OVERBLAST FREEZER
J
FOR
BOX CHUTE
BASIC PLANT
SCALE OF FEET
10 20 30 10 SO
FIGURE 3. Second floor layout and section view of part of basic plant and additions.
SLAUGHTERING AREA
Birds enter the blood tunnel (fig. 4) on the that used for lung removal, is used periodically to
overhead conveyor, hanging by their feet. It is suck coagulated blood from the gutter to the offal
important to allow enough width (6 feet) in this room.
tunnel to prevent bruising by birds flapping The ceiling, floor, and walls of the slaughter
against walls. The blood tunnel should be of suffi- area and blood tunnel must be washed down regu-
cient length to allow ample bleeding time before larly, necessitating the use of a glazed surface
scalding. The actual length depends on line speed that is impervious to moisture. Hot and cold
and the estimated time required for adequate water outlets and steam must be provided at con-
bleeding. USDA regulations require that blood venient locations for cleanup of the area. A space
from the slaughter operation be confined effec- heater should be provided for the area to provide
tively. Since most local regulations prohibit worker comfort in cold weather. Lighting equal to
dumping blood into sewerlines, it is generally 30 footcandles (fc) at the slaughtering station and
disposed of after coagulation. Two methods of 10 fc in the blood tunnel is suggested as sufficient.
doing this are used: (1) Coagulated blood is swept Fans should be provided for adequate ventilation
into a collection gutter and moved to the ofml for personnel in the tunnel and at the slaughter-
room by auger, or (2) a vacuum system, similar to ing station.
SCALDING AND DEFEATHERING

Scalding Area row tank, whereas two passes would reduce the
As' the birds leave the blood tunnel, they enter length, but add to the width. The dimensions of
the scald tank. The dimensions of this tank are the space available for this purpose would be the
controlled by the line speed and time required for deciding factor as to the number of passes birds
loosening the feathers. The conveyor line can be make through the tank. Tanks are manufa,ctured
constructed so as to make one or more passes in sections dimensional varia-
for this
allowing
through the tank, One pass requires a long, nar- tion. The floor in this area must be provided with
proper drains to take care of overflow and and food processing areas. This train of air would
cleanup. The scald tank itself must be connected be of sufficient pressure to ensure flow from the
to the processing waste sewer system for empty- picking area to the live handling dock, thus pre-
ing and cleaning. venting entrance of feathers and dust-ladened
Good ventilation is essential to take care of air. Air should be forced through this section of
moisture and heat buildup. Ventilation can be ac- the plant at a rate of at least one complete change
complished using air drawn from the eviscerating per minute. Steam, water, and power outlets
should be well located. Lighting equal to 25 fc is
adequate for the area.
To prevent overscalding birds during an unex-
pected line shutdown, provisions must be made
for lifting the entire conveyor line of birds out of
the scald water. Commercial equipment is avail-
able for this purpose,
Defeathering Area
The number of defeathering machines depends
on the type used and the production rate desired.
In planning the layout for a new plant, ample
space should be provided for installing additional
machines at a later date. The defeathering area,
in most case-study plants, was found to be inade-
quate, making it costly to install new equipment
and to maintain existing machines.
A gutter drain parallel to, and to one side of
each row of machines, is required. The floor
should slope with positive drainage toward the
gutter. Provisionsshould be made for anchoring
the picking machines securely because their effi-
FIGURE 6. Cross section of live bird receiving area
ciency depends on accurate alinement with the
with adjustable-height worker platform and bird
conveyor line.
conveyor.
Recently developed, completely enclosed scald-
ing and picking equipment using steam, or hot
water spray for scalding, or both should be con-
sidered for use in this area of operations, This
equipment is quite versatile and can be installed
in the space provided, taking the place of the
scald tank and picking machines as shown in fig-
ure 4.
Also in figure 4, a sound barrier wall is shown
between the mechanicalpickers and the finishing
and transfer stations. This wall would provide
noise attenuation to protect workers from the ex-
cessively high levels generated by picking
equipment currently available. The buffer room
provided by this wall and the eviscerating area
wall can provide an area for performing opera-
tions not normally allowed in the picking room.
Space must be provided for workers who re-
move pin feathers after the birds leave the pick-
ing machines. A bird singer is provided for the
removal of vestigial feathers (hair) after which
the birds are thoroughly washed before being
transferred to the eviscerating line. Shanks and
preen glands should be removed outside the de-
feathering room. This is usually done after birds
are transferred to the eviscerating line at a point
where the eviscerating line conveyor passes
JA. through the pinning area. If mechanized shank
FIGURE 6, Cross section of live bird receiving area cutting is used, the machine is installed on the
with hydraulic hoist to adjust height of van. defeathering line. The carcass drops to a transfer
8 MARKETING RESEARCH REPORT 1036, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
belt as the shanks are cut. The shanks continue good lighting. A minimum of 50 fc of light is re-
on and are mechanically released from the quired for this area. As in other areas, hot water
shackle at any desirable locations as the shackle
returns to the live bird hanging area. The pinning
and steam outlets must be provided for cleanup
operation requires close inspection necessitating operations.
OFFAL ROOM
Approximately 20 percent of the live weight of with the feathers for disposal. Feather disposal
turkeys processed is discarded as inedible material gutters and viscera disposal gutters empty into
in the form of blood, feathers, viscera, feet, heads, different mechanical separators in the offal room,
condemned carcasses, and A
plant proc-
parts. where the solids are separated from the water.
essing 37,000 pounds of eviscerated turkeys per Feathers and other offal are then conveyed to
hour accumulates about 7,500 pounds of offal separate, waiting trucks. As a water-conserving
each hour. Facilities must be provided for rapid measure, some of the water from the separators
removal of this waste to prevent creating a nui- can be recirculated to assist in feather flowaway.
sance and contaminating edible products. The truck-loading area should be sloped to trap-
The offal room should be located adjacent to the ped drains for carrying off seepage and washdown
defeathering and the eviscerating areas. This al- water.
lows a minimum distance for moving feathers and
offal to the offal room. All gutters must be large Two pits with floors dropped 3 to 4 feet, one for
3
enough to handle the necessary volume of water feathers and one for other offal, are provided in
and waste and sloped for effective movement of the offal room. This allows for sloping floor gutter
waste product. Feather gutters require less slope drains and for installing separators and pumps.
than offal gutters from the eviscerating area; The floors should be sloped toward the pits, and
1-inch slope per 50 feet for feathers and 1-inch the walls should be of moisture-impervious mat-
slope per 19 feet for viscera are recommended. erial, as frequent washdown is required for sani-
Blood from the blood tunnel is usually combined tation.
EVISCERATING AND CHILLING

5
In plants preparing only whole, ready-to-cook flushed offal trough. (Dry removal of offal may
turkeys, 50 percent or more of the plant workers take the place of the water-flushed trough with-
work in the eviscerating area. Therefore, particu- out changing the layout, as shown in fig. 7.)
lar attention should be given to the design and Hand-wash nozzels are required at each
layout of work stations, aisle space, noise level, 3-foot-long work station along the line. Foot or
ventilation, and proper placement of personnel hip pedal-operated, self-closing-type valves are
facilities. Figure 7 shows an efficient layout for recommended on hand- wash nozzles as a means of
this area. conserving water.
The eviscerated are
carcasses chilled promptly The overhead monorail conveyor height should
after evisceration, Plants with further processing be located so that the birds reach the tallest
4
operations do not truss birds that are to be cut workers at approximately their elbow height. Ad-
up. This requires that birds to be cut up be sepa- justable platforms can be used to elevate shorter
rated from the trussed birds before chilling. Fig- workers to the same height. Conveyor line wear
ure 8 is a product flow chart, which identifies op- can be decreased and maintenance costs reduced
erations from eviscerating through shipping and if horizontal and vertical curves are held to a
shows the alternate routes the product may take minimum.
before reaching the shipping dock, The line should be long enough to provide
3-foot-long work stations for each worker and 8
Eviscerating Area feet for inspection (including room for trimmers),
plus additional space for training new workers.
The main equipment item in this area, is the The offal trough should be wide enough to
bird single or dual conveyor line, over a water-
accommodate the dual line even though a single
line is first contemplated. In case of expansion,
relocating or installing new equipment is expen-
Research is now underway to reduce water-use rates sive and necessitates a long period of shutdown.
by providing vacuum pickup of all offal and feathers.
Adequate aisle space is essential for personnel
4 6
See footnote
Whole, ready-to-cook birds are generally trussed. 3.
TURKEY PROCESSING PLANT LAYOUT 9
OvihnJ Door
BELT CONVEYOR
INSIDE OUTSIDE
BIRD WASHER CHILLING AREA
CARCASS CHILLER
I 5
CARCASS CHILLER
CARCASS CHILLER
OHlP LINE
PASSAGE WAY
SHIPPING
DOCK
OFFICES AND PERSONNEL FACILITIES
SCALEOFFEET
B 10
FIGURE 7, Equipment layout for eviscerating, chilling, and packaging areas.

10
FROM EVISCERATING LINE lets for cleanup. Lighting should bo at least 40 fc.
Regulations call for 60 fc of light ut inspection
stations.
SORT AND TRUSS LEGS Ventilation in the eviscerating room is essen-
tial.The air must be dust free and of sufficient
SORT AND entry velocity to provide a positive (low to mini-
DRAINING OR FOR mize product contamination. This requires a sys-
TEMPORARY STORAO HOLD FOR FURTHER PROCESSING
tem that ties in with the cooling and heating re-
INSERT FURTHER PROCESS
WHOLEB.RDS GI8LETS HECK '
quirements of the plant, providing filtered cooled
WEIGHED or heated air to flow away from ready-to-cook
AND MARKED times.
BAG
product areas at all
.
SHRINK
Chilling Area
To allow a continuous flow of product through
the operation, the trend is now toward using
^r BLAST FREEZE inline-type chillers," which lower the tempera-
ture of the carcasses to about 40 or 60 F in 3 to 4
hours. This
eliminates the necessity of providing
COVER BOX AND PALLETIZE
several hundred holding tanks and space in
which to store the carcasses, plus the manpower
FROZEN
STORAGE
r^
V
t-L,
OPERATION
required to push the tanks around. When inline
chilling is used, the birds are sorted as to whether
UJ
i
{ the end product will bo whole, ready-to-cook, or

MULTIPLE OPERATION
further processed as they are removed from the
TRANSPORT
eviscerating shackle. Since whole, ready-to-cook
STORAGE
birds are trussed before chilling, a mechanized
carcass sizer may be used to determine which are
TEMPORARY STORAGE
to be packed as whole, reudy-to-cook birds and
FIGURE 8. Product flow chart of sviacernting through which are to be further processed. After the birds
are discharged from the inline chillers,
shipping operations. they are
again sorted. The trussed, ready-to-cook birds are
safety and for minimizing damage to walls and placed on the drip lino, which takes them to the
fixed equipment by materials handling equip- weighing and bagging operation while the car-
ment. Unobstructed aisles 6 feet wide on each casses to bo further processed are placed in iced
side of the eviscerating line, excluding space for holding tanks and held for further processing.
workers, is ample. A guardrail between the line Storage space for holding these birds is provided
worker and the aisle space is recommended. in either the eviscerating and chilling area or in
Electrical, air, and vacuum outlets must be the cut-up section of the further processing area
provided where needed plus water and steam out- (fig. 8).
PACKAGING
Whole, ready-to-cook turkeys are bagged in ing (covers arc not placed on the container until it
plastic-film bags after chilling and before freez- emerges from the blast freezer).
ing. As birds are removed from the chillers, they Figure 7 shows an efficient equipment layout
are hung on an overhead drip line (for for the packaging area of tho
draining plant. The overhead
trapped water). The conveyor carries them to a drip conveyor lino is equipped with mechanical
table where the giblets and neck are inserted and release shackles that drop carcasses on a table-
the bird is weighed, The
weight is marked on the height belt conveyor on which grading and sort-
bag before inserting the carcass. The air is then ing (whole, roady-to-cook or for further process-
removed (from bag and bird) by vacuum, and the
ing) is done and the giblets are inserted. Figure 9
bag is sealed. The bagged bird is moved through a shows a bilevol conveyor system for boxing tur-
bag shrinking tunnel before being placed in a keys. Moveable boxing tables are placed between
container holding one or more birds, tho bagged bird conveyor (1) and the boxed
depending prod-
on carcass size and
marketing practice. Some
plants place the birds in containers before freez-
ing; others, not until the film-wrapped product
"Recont trends' in tho industry Indicate that aging
emerges from the blast freezer. A two-piece con- the turkey carcass overnight for
tainer is required if birds are boxed before tenderizing before
freez- bagging ana freezing may not be necessary.
handling; (3) icing the boxes, if necessary; (4) clos- when empty. A 48-inch dock height has proved
from ground to
ing boxes; (5) occasionally labeling; and (6) re- satisfactory. Vertical clearance
cording weights. roof should be a minimum of 14 feet. A roof over-
The shipping accommodates hang of at least 4 feet should be provided for
dock, as planned, weather protection of the loading operation.
has been provided for making
five trucks. Space
Overhead doors may be installed at the dock
up mixed orders of various products (whole, openings if it is desirable to enclose the area.
ready-to-cook birds, chilled or frozen, and further The general office adjoins the order makeup
processed items) for the same shipment. area of the shipping department and is provided
Truck-bed heights vary from 46 to 56 inches with windows, permitting management to ob-
when loaded and may be 6 to 8 inches higher serve operations.
OFFICES AND PERSONNEL FACILITIES

Pleasant comfortable surroundings contribute conditioning, both heating and cooling, for
greatly toward worker productivity and improve
worker comfort is essential. Self-contained units
quality of workmanship. In plants where pleasant suspended from the ceiling may be used.
surroundings have been provided, employee Washrooms include lockers for employees' per-
morale was observed to be much higher, resulting sonal belongings, handwashing facilities, and
in a reduction of labor turnover. Providing a toilet facilities. Regulations call for a minimum
clean, well-lighted lunchroom; washrooms
with
number of toilets and other requirements tor
adequate easily cleaned toilet facilities; well- poultry processing plants. Separate personal
equipped first-aid rooms; and an adequate park- facilities have been provided for office workers.
A
reflect
ing area, conveniently located,
that
washroom with shower and toilet is provided near
management's concern for employee welfare the live bird receiving and slaughter areas for
is proving effective in reducing absenteeism. workers in these areas.
In developing the basic plant layout (fig. 2), in all
consideration was given to locating the employee Adequate ventilation must be provided
facility and office area portion
of the plant con- washrooms. This can be accomplished with buu*>
in ceiling fans or screened window openings it the
venient to the work areas, yet keeping all areas
for facilities auxiliary to processing operations
windows are located on exterior walls. Tinted
floors and ceramic tile wainscoting for
concrete
grouped together in the same wing of the
overall
the area with walls are highly recommended for sanitation and
plant. This allows for surrounding be of the
four masonry-type load bearing walls and cover- pleasing appearance. All fixtures should
structure. All in- wall-hung type. Circular, foot-pedal controlled
ing it with a clear span of roof wash fountains require less space and are easy to
terior partitions may be of wood frame and dry
keep clean. A few vanity-type
lavatories with
wall paneling. Ceilings are lightweight, women s rest
wall mirrors are suggested for the
suspended-type panels. This allows
for versatility
area. Good lighting, about 40 fc, is suggested. If
in the layout of this area, which would greatly
electrical outlets are provided, they should be
reduce costs of remodeling and renovation in the outlet and at
future. Figure 10 is a suggested layout of em- kept a safe distance from any water
in this area. Space is least 12 inches above floor level. Both hot and
ployee facilities and offices cold water must be provided at washstands.
shown for USDA inspector and grader offices. Air
EXPANSION OF BASIC PLANT

receiving dock for packaging
materials and other
In adding to the basic plant, as previously de- the further process-
scribed, blast freezing, cold storage,
and further plant supplies before adding
processing areas can be added
with minimum dis- ing additions.
ruption to plant operations.
Turkey products; whole, ready-to-cook birds;
and further processed items must be hard frozen
as rapidly as possible after chilling or processing
Blast Freezing Area to maintain quality and minimize spoilage
hazards. This is best accomplished by directing a
The first addition to the basic plant consists of -30 to -50 F blast of air, with a velocity of 400
to 500 ft/min, over the product. To allow
the cold
the blast freezing compartment, refrigeration on
the air to circulate freely, the product is stacked
machinery room, the passageway alongside racks with space between containers. In the past,
blast freezer, and additional dry materials
stor-
the freezer these racks were transported into the freezer and,
age area on a second floor level above compartment was filled, the
The area serves as a after the freezing
(figs.2 and 3). passageway
door was closed, and the refrigeration and fans damage by handling equipment. The ideal
were turned on. When freezing was completed, method of solving this problem in areas of heavy
the system was turned off, the door was opened, in and out traffic is the use of an air curtain.
and the entire batch of product was removed. In Under these conditions, however, air curtain fans
recent years, equipment manufacturers have de- tend to ice up if they are mounted inside the cold
veloped mechanized conveyor systems that allow room; therefore, outside mounting is called for.
a continuous inline-type product flow through the The cold storage area, as planned in this report,
fast freezing operation. One method used is illus- has a ceiling height of 25 feet, allowing pallet
trated in figure 11. loads of product to be stacked four high (neces-
The product enters the freezer on a conveyor sitating the use of pallet racks) and leaving a
belt. When it reaches a position in line with the minimum of 3 feet clearance about the stack for
rack, it is mechanically
pushed onto the rack air circulation. The use of pallet racks in storage
shelf. When the shelf is full, the rack rises to the areas eliminates carton damage caused by exces-
next shelf for loading. The loaded racks are then sive weight at the bottom of the stack and
toppled
moved slowly across the top section of the freezer, stacks. Pallet racks also permit first in, first out
lowered to the bottom section, then returned to .rotation of product.
Special attention must be
the starting point where the frozen product is given to floor slab design when pallet racks are
mechanically pushed onto the conveyor belt, used, as the product load becomes concentrated at
which carries it to the sorting and palletizing the four corners of the rack instead of being
area. evenly distributed over the entire area the load
For an efficient operation, the blast freezer covers.
must be of sufficient capacity to freeze the product The stacking layout (fig. 13) was planned with
at the same daily production rate as the eviscerat- access aisles on both sides of the storage space to
ing and chilling operations. This prevents a allow for first in, first out product movement. The
bottleneck at this point in the line, at aisles also allow better air circulation around the
production
times when the entire production is to be frozen. stored product.
The blast freezer, as planned in this report, Safety precaution measures required in this
should be large enough to hold an entire day's area include provisions for: (1) A safety exit door
production with enough allowance for days of with positive inside latch release, (2) an alarm
high production, that is, if extra birds are proc- system that can be activated from inside the
essed. The refrigerating equipment must be of
freezer, (3) sufficient light (10 to 20 fc) for clear
sufficient tonnage to
completely freeze these birds vision for forklift operations, and (4) insulated
in a 24-hour period. This means that the work
clothing for all employees who work in the freez-
crew that handles the frozen product should start
ing areas.
their daily shift 6 hours later than the work crew
in the processing area. Figure 12 is a schematic Further Processing Area
sketch showing the 6-hour difference in starting With the addition of a further
times for the work crews. processing area
(fig. 14), the plant becomes a facility equipped to
Cold Storage Area efficiently perform all phases of processing opera-

tions used in preparing
The turkey for today's com-
cold storage addition consists of two
plex marketing process. Further processing adds
rooms the frozen storage area held at F for greatly to the number of product forms, creating
long-term storage of frozen product and the the necessity for providing a plant
supplies and
smaller cold storage area held at 35 for short-
packaging materials receiving dock. The addition
term storage of chilled product. The 35 area also has also considered the need for additional space
serves as an anteroom for USDA inspector's office in this area of the
entering the frozen for
storage area. This conserves on refrigeration for plant and, for further processed items, a quality
the frozen storage room and minimizes moisture control laboratory is suggested for quality sur-
buildup around door openings. veillance.
One of the most important structural features The basic operations generally required in
to consider when planning cold further processing turkeys are boning or cutting
storage facilities
is the use of
moisture-impervious materials for the birds into parts or both. Figure 14 shows a
walls, ceilings, and floors. If moisture penetrates layout of the boning line and work stations for the
these surfaces, the insulating efficiency de-
preparation of specialty items patterned after the
creases. Formation of ice crystals may cause one developed and tested in earlier research (3).
heaving of floor slabs and general breakdown of Ample space for temporary holding of whole car-
other building materials. Doors for movement of
casses and cut-up parts has been provided. The
product in and out are another problem area. If parts and cuts can be packaged and shipped or
hinged wooden doors are used, they should be frozen and then shipped; however, many plants
covered with metal and sealed to
prevent mois- no longer stop at this point in further processing.
ture absorption and to protect the wood from
Therefore, space is provided for further proc-
15
*3
N
:
a o
E
16 MARKETING RESEARCH REPORT 1036, U.S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE
essing into products, such as turkey rolls, steaks, ...
nMl ^ ul-
and pot pies; cooked items, such as casseroles and MIDNIGHT
heat-and-serve roasts; and others. The
great vari-
ety _of equipment that may become involved and
variation in space requirements for such
equip-
ment are so great that no
attempt has been made
to suggest an overall
layout.
Good lighting, a minimum of 40 fc, must be
provided in this area. A smooth floor, pitched to
trapped drains, is required. Water and steam out- 6A.M.
lets must be placed at convenient
locations for
cleanup and as required for hand washing by the
further processing-room workers.
Self-closing-
type, foot-operated, hand-washing facilities are
recommended. Above floor level, electrical outlets
in convenient, safe locations should
be provided
torpower tools and other electric-powered eauiD-
^ F
ment.
NOON
PROCESSING CREW
BOXING CREW
BLAST FREEZING PRODUCT
FIGURE 12. Schematic illustration of time schedules

for work crews when
product is to be held in blast
freezer for 24-hour periods.
REFRIGERATION
BLAST FREEZER MACHINES AREA
I 1
FROZEN STORAGE
O'F
~
n
DDDDDD
DDDDDD a
DDDDD aa
ID
DD
J
FIGURE 13. Cold storage area layout.

i . i
I &U04J&AO |OOJ )J30Q I
0p jo
tn
o
K
(-.11.
O HI
Z)
O (9
OZ
K. ffi
z
om
1-0
IT Z
-vaav oNmiHo B 9NiivaaosiA3-

REFRIGERATION SYSTEM
An efficient refrigeration system is as impor- Generally, the amount of ice needed for the first
tant in the overall operation of processing turkeys stage of chilling is 1 pound of ice per pound of
as any other phase of the marketing operation turkey (1). For a plant operating at 300,000
The moment the bird is slaughtered, body heat pounds of turkey per day this would amount to
loss begins and continues slowly through
de- 150 tons per day of
icemaking refrigeration
feathering and evisceration, then more rapidly capacity.
-the
during washing (inside and out) of the bird,
temperature of the water used
low enough to accomplish some ohn
^
proceffling is
After cn ii lmg (if birds are to be held in frozen
storage), the birds are subject to blast freezing
Sâ"; that reduces the temperature of the whole
o turkey
tional refrigeration is required to provide piompt to Q p Qr below> ^
removal of the remaining body heat.
Factors that must be considered in selecting an
adequate cooling system for the end product
in-
elude product heat load, exterior and interior heat

^^
driven by high n
fr
/
s ^| M
fl
a
& te
flow rate fans
re
A
in HIP
flt
f^ ^^
of ."g?
e
mnm
e Yn "aofd
Refrig^tfon of 160 tons s ?e
HP'
taad of the room, and diBtribution of the

medium (water air or both). Product heatch^hng
load is
ired to
fm ,
&
Associated with the refrigeration
h
t ^g^/^g conditions neces-
equipment are
ditoo^
dependent on the temperature of the buds when facilitiea for de
frosting evaporator coils and au-
they enter the refrigeration
ft^J^?
is the heat transmitted through the walls flooi
tomatic controls for timing tL
tiong Qenerall
sequence of opera-
ine | red re ?rige ration sys-
ceilmg, and doors, In addition, moisture temg f M be performance
Fn;Tnt
n VaP b
\ ^ r
ie S e
f VP?a tion must Sntenl
load. Other heat loads refrigeration contend
with include heat entry and refrigerator osses ,
travel
sum)lie
fc
^ ^to'
Bested over a period of time
ft
.
by &abk equip-
jnotallaf ion qinrxa tv, rot* nf
JSTe^lriSd a
!
ning and installing the equipment for the system. Aft the blast-freezing stage of
_
of cooling are involved

Four different processes refrigeration,
th Product is stored at F or lower. This in-
in
prepadnrrurkev^ 'for market. They are: (1) f
O^^S^^?at^^^^ ice water, volyes the rapid circulation of refrigerated air
lower at all times. This can be
bias! freez1ngT(3) frozen storage, and (4) cold
^**%V
.(3)
storage (for holting of chilled product prior

shiument) Pir^f hndv heat must be quickly re-
to
JSedSffi nfcSXS
}
^
m f
ft
nexible plastic ducts, hung from
ai r space above the stacks of
f ^
air thro u h
f ,? P^
f -
the ceiling
mo^dM&m the trusses Ideally," the fiody ^the
1 he fourth
product.
to
(ready-to-cook bird) temperature is reduced type of refrigeration requires a cold
40 F within 3 to 4 hours after slaughter. One storage room kept at 35 F. This cooler serves as
an anteroom for the frozen
popular method of doing this involved inline-type storage area, which
chilling tanks that move the product through accomplishes three purposes: (1) Conserves re-
chilled or ice water Icemaking machines, located mgerated air from the frozen storage room, (2)
over the ice storage bin, continuously feed ice to prevents frost buildup at the freezer door open-
ings, and (d) provides refrigerated space for "fresh
augers that supply the chillers from an overhead chilled or chill pack
system. (Since chip ice has a tendency to stick product. Refrigeration re-
together when stored, a worker or mechanical quirements of this area must be sufficient to bal-
vibrator is required to break up the caked ice in- ance heat pickup from the outside.
with a In designing the basic
termittently to provide the auger conveyor plant and additions, lay-
continuous supply.) Chillers are available which out consideration was
given to locating the re-
use chilled water, but no ice. Some chillers are trigeration machinery room close to all areas
to where refrigeration is required,
jacketed, using direct expansion of refrigerant yet locating it on
an utside wall to help
cool the chill water. dissipate heat buildup.
STORAGE OF PACKAGING MATERIALS

When the product requires only one type of con- the packaging materials
storage area can be rela-
tainer, such as when the entire output of the basic tively small.However, all aspects of dry storage,
plant is confined to ready-to-cook, whole birds, including space requirements, inventory control,
materials handling, and capital investment, be- gravity chute. Approximate location and number
'come complicated as plant volume increases and of floor openings for box chutes to the lower floor
the end product is prepared in different forms. level should be planned in advance of actual con-
In this layout, the packaging materials storage struction.
area is located on the second floor over the pack-
aging and shipping areas and extends over the Packaging materials manufacturers generally
blast freezer when this addition is made. As palletize large volume shipments for fast, easy
shown in the basic layout (fig. 2), the dock where handling with lift trucks; therefore, processing
supplies are received is located at the end of the plants should provide for palletized handling of
further processing addition after expansion has these items. A forklift truck equipped with a
been completed. In the basic plant, the shipping high-rise fork is an efficient method of elevating
dock is used for receiving supplies. A portable, materials to the upper floor. They can then be
moved into place with a pallet transporter that
inclined, power-driven conveyor is required for
remains there for servicing the area.
transporting materials to the second floor storage
area. A stairway for workers is provided for ac- must be provided for inventory
Ample lighting
cess to the area. of materials and for making up boxes with
Box makeup is carried on in the packaging mechanized equipment. Electrical outlets must
materials storage area, and the made-up boxes be provided for box makeup machines, portable
are fed to the packaging operations below by power tools, space heaters, and coolers.
PLANT STRUCTURE
The physical appearance of a properly planned must be fireproof and impervious to moisture,
turkey-processing plant is attractive, with clean, which in general limits the structural materials
well-balanced lines (fig. 15). The physical charac- to concrete and steel. Monolithic-type concrete
teristics of the building used to house turkey floors are used in all plants. Floor maintenance is
processing operations differ from buildingsin a problem, especially so in the eviscerating and
most industries, because requires movement of
it further processing area. The large amount of
a larger volume of perishable product, strict water used in these areas, along with the fat from
sanitary requirements for processing, and diver- the bird being processed, creates a hazard for
sity of processing stages. workers. Epoxy-type, acid-resisting floor coatings
The main floor level should be raised above the with fine, sharp aggregates added can be troweled
natural grade to permit truck-bed height docks onto the concrete slab to create a nonskid, acid-
and provide good drainage. Four feet above grade resisting surface. However, even after these pre-
was chosen because this is the average truck-bed cautions, the fatty acids and corrosive cleaning
height. Raising the floor to this level also pro- solutions generally used cause rapid deteriora-
vides space for access tunnels to drain lines, tion of the surface under normal traffic condi-
waterlmes, and electrical conduits, while tions. This is an important factor in determining
minimizing the hazards of damage by flooding. amortization rates for the building.
Practically all materials used in the structure Hollow core masonry blocks of lightweight
FIGURE 15. Perspective sketch of turkey processing plant.

aggregate (cinder block) are ideal for processing the necessity of engaging a professional struc-
plant wall construction. Steel reinforcing, both tural engineering firm acquainted with these fac-
horizontal and vertical, may be installed where tors for design calculations.
necessary to provide strength for stresses that
may occur in this type of construction. If walls
require moisture proofing, this can be accom-
plished with a coat of cement plaster or, in some
cases, a brush coat of clear, moisture -pro ofing
material. Hollow masonry blocks are also an ideal
base for glazed tile, providing a surface that is
impervious to moisture and has proved to be the
wall surface most durable and easy to maintain. -
D-24' |
Steel I-bearns may be used for roof support
members. The roof covering can be of steel sheets
0-20'
or prestressed, lightweight, concrete panels. The
ideal system to use for roof construction is pre-
stressed concrete beam and panel-type construc-
tion.
In most areas, ceilings are required to be of
moisture-impervious surfaces. Plaster composed
of portland cement and lightweight aggregate is
ideal for this purpose when applied over metal
lath. Metal divider bars may be exposed on the
surface between panels to prevent cracking.
Recommended ceiling heights for different op-
eration areas in the model plant are shown in
figure 16. Overhead crawl space is provided over NOHUStBUE SPACE
areas where much duct work and piping is re- UCMBEKS
quired.
_
Soil, weather, and other environmental condi- FIGURE 16. Recommended ceiling heights and their
tions vary greatly in different areas as well as
relationship between areas and to overall plant
local laws and building codes; all of which create height.
SITE LOCATION AND PLAN

Many factors must be considered when select- Waste disposal is one of the big problems facing
ing the plant site for a turkey processing opera- the industry today. Some plants use public-owned
tion. Experience has proved that it is important to systems for disposal, others maintain their own.
locate: (1) Near the area where live birds are Oxidation ponds have proved to be effective and
grown since it is less costly to transport the economical as a treatment in handling and treat-
finished product than the live birds, ing sewage. Processing plants with operations
especially
when weight loss (shrinkage) and mortality dur- that involve high biochemical oxygen demand
ing extreme weather conditions are considered; (BOD) levels in the processing effluent have con-
(2) near a dependable and ample labor supply structed their own treatment facilities. This con-
(much of the work can and is presently performed struction is essential in locations not suited to
by women); (3) in a nonresidential area to avoid lagooning or not having access to a public system.
conflict with today's ecology-minded society that Solid waste (offal) handling is also a problem, A
may object to this type of facility near their solution requires byproduct rendering facilities,
homes; and (4) in an area with adequate public either at the plant site for large operations or dis-
utilities that are reasonably priced. The require- posal through a commercial rendering plant
ments for minimum and maximum quantities of where the volume is small. Community services
electrical power, water, and gas must be estab- (such as police and fire protection), taxes, trans-
lished. Auxiliary fuel oil reserve may be desirable portation facilities, all-weather roads, and qual-
in ease of low gas supply or to serve as fuel for a ity of neighboring businesses should all influence
standby power source. Turkey processing re- selection of the building site.
quires large amounts of water, most of which A 10-acre rectangular site was selected as a
must be of potable quality, This can be supplied convenient size (land area greater than five times
either by public utility or plant-owned wells. In the plant area) for the plant site (fig. 17). If a
many locations, plant-owned wells are the most rendering plant, sewage treatment, and oxidation
economical. If wells are used, the water quality pond are contemplated, the site would have to be
must be certified by public health authorities. much larger. If the plant is to be serviced by rail,
V3UV OMIAI3D3M QMI8 3AI1

0)
to
AVM3AIHQ i
AVM3M0 I
a spur or rail siding should run parallel to the the plant, adjacent to the main entrance. Drive-
right side (as viewed in fig. 17) of the structure, ways of ample width for both autos and trucks
allowing the use of the dock for receiving plant provide access to the plant perimeter. A scale for
supplies and, if necessary, product loading to the weighing both empty and loaded trucks is located
railcars. Open land on two sides of the plant is behind the plant and parking area. Nearby hold-
recommended for future expansion. ing sheds provide weather protection for live
Auto parking for 150 employees is conveniently birds. Space behind the plant is for truck
parking,
located at the left of the plant, whereas parking auxiliary sheds, additional shop space, or unused
for visitors and management is located in front of equipment storage.
ADDITIONAL REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS AND CONSIDERATIONS

In addition to the facilities, equipment, and tions, (3) investigating and documenting all acci-
operating requirements called for under the Poul- employees in safety procedures
dents, (4) training
try Products Inspection Act, poultry processing and job hazards, (5) requiring the immediate
plants are now being required to meet the regula- treatment and protection of minor cuts against
tions under the Occupational Safety and Health infection, (6) providing a medical attendant in
Act as well as the restrictions placed on pollution first-aid room, and (7) protecting from
employees
of the environment by the Environmental Protec- obvious frequently overlooked hazards with ade-
tion Agency. By citing a few problems and possi- quate machine guards, stair railings, electrical
ble solutions, it is hoped that the poultry proc- wiring, switch insulation, floor drain covers,
essor will be assisted in meeting the new re- nonslip surfaces on walkways and at work sta-
quirements. tions, and lighting for stairways and halls.
Noise created by most conventional defeather- In the area of pollution, most plants are con-
ing equipment now in use generally exceeds the fronted with an excessive BOD as well as a
large
allowable noise level. Approaches that can be volume of processing effluent. Research on
considered in dealing with this problem include: methods and for vacuum pickup of all
(1) Replacing defeathering equipment with
equipment
poultry waste with only slight process change is
equipment that muffles thelnoise; (2) reducing well underway and should be available soon. In
exposure time for workers involved by staggering the meantime, reduction in water-use rates
by
assignments to areas of lower' noise level; and (3) more effective
as a temporary expedient, furnishing workers spray rinse through the use of
proper nozzles (easily positioned and optimum
with properly fitted ear muffs or earplugs, droplet size) at the bird and hand washing sta-
Another operation exceeding the current noise tions can reduce the total amount of water used,
level is the removal of turkey lungs by vacuum. Careful training of eviscerating and
cleanup
Temporary remedial action cHn be taken by en- crews can reduce solids that are accidentally
closing the lung removal station with clear plas- added to the effluent. Where local ordinances
tic sheets and providing workers with
earplugs, prohibit the scatter of feathers and dust from live
that they must wear, or rotating them in bird operations, poultry coops or batteries should
exposure
time with other workers. Other precautions that be cleaned out and washed after each
trip, and the
are suggested include: (1) Establishing an active live bird receiving dock and
adjoining area should
employee safety committee, (2) following through be vacuumed continuously during live bird han-
on safety committee reports and recommenda-
dling operations.
LITERATURE CITED
(1) AMERICAN SOCIETY OF HEATING, REFRIGERATING (3) HAMANN, J. A., SHUPE, w. L., SPANGLER, E. W.,
AND AIR-CONDITIONING ENGINEERS, INCORPORATED. and BRANT, A. W.
1971. GUIDE AND DATA BOOK, 1971 1973. IMPROVED METHODS AND EQUIPMENT
APPLICATIONS. 656 pp. Amer. Soc, FOR BONING TURKEYS. U.S. Dept.
Heating, Refrigerating and Air- Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. ARS-NE-17, 10
Conditioning Engin., Inc. New York, pp.
(4) MAYNARD, H. B.
1966. INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING HANDBOOK.
(2) CHILDS, R, E., REED, M. J. and HAMANN, J. A.
f 1512 pp. McGraw-Hill. New York.
1970. GUIDELINES FOR POULTRY-PROCESSING /
M.
(5) MOORE, J.
PLANT LAYOUTS. U.S. Dept. Agr., 1959. PLANT LAYOUT AND DESIGN. 566
Market. Res. Rpt. 878, 44 pp. pp.
The Macmillan Co. New York.
(6) MUTHBR, R. (10) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

1964. SYSTEMATIC LAYOUT PLANNING. Ed. 6, 1969. UNITED STATES INSPECTED MEATPACK-
241 pp. Indus. Ed. Inst. Boston. ING PLANTS, A GUIDE TO CONSTRUC-
(7) SHUPE, W. L., SPANGLER, E. W., BRANT, A. W., TION, EQUIPMENT, AND LAYOUT. U.S.
and HAMANN, J. A. Dept. Agr., Agr. Handb. 191, 73 pp.
1973. METHODS AND EQUIPMENT FOR EVIS- (11)
CERATING TURKEYS. U.S. Dept. 1970. POULTRY INSPECTOR'S HANDBOOK. 139
Agr., Market. Res. Rpt. 1006, 34 pp. pp. Washington, D.C.
(8) UNITED STATES CONGRESS. (12)
1972, FEDERAL WATER POLLUTION CONTROL 1971. AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS 1971. 639
ACT. Amendments of 1972. P.L. pp.Washington, D.C.
92-500, 62 pp. (13) WALTERS, R. E.
1968. IMPROVED EQUIPMENT FOR WEIGHING
1971. OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH AND PACKING TURKEYS. U.S. Dept.
STANDARDS. U.S. Fed. Register 36 Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. ARS 52-24, 22
(105); pt. 1910, 248 pp. pp.
Annual Reviews in Control 31 (2007) 255–267
www.elsevier.com/locate/arcontrol
Facility layout problems: A survey

Amine Drira a,b,*, Henri Pierreval a, Sonia Hajri-Gabouj b
a
LIMOS, UMR CNRS 6158, IFMA, Institut Français de Mécanique Avancée, Campus des Cézeaux, BP 265, F-63175 Aubière Cedex, France
b
URAII, INSAT, Institut National des Sciences Appliquées et de Technologie, Centre Urbain Nord, BP 676, 1080 Tunis, Tunisia
Received 14 January 2007; accepted 4 April 2007
Available online 5 November 2007
Abstract
Layout problems are found in several types of manufacturing systems. Typically, layout problems are related to the location of facilities (e.g.,
machines, departments) in a plant. They are known to greatly impact the system performance. Most of these problems are NP hard. Numerous
research works related to facility layout have been published. A few literature reviews exist, but they are not recent or are restricted to certain
specific aspects of these problems. The literature analysis given here is recent and not restricted to specific considerations about layout design.
We suggest a general framework to analyze the literature and present existing works using such criteria as: the manufacturing system features,
static/dynamic considerations, continual/discrete representation, problem formulation, and resolution approach. Several research directions are
pointed out and discussed in our conclusion.
# 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Manufacturing facility; Facility layout; Material handling; Dynamic layout; Optimization methods
1. Introduction design, such as loop layouts (Asef-Vaziri & Laporte, 2005),

dynamic problems (Balakrishnan & Cheng, 1998) and design
The placement of the facilities in the plant area, often through evolutionary approaches (Pierreval, Caux, Paris, &
referred to as ‘‘facility layout problem’’, is known to have a Viguier, 2003). Benjaafar, Heragu, and Irani (2002) conducted
significant impact upon manufacturing costs, work in process, a prospective analysis and suggested research directions. Our
lead times and productivity. A good placement of facilities conclusion will show that several of their research propositions
contributes to the overall efficiency of operations and can remain valid but other issues can also be raised.
reduce until 50% the total operating expenses (Tompkins et al., In this article, we present a recent survey about layout
1996). Simulation studies are often used to measure the benefits problems based on numerous literature references. First, in
and performance of given layouts (Aleisa & Lin, 2005). Section 2, we consider several possible definitions of layout
Unfortunately, layout problems are known to be complex and problems. Then, we propose a general framework that can be
are generally NP-Hard (Garey & Johnson, 1979). As a used to analyze the current literature. Section 3 distinguishes
consequence, a tremendous amount of research has been the major features of the workshops that can be found. In
carried out in this area during the last decades. A few surveys Section 4, emphasis is put on so called dynamic problems.
have been published to review the different trends and research Section 5 discusses how facility layout problems can be
directions in this area. However, these surveys are either not formulated. In Section 6, we are interested in the approaches
recent (Hassan, 1994; Kusiak & Heragu, 1987; Levary & that are used to solve these problems. Although this review
Kalchik, 1985), or focus on a very specific aspect of layout cannot be exhaustive, it has been conducted from a large
number of literature references.
* Corresponding author at: URAII, INSAT, Institut National des Sciences 2. Definition of layout problems
Appliquées et de Technologie, Centre Urbain Nord, BP 676, 1080 Tunis,
Tunisia. Tel.: +216 71703829; fax: +216 71704329.
E-mail addresses: Amine.Drira@ifma.fr (A. Drira),
A facility layout is an arrangement of everything needed for
Henri.Pierreval@ifma.fr (H. Pierreval), Sonia.Gabouj@insat.rnu.tn production of goods or delivery of services. A facility is an
(S. Hajri-Gabouj). entity that facilitates the performance of any job. It may be a
1367-5788/$ – see front matter # 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.arcontrol.2007.04.001
256 A. Drira et al. / Annual Reviews in Control 31 (2007) 255–267
machine tool, a work centre, a manufacturing cell, a machine 3.1. Products variety and volume
shop, a department, a warehouse, etc. (Heragu, 1997).
Due to the variety of considerations found in the articles, The layout design generally depends on the products variety
researchers do not agree about a common and exact definition of and the production volumes. Four types of organization are
layout problems. The most encountered formulations are related referred to in existing articles, namely fixed product layout,
to static layout problems (in opposition to the dynamic layout process layout, product layout and cellular layout (Dilworth,
problems that will be specifically discussed in Section 3). 1996). These key organizations are sometimes discussed
Koopmans and Beckmann (1957) were among the first to differently according to the authors.
consider this class of problems, and they defined the facility In Fixed product layout, the products generally circulate
layout problem as a common industrial problem in which the within the production facilities (machines, workers, etc.); in
objective is to configure facilities, so as to minimize the cost of this particular type of layout, the product does not move, it is the
transporting materials between them. Meller, Narayanan, and different resources that are moved to perform the operations on
Vance (1999) considered that the facility layout problem consists the product. This type of layout is commonly found in
in finding a non-overlapping planar orthogonal arrangement of n industries that manufacture large size products, such as ships or
rectangular facilities within a given rectangular plan site so as to aircrafts. Process layout groups facilities with similar functions
minimize the distance based measure. Azadivar and Wang together (resources of the same type). This organization is often
(2000) defined that the facility layout problem as the reported to be suited when there is a wide variety of product.
determination of the relative locations for, and allocation of, Product layout is used for systems with high production
the available space among a given number of facilities. Lee and volumes and a low variety of products. Facilities are organized
Lee (2002) reported that the facility layout problem consists in according to the sequence of the successive manufacturing
arranging n unequal-area facilities of different sizes within a operations. In Cellular layout, machines are grouped into cells,
given total space, which can be bounded to the length or width of to process families of similar parts. These cells also need to be
site area in a way to minimize the total material handling cost and placed on the factory floor. Therefore, one is also generally
slack area cost. Shayan and Chittilappilly (2004) defined the concerned with so called intra cells machine layout problems,
facility layout problem as an optimization problem that tries to as mentioned for example in (Proth, 1992, ch. 3) and (Hamann
make layouts more efficient by taking into account various & Vernadat, 1992). Here, one is concerned with finding the best
interactions between facilities and material handling systems arrangement of machines in each cell.
while designing layouts.
Numerous articles have been published in this area. In order 3.2. Facility shapes and dimensions
to highlight what seems to constitute essential features to
characterize layout problems, we propose in Fig. 1, a first Two different facility shapes are often distinguished (Fig. 2):
possible rough tree representation of the different factors taken regular, i.e., generally rectangular (Kim & Kim, 2000) and
into account in the literature. In fact, the problems addressed in irregular, i.e., generally polygons containing at least a 2708
research works differ, depending on such factors as: the angle (Lee & Kim, 2000). As mentioned by Chwif, Pereira
workshop characteristics (e.g. ail, specificities of the manu- Barretto, and Moscato (1998) a facility can have given
facturing systems, the facility shapes, the material handling dimensions, defined by a fixed length (Li) and a fixed width
system, and the layout evolution), what is the problem (Wi). In this case, the facilities are called fixed or rigid blocks.
addressed (e.g., problem formulation, objectives and con- According to the same authors, a facility can also be defined by
straints) and the approaches used to solve it (Resolution its area, its aspect ratio: ai = Li/Wi, an upper bound aiu and a
approaches). Although this tree representation can probably be lower bound ail such that ail ai aiu. The aspect ratio was
improved in future research works, we have found it helpful in also used by Meller et al. (1999). If ai = ail = aiu, this
characterizing existing research works. Consequently, the rest corresponds to the fixed shape blocks case (Chwif et al., 1998).
of this article is organized in accordance with this representa-
tion and with the most important features identified. 3.3. Material handling systems
3. Workshop characteristics impacting the layout A material handling system ensures the delivery of material
to the appropriate locations. Material handling equipment can
Several types of workshop are addressed in the literature. In be conveyors (belt, roller, wheel), automated guided vehicles
fact, the layout problems addressed are strongly dependent on (AGV), robots, etc. (El-Baz, 2004). Tompkins et al. (1996)
the specific features of manufacturing systems studied. Several estimated that 20–50% of the manufacturing costs are due to the
factors and design issues clearly differentiate the nature of the handling of parts and then a good arrangement of handling
problems to be addressed, in particular: the production variety devices might to reduce them for 10–30%.
and volume, the material handling system chosen, the different When dealing with a material handling system, the problem
possible flows allowed for parts, the number of floors on which consists in arranging facilities along the material handling path.
the machines can be assigned, the facility shapes and the pick- Two dependent design problems are considered: finding the
up and drop-off locations. Due to their importance, these factors facility layout and selecting the handling equipment. The type
are detailed below. of material-handling device determines the pattern to be used
A. Drira et al. / Annual Reviews in Control 31 (2007) 255–267 257
Fig. 1. Tree representation of the layout problems.

Fig. 2. Regular and irregular facility shapes.
Fig. 3. Layout design considering material handling devices. Fig. 4. Multi-floor layout.
for the layout of machine (Devise & Pierreval, 2000; Heragu & figure shows that parts can move horizontally on a given floor
Kusiak, 1988). Co, Wu, & Reisman (1989) also pointed out that (horizontal flow direction), but also from one floor to another
the facility layout impacts the selection of the handling device. floors located at a different level (vertical flow direction). The
Given the difficulty of solving both problems jointly, they are vertical movement of parts requires a vertical transportation
mainly solved sequentially (Hassan, 1994). Among the major device: elevator. In such situations, both the position on the
types of layout arrangement based on the type of material floor and the levels have to be determined for each facility, so
handling, one can distinguish, as depicted in Fig. 3: single row that the related problems are referred to as multi-floor layout
layout, multi-rows layout, loop layout and open-field layout problems (Kochhar & Heragu, 1998).
(Yang, Peters, & Tu, 2005). Johnson (1982) seems to be among the firsts to address a
The single row layout problem occurs when facilities have to multiple-floor layout problem. He dealt with the problem of
be placed along a line (Djellab & Gourgand, 2001; Ficko, defining relative locations of facilities in a multiple-floor
Brezocnick, & Balic, 2004; Kim, Kim, & Bobbie, 1996; building. Later, other researchers focused on taking into
Kumar, Hadjinicola, & Lin, 1995). Several shapes may be consideration vertical movements of parts from one floor to
considered from this basic situation, such as straight line, semi- another (Bozer, Meller, & Erlebacher, 1994; Meller & Bozer,
circular or U-shape (Hassan, 1994). The loop layout problem 1996, 1997). Elevators are often the material handling system
deals with the assignment of m facilities to candidate locations reported (Lee, Roh, & Jeong, 2005). Their number and location
1, . . ., m, in a closed ring network, around which parts are are either known (Lee et al., 2005) or to be determined through
transported in one direction (Chaieb, 2002; Cheng & Gen, optimization (Matsuzaki, Takashi, & Yoshimoto, 1999). In
1998; Cheng, Gen, & Tosawa, 1996; Nearchou, 2006; Potts & (Matsuzaki et al., 1999), the capacity of each elevator was
Whitehead, 2001). The loop layout incorporates a Load/Unload considered as a constraint. The number of floors can be known
(L/U) station, i.e., location from which a part enters and leaves (Lee et al., 2005) or to be determined, depending on each floor
the loop. This station is unique and it is assumed to be located area and on the number and dimensions of the facilities
between position m and 1. The multi-rows layout involves (Patsiatzis & Papageorgiou, 2002).
several rows of facilities (Hassan, 1994). The movements of
parts occur between facilities from the same row and from 3.5. Backtracking and bypassing
different rows (Chen, Wang, & Chen, 2001; Ficko et al., 2004;
Kim et al., 1996). The open field layout corresponds to Backtracking and bypassing (see Fig. 5) are two particular
situations where facilities can be placed without the restrictions movements that can occur in flow-line layouts, which impact
or constraints that would be induced by such arrangements as the flow of the products. Backtracking is the movement of a
single row or loop layout (Yang et al., 2005). part, from one facility to another preceding it in the sequence of
facilities in the flow-line arrangement (Braglia, 1996; Kouvelis
3.4. Multi-floor layout
Nowadays, when it comes to construct a factory in urban

area, land supply is generally insufficient and expensive. The
limitation of available horizontal space creates a need to use a
vertical dimension of the workshop. Then, it can be relevant to
locate the facilities on several floors, as depicted in Fig. 4. This Fig. 5. Backtracking and bypassing.
& Chiang, 1992; Zhou, 1998). The number of these movements

has to be minimized. Zhou (1998) called this problem
Production Line Formation Problem (PLFP), which consists
in determining the orders (partial or total) of machines so as to Fig. 7. Evolution of the layout over four periods.
minimize the weighted sum of arrows whose direction is
contrary to the global flow of products, while taking into Fig. 7 shows a layout with six equal size locations to be
account constraints on the rank of machines. arranged in each of the four periods in the planning horizon.
Bypassing occurs when a part skips some facilities during its The objective can be to determine a layout for each period in
moving towards the flow line arrangement (Chen et al., 2001). the planning horizon, while minimizing the sum of the material
Hassan (1994) noticed that several procedures were presented handling costs, for all periods, and the sum of the rearrange-
for dealing with and minimizing backtracking but no procedure ment costs between time periods (Balakrishnan, Cheng,
was suggested in the literature for addressing bypassing. Conway, et al., 2003; Baykasoglu, Dereli, & Sabuncu,
2006). Rearrangement costs have to be considered when
3.6. Pick-up and drop-off locations facilities need to be moved from one location to another
(Baykasoglu & Gindy, 2001).
It is often necessary to determine the location from which
parts enter and leave facilities, called Pick-up and Drop-off (P/ 5. Formulation of layout problems
D) points. Although they can potentially be located at various
places (Kim & Kim, 2000), several researchers restricted their The workshop characteristics and the static or dynamic
possible position to reduce the complexity (Das, 1993; issues being raised, there are several ways of formulating
Rajasekharan, Peters, & Yang, 1998; Welgama & Gibson, mathematically the layout problems so that they can be solved.
1993). An example is given in Fig. 6. This formulation of static and dynamic layout problems can be
based on several types of models, which allow the complex
4. Static vs. dynamic layout problems relationships between the different elements involved in a
layout problem to be expressed. Such models can rely on
We have seen that the workshop characteristics introduce different principles, which include graph theory (Kim & Kim,
differences in the way to design the layout. In addition, it is well 1995; Leung, 1992; Proth, 1992) or neural network (Tsuchiya,
known that nowadays, manufacturing plants must be able to Bharitkar, & Takefuji, 1996). These models are generally used
respond quickly to changes in demand, production volume and to suggest solutions to the layout problems, which most
product mix. Page (1991) reported that, on average, 40% of a researchers consider as optimization problems, with either
company’s sales come from new products. However, the change single or multiple objectives. Depending on the manner in
in product mix yields to modify the production flow and thus which the problem is formulated, that is, discrete or continuous,
affects the layout. Gupta and Seifoddini (1990) stated that 1/3 the formulations found in the literature can lead to Quadratic
of USA companies undergo major reorganization of the Assignment Problems (QAP) or Mixed Integer Programmings
production facilities every 2 years. A good number of authors (MIP), which are the most commonly encountered. In each
have tried to take such an important issue into account when case, a few authors have argued that the available data could not
designing the layout. Most articles dealing with layout be perfectly known and have suggested fuzzy formulation.
problems are implicitly considered as static; in other words These approaches are discussed in the following.
they assume that the key data about the workshop and what it is
intended to produce will remain constant enough over a long 5.1. Discrete formulation
period of time. Recently the idea of dynamic layout problems
has been introduced by several researchers. Dynamic layout The layout is sometimes considered as discrete (Fig. 8a). In
problems take into account possible changes in the material such a case, the associated optimization problem is sometimes
handling flow over multiple periods (Balakrishnan, Cheng, addressed as QAP. The plant site is divided into rectangular
Conway, & Lau, 2003; Braglia, Zanoni, & Zavanella, 2003; blocks with the same area and shape, and each block is assigned
Kouvelis, Kurawarwala, & Gutierrez, 1992; Meng, Heragu, &
Zijm, 2004). In this respect, the planning horizon is generally
divided into periods that may be defined in weeks, months, or
years. For each period, the estimated flow data remains
constant. A layout plan for the dynamic layout problem consists
of series of layouts, each layout being associated with a period.
Fig. 6. Example of P/D points of a machine with a regular shape. Fig. 8. Discrete and continual layout representations.
to a facility (Fruggiero, Lambiase, & Negri, 2006). If facilities 5.2. Continual formulation
have unequal areas, they can occupy different blocks (Wang,
Hu, & Ku, 2005). In many articles, the layout representation is continual
A typical formulation, when determining the relative (Fig. 8b). It is often addressed as Mixed Integer Programming
locations of facilities so as to minimize the total material Problems (Das, 1993). All the facilities are placed anywhere
handling cost, is as follows (Balakrishnan, Cheng, & Wong, within the planar site and must not overlap each other (Das,
2003): 1993; Dunker et al., 2005; Meller et al., 1999).
The facilities in the plant site are located either by their
X
N X
N X
N X
N
min f ik d jl X i j X kl (1) centroid coordinates (xi,yi), half length li and half width wi or by
i¼1 j¼1 k¼1 l¼1 the coordinates of bottom-left corner, length Li and width Wi of
the facility. The distance between two facilities can be, for
s.t. example, expressed through the rectilinear norm (Chwif et al.,
X
N 1998):
X i j ¼ 1; j ¼ 1; . . . ; N (2)
i¼1
d i j ððxi ; yi Þ; ðx j ; y j ÞÞ ¼ jxi x j j þ jyi y j j (4)
X
N The pick-up and drop-off points can generate constraints in
X i j ¼ 1; i ¼ 1; . . . ; N (3) the layout problem formulation (Kim & Kim, 2000; Welgama
j¼1 & Gibson, 1993; Yang et al., 2005). In this case, the distance
where N is the number of facilities in the layout, f ik the flow cost traveled by a part from the drop-off of facility i to the pick-up of
from facility i to k, djl the distance from location j to l and Xij the facility j, can for example, be given by Eq. (5) (Kim & Kim,
0, 1 variable for locating facility i at location j. The objective 2000).
function (1) represents the sum of the flow costs over every pair
d i j ¼ jxO I O I
i x j j þ jyi y j j (5)
of facilities. Eq. (2) ensures that each location contains only one
facility and Eq. (3) guarantees that each facility is placed only where (xO O
i ; yi ) designate the coordinates of the drop-off point of
in one location. facility i, and (xIj ; yIj ) the coordinates of the pick-up point of
Discrete formulations are suggested, for example, by facility j.
Kouvelis and Chiang (1992) and Braglia (1996) to minimize The determination of the best locations of the P/D stations is
part backtrack in single row layouts. The same type of approach a specific problem, addressed for example by Chittratanawat
is also used by Afentakis (1989), to design a loop layout, so as and Noble (1999), Kim and Kim (1999), and Aiello, Enea, and
to minimize the traffic congestion, i.e., the number of times a Galante (2002).
part traverses the loop before all its operations are completed. Obviously, area constraints on the plant site exist, which
There are two kinds of congestion measures commonly used in require the total area available to be superior or equal to the sum
loop layout design: Min-Sum and Min-Max. A Min-Sum of all the facility areas. The area allocated to each machine on
problem attempts to minimize the total congestion of all parts; the floor plan must also take into account the space of other
while a Min-Max problem attempts to minimize the maximum resources or buffers, which are needed to operate the machine
congestion among a family of parts (Cheng & Gen, 1998; (Lacksonen, 1997). The clearance between facilities can be
Cheng et al., 1996; Nearchou, 2006). included or not in the facility surface (Braglia, 1996; Heragu &
Discrete representation of the layout is commonly used for Kusiak, 1988, 1991).
dynamic layout problems. The problems addressed are related Another very important constraint is that facilities must not
to equal size facilities (Baykasoglu & Gindy, 2001; Lacksonen overlap. Welgama and Gibson (1993) set two conditions for the
& Enscore, 1993) and must respect constraints ensuring that non-overlapping of facilities: condition of X-projection non-
each location is assigned to only one facility at each period, and overlapping and condition of Y-projection non-overlapping:
that exactly one facility is assigned to each location at each
period (Baykasoglu & Gindy, 2001; McKendall, Shang, & ðx jt xib Þðx jb xit Þ 0 (6)
Kuppusamy, 2006). Budget constraints can be added to carry
out the reconfiguration of facilities on the floor plant ðy jt yib Þðy jb yit Þ 0 (7)
(Balakrishnan, Robert Jacobs, & Venkataramanan, 1992;
Baykasoglu et al., 2006). In fact, the rearrangement costs where (xit, yit) and (xib, yib) are the top-left and the bottom right
must not exceed a certain level of the budget. corners of the facility i and (xjt, yjt) and (xjb, yjb) are the top-left
Discrete representations are not suited to represent the exact and the bottom right corners of the facility j. Mir and Imam
position of facilities in the plant site and can not model (2001) defined an overlap area Aij between two facilities to
appropriately specific constraints as the orientation of facilities, formulate this constraint. The layout optimization problem is
pick-up and drop-off points or clearance between facilities. In expressed as follows:
such cases, a continuous representation is found to be more
relevant by several authors (Das, 1993; Dunker, Radonsb, & Minimize objective function
(8)
Westkämpera, 2005; Lacksonen, 1997). Subject to Ai j 0
where the plant site of facilities based on specifications about their

inter-relationship, which are characterized through linguistic
Ai j ¼ li j ðDX i j ÞðDY i j Þ;
variables. Gen, Ida, and Cheng (1995) addressed a multi-
Li þ L j objective multi-rows layout problem with unequal area. They
DX i j ¼ li j jxi x j j;
2 are interested in situations where the clearance cannot be

Wi þ W j precisely defined, and is therefore considered as fuzzy. In
DY i j ¼ li j jyi y j j; Dweiri and Meier (1996), who dealt with a discrete facility
2
layout problem, the amount of parts circulating between
1 for DX i j 0 and DY i j 0
li j ¼ facilities, the amount of communications between facilities
þ1 otherwise (information flow) and the number of material handling
ðLi ; W i Þ are the length and width of facility i, and (xi,yi) are equipments used to transfer parts between facilities are
coordinates of facility i. considered as fuzzy factors. The authors developed an Activity
Other constraints can also be considered in the layout Relationship Chart (ARC) based on the judgment of experts
formulation, such as a pre-defined orientation of certain that is used to specify relationships between each pair of
facilities (Dunker et al., 2005). Given such constraints, a typical facilities. ARC is then integrated in the well known heuristic
formulation of the optimization problem can be as follows: ‘CORELAP’ to find the best placement of facilities. Aiello and
Enea (2001) argued that the product market demands are
X
N X
N
uncertain data that can be defined as fuzzy numbers. They
Minimize C ¼ f i j ðjxIj xO I O
i j þ jy j yi jÞ (9)
minimize the total material handling cost, along a single row
i¼1 j¼1
configuration, under the constraints that the capacity of
where N is the number of facilities, f ij the amount/cost production for each department is limited. To solve a single
of material flow from drop-off point of facility i to pick-up row layout problem, they split the fuzzy demands in a-cuts and
point of facility j, (xO O
i ; yi ) the coordinates of drop-off point of determine the a-level fuzzy cost for each possible layout. Deb
I I
facility i, and (x j ; y j ) are the coordinates of pick-up point of and Bhattacharyya (2005), addressed the placement of
facility j. facilities with pick-up and drop-off points in a continual
Very few works seem to deal with dynamic layout problems plane, so as to minimize the total material handling cost.
with a continuous representation. Dunker et al. (2005) The position of facilities depends on such factors as: the
addressed unequal size layout problems in a dynamic personal flow, the supervision relationships, the environmental
environment and assumed that the facility sizes vary from relationships and the information relationships, which are
one period to another. rated using linguistic variables (e.g., high, medium, low). The
authors developed a fuzzy decision support system based on
5.3. Fuzzy formulation a set of fuzzy IF–THEN rules. A construction heuristic is
then used do determine the placement of facilities in the plant
In many concrete cases, data affecting layout problems are site.
not exactly known. Stochastic approaches, such as the use of
queuing networks (Meng et al., 2004) are seldom seen. Fuzzy 5.4. Multi-objective layout problems
logic has been proposed to handle the imprecision or uncertainty
that is often encountered (Evans, Wilhlem, & Karwowsky, 1987; In most articles about layout problems, the main objective is
Grobelny, 1987a; Raoot & Rakshit, 1991). A few approaches to minimize a function related to the travel of parts (the total
based on fuzzy concepts exist to design layouts. material handling cost, the travel time, the travel distance, etc.).
Evans et al. (1987) addressed the placement of unequal size To be more realistic, some researchers have considered more
facilities on the plant area. They expressed relations between than a single objective. For example, Dweiri and Meier (1996)
every pair of facilities by fuzzy relations describing closeness aimed at minimizing simultaneously the material handling flow
and importance. These relations allow the analyst to specify the and the equipment flow and the information flow. Most authors
importance associated with each pair of facilities to be located combine the different objectives into a single one either by
at any distance from each other. The authors proposed a fuzzy means of Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) methodology
formulation of the problem through linguistic variables and (Harmonosky & Tothero, 1992; Yang & Kuo, 2003) or using a
propose a heuristic. Grobelny (1987a, 1987b) tacked the linear combination of the different objectives (Chen & Sha,
problem of locating n facilities to n fixed locations so as to 2005).
minimize the total material handling cost. The data impacting Few researchers used a Pareto approach to generate a set of
the layout, such as closeness links and traffic intensity, are non-dominated solutions. Aiello, Enea, and Galante (2006)
fuzzy and modeled with linguistic variables and fuzzy dealt with a layout problem related to the minimization of the
implications. A heuristic procedure, based on binary fuzzy material handling cost and the maximization of an adjacency
relations, is developed for the selection and the placement of function (assessment of the proximity requests between two
facilities in the available locations. Several principles of this departments). The set of non-dominated solutions is then found
approach are also used by Raoot and Rakshit (1991), who and a ‘‘best’’ solution is then selected from this set using the
considered the problem of finding the best arrangement on well known ‘Electre method’.
5.5. Simultaneous solving of different problems 6.2. Approximated approaches
It is common that other problems have to be solved together Since exact approaches are often found not to be suited for
with the layout design. For example, this occurs when large size problems, numerous researchers have developed
designing cellular manufacturing systems, where one has both heuristics and metaheuristics.
to assign machines to cells (cell formation problems) and to Construction approaches build progressively the sequence of
determine the position of each machine in the cell (intra cell the facilities until the complete layout is obtained whereas
layout). The position of each cell in the floor plant has also to be improvement methods start from one initial solution and they try
determined. Instead of formulating and solving these problems to improve the solution with producing new solution. Construc-
sequentially, it is sometimes possible to address these two tion heuristics include: CORELAP (Lee & Moore, 1967),
issues as a same problem (Gupta, Gupta, Kumar, & Sundaram, ALDEP (Seehof & Evans, 1967) and COFAD (Tompkins &
1996). Reed, 1976), SHAPE (Hassan, Hogg, & Smith, 1986). Example
of improvement heuristics are: CRAFT (Armour & Buffa, 1963),
6. Resolution approaches FRAT (Khalil, 1973) and DISCON (Drezner, 1987).
Among the approaches based on metaheuristics, one can
Several approaches exist to address the different types of distinguish global search methods (Tabu search and simulated
problems that are formulated in the literature. They aim either annealing) and evolutionary approaches (genetic and ant
at finding good solutions, which satisfies certain constraints colony algorithms).
given by the decision maker or at searching for an global or Chiang and Kouvelis (1996) developed a tabu search
local optimum solutions given one or several performance algorithm to solve a facility layout problem. They used a
objectives. This has yield heuristic based methods or neighborhood based on the exchange of two locations of facilities
optimization algorithms, as explained in the following of this and included a long term memory structure, a dynamic tabu list
section. size, an intensification criteria and diversification strategies.
Some attempts of using artificial intelligent approaches Chwif et al. (1998) used a simulated annealing algorithm to
have been made to address layout problems. Expert systems solve the layout problem with aspect ratio facilities sizes. Two
were, for example, proposed in (Heragu & Kusiak, 1990). neighborhood procedures are proposed: a pairwise exchange
Hamann and Vernadat (1992) also used this approach for between facilities and random moves on the planar site in the
intra-cell problems. More recently, an expert system based four main directions (upwards, downwards, leftwards and
on artificial neural networks was implemented for facility rightward). McKendall et al. (2006) suggested two simulated
layout construction in a manufacturing system (Chung, annealing approaches for a dynamic layout problem with equal
1999). size facilities. The first simulated annealing approach used a
Several types of optimization approaches have been neighborhood based on a descent pairwise exchange method,
proposed in the literature. In the following, we distinguish: which consists in randomly changing the location of two
exact methods, such as branch and bound, and approximated facilities while the solution is improved. The second approach
approaches, such as heuristics and metaheuristics. combines the first simulated annealing algorithm and improve-
ment strategy called ‘‘look-ahead and look-back strategy’’.
6.1. Exact approaches Genetic algorithms seem to become quite popular in solving
facility layout problems (Pierreval et al., 2003). In fact, a large
Among articles that dealt with exact methods, Kouvelis number of studies using such approaches have been published:
and Kim (1992) developed a branch and bound algorithm see Banerjee and Zhou (1995), Mak, Wong, & Chan (1998),
for the unidirectional loop layout problem. Meller et al. Tam and Chan (1998), Azadivar and Wang (2000), Wu and
(1999) also used this approach to solve the problem of Appleton (2002), Dunker, Radonsb, & Westkämpera (2003),
placing n rectangular facilities within a given rectangular and Wang et al. (2005) for the static layout problems, and
available area. They proposed general classes of valid Balakrishnan and Cheng (2000), Balakrishnan, Cheng, Con-
inequalities, based on an acyclic sub-graph structure, to way, et al. (2003), and Dunker et al. (2005) for the dynamic
increase the range of solvable problems and use them in a layout problems.
branch-and-bound algorithm. Kim and Kim (1999) addressed A very important problem when developing a genetic
the problem of finding P/D locations on fixed size facilities algorithm is related to the coding of a candidate floor plan. A
for a given layout. The objective of the problem is to popular representation of the continual layout is the slicing tree
minimize the total distance of material flows between the (Shayan & Chittilappilly, 2004). A slicing tree is composed of
P/D points. Authors suggested a branch and bound internal nodes partitioning the floor plan and of external nodes
algorithm to find an optimal location of the P/D points of representing the facilities. Each internal node can be labeled
each facility. Rosenblatt (1986) used a dynamic program- either h (horizontal) or v (vertical), indicating whether it is a
ming method to solve a dynamic layout problem with horizontal or vertical slice whereas external nodes label the
equal size facilities. However, only small problem instances facility index (1, 2, 3, . . ., n for n facilities). Each rectangular
have been solved optimally (six facilities and five time partition corresponds to a space allocated to a facility. Fig. 9
periods). shows a particular layout and the corresponding slicing tree.
placement sequence. The second gives the required areas of each

department. The third segment indicates the site size (length and
width). The fourth segment shows the sweeping direction
(1: horizontal, 2: vertical) and the fifth segment indicates the
sweeping bands. An example is illustrated in Fig. 10.
The objective function used in evolutionary methods is
generally expressed as a mathematical cost function, which is
derived from the problem formulation under consideration. To
Fig. 9. Slicing tree representation of the floor plan.
take into account in a more realistic way the system
performance, simulation models have been connected to
Wu and Appleton (2002) suggested a slicing tree to represent evolutionary methods to evaluate the candidate solutions
simultaneously the layout and the aisles and adapted genetic (Azadivar & Wang, 2000). Hamamoto, Yih, and Salvendy
operators. (1999) addressed a real problem of pharmaceutical industry.
From a given layout, the slicing tree is generally encoded The chromosome evaluation is performed through the
into a string form, in order to use particular genetic operators. simulation of a 4 months production.
Tam (1992) suggested coding a solution by a binary string with Ant colony optimization has been recently applied for
two parts, which represent operators and operands, and latter in solving layout problems. Solimanpur, Vrat, and Shankar (2005)
three parts: the tree structure, the operators and the operands developed an ant algorithm for a sequence-dependent single
(Tam & Chan, 1998). Al-Hakim (2000) improved Tam Chan’s row machine layout problem. Baykasoglu et al. (2006)
approach (1998) and proposed a new operator named proposed an ant colony algorithm for solving the unconstrained
‘transplanting’, to ensure the coherence of an offspring. The and budget constrained dynamic layout problems.
problem of avoiding reparation procedures when dealing with The hybridization of different metaheuristics has also been
slicing trees is tackled by Shayan and Chittilappilly (2004). considered for solving facility layout problems. Mahdi, Amet,
When authors addressed discrete layout problems, the and Portman (1998) proposed a hybrid approach for minimiz-
coding scheme differs from continual representation. For ing the material handling cost. They used a simulated annealing
discrete representation, a popular solution for coding layouts is algorithm to solve the geometrical aspect of the problem, a
based on Space Filling Curves (SFC) (Wang et al., 2005). The genetic algorithm to make decisions about the material
plant area being divided into grids, a space filling curve defines handling system and an exact method (Hitchcock’s method)
a continuous sequence through all neighbored squares in the to minimize the total material handling utilization cost. Mir and
underlying layout (Fig. 10). Space-filling curves ensure that a Imam (2001) presented a hybrid approach for a layout problem
facility is never split (Bock & Hoberg, 2007). Nevertheless, this with unequal area facilities. Starting from an initial solution
technique requires many rules to verify the connection of all given by a simulated annealing algorithm, the optimal positions
positions of a layout as for example using expert rules (Wang of facilities are determined by an analytical search technique in
et al., 2005). a multi-stage optimization process. Lee and Lee (2002)
When a space filling strategy is defined, solutions have to be presented a hybrid genetic algorithm for a fixed shape and
coded. Islier (1998) decomposed strings into three segments, unequal area facility layout problem. Tabu search and
encoding the sequence of facilities, the area required for each simulated annealing are first used to find global solutions
facility and the width of each sweeping band. Recently, Wang and the genetic algorithm is introduced in the middle of the
et al. (2005) encoded the chromosome’s genes through five local search process to search for a global solution.
segments strings. The first segment shows the department Balakrishnan, Cheng, Conway, et al. (2003) developed a
hybrid genetic algorithm to solve the dynamic layout problem
previously tackled by Rosenblatt (1986). The initial population
is generated with two methods: a random method and an
Urban’s procedure (Urban, 1993). The crossover is based on a
dynamic programming approach and the mutation is achieved
by the CRAFT heuristic (Armour & Buffa, 1963). McKendall
and Shang (2006) developed and compare three hybrid ant
colony algorithms for a dynamic facility layout problem. They
combine an ant colony with three local search procedures: (1) a
random descent pairwise exchange procedure, (2) a simulated
annealing algorithm and (3) a look-ahead/look-back procedure.
7. Conclusion and research directions
In this article, we have presented a recent comprehensive

Fig. 10. String scheme of a discrete layout representation based on a space survey related to facility layout problems. Although this survey
filling curve (Wang et al., 2005). cannot be exhaustive, the analysis carried out is based on a large
number of literature references. From this analysis, it appears out to be promising and would worth being developed and
that articles related to layout design continue to be regularly improved. This would lead to favor more global research about
published in major research journals and that facility layout workshop design, instead of concentrating on facility layout
remains an open research issue. Several current trends and problems.
directions seem worth being mentioned. The articles studied in this article focus on manufacturing
First of all, recent papers include more and more complex system applications. However, layout design problems also
and/or realistic characteristics of the studied manufacturing concern other types of systems, such as ports, supermarkets,
systems. Typical examples are P/D points, aisles, complex airports, etc. These constitute interesting areas that could
geometrical constraints, several floors, which are taken into benefit from the advances made in the specific area of
account together when formulating the layout design problem. manufacturing.
This is indeed an important issue because many articles contain As a final remark, let us note that commercial software tools
restrictive assumptions that are not adapted to the complexity of available on the market to globally assist in the design of
many manufacturing system facilities. This is an old trend manufacturing are currently limited. Therefore, there is
(Benjaafar et al., 2002). However, research is still needed. The probably a need for trying to make the resolution approaches
use of a third dimension when designing a plant is a recent more generic, so that they can be embed as layout procedures in
consideration that certainly requires more research, for software tools supporting the design of manufacturing systems.
example to select and optimize resources related to the vertical The combination with graphical tools would also render such
transportation of parts between different floors. tools more efficient and attractive and a few authors have
The often unrealistic aspect of static approaches, which started to consider possible interfaces with virtual reality
consider that the data available are relevant to characterize the systems.
future operating conditions of the system, seems to be now well
identified by researchers. Dynamic approaches may sometimes
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Zhou, J. (1998). Algorithmes et outils pour l’analyse des flux de production à systems and of networks of firms are the main focuses of Dr. Pierreval’s
l’aide du concept d’ordre. Ph.D. dissertation (in French). University of research. He is the author or co-author of numerous articles in these areas,
Strasbourg 1. published in well-known international refereed journals. He participates in
national and international research collaborations and is on the editorial board
Amine Drira is a doctoral student in industrial computing at the Institute of of scientific journals.
Applied Sciences and Technology of Tunis, Tunisia (University of 7 November
at Carthage). He is currently working as an assistant professor at the High Sonia Hajri-Gabouj is an associate professor at the Institute of Applied
Institute of Medical Technologies (University Tunis El Manar). His research Sciences and Technology of Tunis, Tunisia. She received her BS degree in
interests include facility layout, fuzzy computation, metaheuristics and multi- electrical engineering from the National Engineering School of Monastir,
objective optimization. Tunisia, in 1994. She got her MS and PhD degrees in industrial computing
and automatic from the University of Sciences and Technologies of Lille,
Henri Pierreval is a professor at the French Institute of Mechanical Engineer- France, in 1994 and 1997, respectively. She received a ‘‘qualification to direct
ing (IFMA) of Clermont-Ferrand in France. His research activities are carried research’’ degree from the National Engineering School of Tunis in 2003. She is
out within the LIMOS laboratory of Clermont-Ferrand (Laboratory of Comput- co-responsible for the URAII research unit in automatic and industrial comput-
ing, System Modeling and Optimization): UMR CNRS 6158. He received his ing of the Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology of Tunis. Her research
doctoral degree and ‘‘qualification to direct research’’ degree from the Uni- interests include fuzzy modeling, design and control of manufacturing systems,
versity of Lyon in France. The design, modeling, operation of manufacturing scheduling and optimization and metaheuristics.
Automation in Construction 9 Ž2000. 197–215
www.elsevier.comrlocaterautcon
Automated facilities layout: past, present and future

)
Robin S. Liggett
Department of Architecture and Urban Design, UCLA, Box 951467, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1467, USA
Abstract
This paper reviews the history of automated facility layout, focusing particularly on a set of techniques which optimize a
single objective function. Applications of algorithms to a variety of space allocation problems are presented and evaluated.
Guidelines for future implementations of commercial systems are suggested. q 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights
reserved.
Keywords: Automated space layout; Floor plan layout; Facility layout
1. Introduction most recently genetic optimization have been applied

to the problem.
Facility layout is concerned with the allocation of
With the growing demand for computerized facili-
activities to space such that a set of criteria Žfor
ties planning and management, there is the potential
example, area requirements. are met andror some
for automated space layout products to play a more
objective optimized Žusually some measure of com-
significant role. As interest in such products rekin-
munication costs.. This paper reviews alternative
dles and develops it seems appropriate to take an-
formulations of the problem Že.g., how space is
other look at the relatively long history of ap-
represented and methods of evaluating a plan. as
proaches to automated facility layout. The author last
well as existing solution algorithms. It identifies the
reviewed the field Žwhich had its origins in the early
specialized applications for which algorithms seem
1960’s. in 1985 presenting an overview of alterna-
particularly useful as well as the particular needs of
tive approaches to the layout problem and solution
facilities layout that must be considered when apply-
algorithms w39x. Since that time, commercial prod-
ing algorithms.
ucts have become available based on some of these
Some commercial facilities management systems
original algorithms and on the research side new
currently incorporate automated algorithms Žusually
solution techniques such as simulated annealing and
within an interactive framework. to solve facilities
planning problems of stacking and blocking activi-
ties. This paper also looks at the limitations of
current commercial space allocation products and
proposes a set of key requirements for implementing
)
Fax: q1-310-376-4936; e-mail: rligget@ucla.edu the next generation of such systems.
0926-5805r00r$ - see front matter q 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 9 2 6 - 5 8 0 5 Ž 9 9 . 0 0 0 0 5 - 9
198 R.S. Liggettr Automation in Construction 9 (2000) 197–215
2. Overview and history the criteria used to generate, compare and evaluate
solutions.
Facility layout problems range in scale from the
assignment of activities to cities, sites, campuses or
buildings, to the location of equipment and personnel
groups on a single floor of a building. A layout 3. Representation of space
problem can surface in the design and allocation of
space in a new building or the reassignment of space All space planning problems consist of a set of
in an existing building. During the conceptual design activities to be located and a space in which to locate
phase, allocation of space within a new building can them. Space can be represented in different ways,
be used to test alternative options for building con- thus providing a method of classifying alternative
figuration. Plans can be evaluated with respect to types of layout problems:
best use of space in order to determine such things as Ø Space as discrete objects Žone-to-one assignment
the optimal number of floors, perimeter of the plan, problem..
etc. In an existing building, layout tools can be used Ø Space as area Žmany-to-one assignment problem,
for the on-going problem of space management. For for example, a stacking problem..
example, as project groups increase or decrease in Ø Space as area and shape Žblocking or floor plan
size, how should employees be located within an layout problem..
office so that group contiguity is maintained with a Both the problem formulation and solution tech-
minimum number of workspace moves? How can niques are impacted by the way activity and physical
unused space be consolidated effectively to minimize space are represented.
lease costs? More complex problems can involve The simplest layout problem is the assignment of
issues of time-phased layouts based on projected a set of discrete activities to a set of discrete loca-
changes in space needs w46x. tions in such a way that each activity is assigned to a
Since the early 1960s numerous computer pro- single location. This is called a one-to-one assign-
grams have been developed for the automated solu- ment problem Žalso known as an equal area layout
tion of such spatial layout problems. The objectives problem. and has some very interesting applications
and scope of these programs have varied widely. on both the micro and macro level. For example, the
Interest in this area has come from computer sci- assignment of buildings to sites or the assignment of
encerengineering researchers primarily looking at employees to preexisting offices or work stations can
problems of plant or production facilities layout Žor be a one-to-one assignment. The issues of size and
at the micro-scale, the layout of electronic circuits. shape do not enter into the layout process.
as well as from architects and interior designers Generally space planning applications are not as
interested in the design of large facilities such as straightforward as one-to-one assignment. The areas
office buildings, universities, hospitals, or depart- required by activities are not necessarily equal, so it
ment stores. More recently there has been interest on is not feasible to match activities and locations on a
the part of facilities managers concerned with reuse one-to-one basis. When assigning employees to ex-
and rearrangement of space. isting offices, we might want to consider multiple
Most of the research and development has fo- occupants. In stacking plan problems Žthe assignment
cused on what is known as the floor plan layout of activities to floors in a multi-storey building.,
problem, the physical arrangement of space on a plan more than one activity can be assigned to a single
Žreferred to as a block plan.. There are, however, floor or a single activity can occupy multiple floors
other applications of the space allocation problem— Žmany-to-one or one-to-many assignment.. How the
for example, an important commercial application area of an activity is apportioned among floors can
has been the assignment of activities to multiple be an important consideration in generating and eval-
floors of a building Žknown as the stack plan prob- uating a plan. In both of these examples, however,
lem.. Approaches to spatial allocation problems dif- activity size is still a relatively simple issue as actual
fer in terms of the type of problem addressed as well activity shapes are not considered.
R.S. Liggettr Automation in Construction 9 (2000) 197–215 199
The most difficult problems to represent are those

at the block-plan level. An activity is represented as
a polygon on the plan. This polygon should be able
to take on any shape and location while maintaining
the required activity area. The method for handling
unequal areas has a significant impact on the solu-
tion approach taken.
4. Approaches to automated layout
Automated space allocation algorithms require

some method of evaluation in order to guide the
layout process. There are three major paths that
solution techniques have followed. The first involves
the optimization of a single criterion function; specif-
ically the minimization of costs associated with com-
munication or flow of materials between activities.
While there are numerous drawbacks to such ap-
proaches, they have quite widespread application Fig. 1. A planar adjacency graph with corresponding dual w16x.
with respect to types of plans that can be generated.
This paper will focus primarily on this class of
solution techniques. but with finding an arrangement that satisfies a
A second path is based on a graph theoretic diverse set of constraints or relations. In this case the
approach. It is concerned primarily with generating a major criterion is feasibility. Early examples of this
layout that meets adjacency requirements between path are Eastman’s General Space Planner w12x and
activities. This approach requires the construction of Pfeffercorn’s Design Problem Solver w51x. Both
a planar adjacency graph where nodes represent ac- methods design layouts by placing objects so that
tivities to be located and edges Žor links. represent a they satisfy a set of constraints which involve such
direct adjacency requirement. The dual of a planar factors as position, orientation, adjacency, path, view,
graph determines the layout of the facility. A planar or distance. A more recent system of this type is the
graph with its corresponding dual is displayed in Fig. layout module of SEED w15x, a software system to
1. There is a long history of graph theoretic applica- support the early phases in building design under
tions to the layout problem Žsee Grason’s early work development at Carnegie Mellon. This module gen-
for example w20x.. Many approaches which follow erates schematic layouts of rectangular space under
this path are based on Richard Muther’s Systematic various constraints that include access, natural light
Layout Planning methodology w48x, the most fre- and privacy. It is based on Flemming’s LO-
quently used plant layout design methodology of the OSrABLOOS system w14x. Two other methods with
last 30 years. Muther’s methodology results in the a similar representation but with significantly differ-
generation of a space relationship diagram that is ent approaches to constraint satisfaction,
considered a ‘design skeleton’ from which a layout HeGeLrHeGeL-2 w2x and WRIGHT w6x, were also
can be generated. While graph theoretic approaches developed at Carnegie Melon Žsee Akin w3x and
differ from those that optimize a single criterion, Flemming et al. w14x for a comparison of these three
some of the heuristic solution techniques are similar. systems..
These will be noted later when such methods are While to date this type of approach has not been
discussed. the basis for commercial software, newer systems
Approaches following a third path are not con- such as SEED have considerable potential, particu-
cerned with optimizing a single measure or value, larly as interactive aids to the layout of schematic
Consider the assignment of N activities to N or

more sites, each of which can accommodate one and
only one activity. Associated with each pair of activi-
ties Ž i, j . is a measure of interaction QŽ i, j . Že.g.,
intensity of communication, level of traffic, etc...
Associated with each pair of sites Ž k,l . is a measure
of spatial separation C Ž k,l . Že.g., distance, travel
time, etc... In addition, a fixed cost, F Ž i,k ., may be
associated with the placement of activity i in site k.
If AŽ i . denotes the site to which activity i is as-
signed in a mapping A of activities to sites, the total
cost of a mapping Žsolution. can be given by:
Cost Ž A . s Ý F Ž i , AŽ i . .
activity i
Fig. 2. Display of access paths in a SEED layout w15x.

q Ý Ý Q Ž i , j . C Ž AŽ i . , AŽ j . . .
activity i activity j
plans in the design development phase of new facili- The objective is to find a mapping A, such that
ties. Some advantages of these systems are that they this cost function is minimized. The two parts of the
consider multiple criteria, maintain acceptable activ- function are known as the fixed cost term and the
ity shape, and can usually handle issues of circula- interactive cost term. The fixed cost term Žwhich is
tion space. Sample output from SEED with access equivalent to the criterion function of a linear assign-
paths displayed is shown in Fig. 2. A disadvantage ment problem. is concerned with the costs of assign-
of such systems is that they have not yet demon- ing a particular activity to a particular location. Fixed
strated the ability to handle large scale problems that costs might represent rent, special facilities construc-
are encountered in actual practice. tion requirements, or some measure of preference for
While a more detailed exploration of solution a particular site. The second term, which is the
techniques for layout problems presented in the re- quadratic portion of the objective function, intro-
mainder of this paper focuses primarily on the first duces costs caused by the interdependence of assign-
class of problems Žthe optimization of a single crite- ments. Interactive costs may represent a subjective
rion function., solution methods of the other classes judgment about grouping requirements or an actual
of problems will also be discussed as they relate to measure of flow of goods or employees.
the overall classification framework. The floor plan layout problem was first formu-
lated as a quadratic assignment problem by Armour
and Buffa in 1963. They considered the layout of a
5. One-to-one assignment: An early formulation manufacturing plant where the criterion to be mini-
as A Quadratic Assignment Problem mized was the cost of product flow between depart-
ments. Their work resulted in a computer program
One of the most popular approaches to automated called CRAFT ŽComputerized Relative Allocation of
facility layout was first formulated by Koopmans Facilities Technique. w9x.
and Beckmann w34x for problems concerned with the In the quadratic assignment formulation, floor
assignment of manufacturing plants to sites such that plan layout can be viewed as a combinatorial prob-
the cost of transportation of the flow of goods be- lem in which indivisible activities Že.g. departments
tween plants is minimized. Known as the Quadratic or individual employee work stations. are to be
Assignment Problem ŽQAP., it is concerned with assigned to fixed locations on a plan. In principle, it
finding optimal locations for a set of interrelated is possible to solve this problem by exhaustive enu-
objects. The problem can be described as follows. meration of all possible ways of assigning activities
to locations, and by selection of a plan which satis- assignment of activities to preexisting offices and
fies given constraints andror Žas in the case of the workspaces. Fig. 3 shows a typical office plan where
quadratic assignment formulation. yields the mini- space can be allocated on a one-to-one basis. Links
mum value for the criterion function. In practice this drawn on the plan represent adjacency requirements
turns out to be infeasible for problems of realistic between activities assigned to rooms.
size Žproblems of over 15 activities. since the num- We will first review a number of algorithms
ber of activityrlocation combinations involved is so which operate efficiently at the one-to-one level
vast. before considering the complexity added due to the
It can be shown that quadratic assignment prob- unequal area requirements inherent in floorplan lay-
lems belong to a class of mathematical problems out problems.
known as NP-complete. It is generally accepted that
the efficient solution of NP-complete problems is
impossible in principal. However a number of good 6. Solution procedures
approximate solution strategies do exist that produce
high quality solutions to realistically sized problems Existing approximate solution strategies can gen-
at acceptable cost. This is particularly true for the erally be classified into two categories: constructive
special case of the one-to-one problem. As men- initial placement strategies and iterative improve-
tioned previously, one-to-one formulations have a ment strategies. A constructive initial placement
number of commercial applications in terms of the strategy locates activities one by one, building a
Fig. 3. One-to-one office layout.

solution from scratch in a step-by-step fashion. An signment at any step in the decision tree, and select
iterative improvement Žalso known as hill climbing. the assignment which seems most likely to lead to an
strategy begins with some initial arrangement and optimal solution.
attempts to improve it incrementally. Simulated an- Constructive methods generally adopt either a
nealing, can be viewed as a variant of an iterative ‘local’ or ‘global’ orientation to a problem. Local
improvement strategy. More recently, genetic algo- methods consider only the assignments which have
rithms have become of interest for the solution of already been made; they tend to be less expensive
combinatorial problems such as the QAP. Genetic but yield poorer solutions. Global techniques attempt
algorithms begin with a set of possible solutions and to account for possible future moves in the evalua-
use mutation and crossover techniques to evolve tion of a particular assignment and, although more
existing solutions into better solutions. The next expensive, generally produce better solutions. Both
sections will briefly cover basic improvement and the Gilmore–Hillier and Graves–Whinston algo-
constructive techniques Žsee Refs. w33,37–39x for a rithms are examples of global techniques.
more detailed description and comparison of early
6.2. ImproÕement procedures
techniques. and then focus on newer approaches
which include simulated annealing and genetic algo- Improvement procedures start with a single solu-
rithms. tion and attempt to incrementally improve it. The
simplest version is the ‘pair-wise’ exchange. Starting
6.1. ConstructiÕe procedures
from an initial solution, the procedure consists of
Constructive procedures build a solution from systematically evaluating possible exchanges be-
scratch using an n-stage decision process. Some tween pairs of activities and making an exchange if
methods attempt to automate a set of ‘rules of it improves the value of the criterion. There are a
thumb’ for making intelligent assignments at each number of variants on the basic pair-wise exchange
stage, essentially modelling the thought process of a which focus on reducing the computational effort
human designer. A simple activity selection rule expended or on improving the quality of the solu-
might be: select the activity which has the highest tions generated. These variants generally involve the
connectivity to any activity already placed. A loca- method of selection of activities for possible ex-
tion can then be selected, either by a simple rule of change and which exchange to make Že.g., whether
thumb again Že.g., select the first empty location or not to make the first exchange that leads to an
adjacent to a placed activity starting at the top left improvement or to evaluate all possible exchanges
and working clockwise., or by more sophisticated and select the exchange that results in the maximum
criteria such as selecting that location which yields cost improvement.. Since this latter method can be
the minimum value of the criterion function consid- very costly with respect to computation time, meth-
ering only the activities already placed. ŽSee Refs. ods use different ways to limit evaluation of ex-
w11,42,49x for early constructive procedures.. changes. For example, Elshafei w13x only evaluates
The constructive decision process can be viewed all possible moves of a single activity. Hanan et al.
as a ‘tree search’ where at each branch the selection w22x limit exchanges to immediate neighborhoods or
of an activity–location assignment is made. Two activities. Volmann et al. w59x only considered the
more sophisticated and computationally intensive ap- exchange of the two activities which contribute the
proaches use mathematical bounds on the decision most to the total cost of the current solution at each
tree to guide the process. At each stage of the step. Other methods attempt to be intelligent about
decision tree, Gilmore w18x and Hillier w25x calculate the order in which they evaluate potential exchanges
a lower bound for the objective function for each w25,26x. A more expensive approach termed ‘biased
branch. The activity–location pair which yields the sampling’ selects randomly from the set of possible
minimum lower bound is selected for the next as- exchanges showing improvement. The probability of
signment. Graves and Whinston w21x use probability selection associated with each exchange is propor-
theory to calculate the expected value of the objec- tional to its corresponding cost reduction w50x. Re-
tive function for each possible activity–location as- sults have also been reported for experiments involv-
ing three-way, four-way and five-way exchanges of the system, T, is lowered in steps. The algorithm
w7,42x, however, the minor improvements to solu- terminates as T approaches zero. The use of simu-
tions have generally not balanced the additional cost lated annealing techniques makes it less likely to fall
of the generation process. into local optima, provided the annealing process is
Improvement procedures usually converge on lo- long enough.
cal optima. Since all improvement procedures re- Sharpe and Marksjo w53x show how an implemen-
quire an initial solution, a number of local optima tation of the simulated annealing method provides a
can be generated and compared by using different relatively simple but powerful approach to facility
starting configurations. Elshafei w13x experimented layout optimization. They have applied it success-
with a technique to retreat from a local optimum by fully to large scale problems with up to 200 loca-
selecting the move which results in the minimum tions. An additional advantage is that it can produce
cost increase. The exchange cycle is then repeated a number of near-optimal solutions from which de-
using this position as the starting solution which signers can select. Similar advantages are shown by
hopefully leads to a new local optima. A more recent the author of a program called CLASS, Computer-
solution technique taken from the area of statistical ized Layout Solutions using Simulated annealing
mechanics, simulated annealing, has been used to w30x.
‘back out’ of unattractive local optima.
6.4. Genetic algorithms
6.3. Simulated annealing Somewhat related to improvement procedures are
a class of algorithms which rely on analogies to
Simulated annealing techniques eliminate many natural processes. This type of algorithm has been
disadvantages of improvement Žhillclimbing. meth- described by Michalewicz w45x as follows:
ods. Solutions no longer depend on the starting point
Genetic algorithms are based on the principle of
and are more likely to converge on a good Žif not
evolution Žsurvival of the fittest.. In such algo-
optimal. solution. The main departure from tradi-
rithms a population of individuals Žpotential solu-
tional improvement methods is that changes accepted
tions. undergoes a sequence of unary Žmutation
at each stage of the optimization can actually in-
type. and higher order Žcrossover type. transfor-
crease the cost of the plan. In most hillclimbing
mations. As these individuals strive for survival: a
methods, a new solution is accepted only if it yields
selection scheme, biased towards fitter individu-
an improved value of the objective function. In
als, selects the next generation. After some num-
simulated annealing, an exchange can also be ac-
ber of generations, the algorithm converges with
cepted if the probability of the resulting cost increase
the best individual hopefully representing the op-
occurring is lower than a control parameter. This
timum.
technique is derived from a method that simulates
the cooling of a mass of vibrating atoms from a high Genetic algorithms share the following features
temperature T. The probability of acceptance Ž p . of Žsee Tate and Smith w56x.:
the exchange of a pair of activities equals one if the Ø An initial population of solutions Žcan be ran-
exchange provides a better value of the objective domly generated.
function. If, however, the cost change is positive Ø A mechanism for generating new solutions by
Ži.e., increases the cost., the probability of accep- combining features from solutions in the existing
tance p is a function of the difference in values of population Žreproduction..
objective function for the current solution and the Ø A mechanism for generating a new solution by
new solution Ž D ., and an additional control parame- operating on a single previously known solution
ter, T Žwhich represents temperature in the actual Žmutation..
annealing process.: p s ŽexpŽyDrT ... In general, Ø A mechanism for selecting the set of solutions
the lower the temperature T is, the smaller the from the populationŽs., giving preference to those
chances for the acceptance of a new solution are. with better objective function values Žselection.
During execution of the algorithm, the temperature and
Ø A mechanism for removing solutions from the tive as the mutation and reproductive mechanisms
population Žculling.. can be visualized in terms of human design pro-
Solutions can be selected to mutate or to repro- cesses. We can conceive of a designer working with
duce. Selection is performed with a bias towards a set of possible solutions which evolve toward one
choosing the better solutions in the current popula- or more preferred solutions. As these solutions evolve
tion. For the facilities layout problem mutation can there may be portions of the design which are com-
take the form of some variant of the pair-wise ex- mon to the best solutions. These are preserved when
change. The key feature of the reproduction process design options are combined to generate new solu-
used by Tate and Smith w56x is that any activity tions.
assigned the same location in both parents will oc- It is logical from a human perspective to think of
cupy that location in the offspring. For the remaining the solution process as a hybrid of a number of
locations, activity assignments are chosen randomly approaches. This is also true for automating the
from one or the other parent. Any unassigned activi- layout process and there are a number of hybrid
ties are then matched with the remaining unassigned solution techniques.
locations. As children are created, solutions with the
poorest values of the objective are eliminated Žculled. 6.5. Hybrid approaches
to keep the population the same size. As for simu-
lated annealing, excellent results have been reported Since both iterative improvement Žwhich includes
for this type of algorithm and there is considerable simulated annealing. and genetic algorithms require
interest in investigating further extensions. Any of initial solutions, it is generally preferable to begin
the reported improvement procedures are candidates with a reasonable solution rather than one which is
for mutation processes and there are numerous possi- randomly generated. On the other hand, while con-
bilities for reproductive transformations. structive procedures can produce good solutions,
Gero and Kazakov w17x, extending earlier work by there is almost always room for improvement. Using
Jo and Gero w29x, take advantage of what they term a constructive procedure to generate an initial solu-
‘superior’ evolved genes. Solutions, called geno- tion should reduce the number of iterations of the
types, are represented as a linear sequence of inte- improvement procedure and improve the quality of
gers which can be interpreted as the order activities the solution generated w38x. The coupling of a con-
are placed on the plan. After a fixed number of structive procedure with an improvement procedure
generations, the top ten percent of genotypes Žwith provides an effective combination of a global and
respect to a specified objective. and the bottom ten local approach to a problem. The constructive proce-
percent of genotypes are searched to identify groups dure sets the general tone of the solution while the
of genes that occur together Žcompact subsets of improvement procedure refines the details.
activities that appear together in the sequence.. Com- The author has shown good results with a hybrid
pact gene groups found almost exclusively in the approach which combines the Graves–Whinston
best solutions and almost never in the poorer solu- constructive procedure with a pair-wise exchange
tions are declared new ‘superior’ evolved genes. improvement algorithm w37x. More recently Huntley
These evolved genes are then represented as a single and Brown w27x have combined a high-level genetic
gene for further reproduction. Applications of this algorithm with a simulated annealing algorithm. Jo
approach show excellent results for an office and a and Gero w29x improve upon Liggett’s w39x solution
hospital layout problem found in the literature. The to an office layout problem by using it as an initial
authors have also shown that evolved genes tend to population for their genetic search algorithm, EDGE
represent design features that can be re-used later in ŽEvolutionary Design based on Genetic Evaluation..
similar layout problems. Heragu and Alfa w24x show that a hybrid method
Genetic search methods climb many peaks in which uses a modified penalty algorithm to generate
parallel making it more likely to settle on a global or an initial solution which is then improved using
near-global solution than constructive or improve- simulated annealing produces superior results when
ment procedures. Genetic algorithms are also attrac- compared to a two or three-way exchange procedure
or just to simulated annealing alone. Kaku et al. w31x jacency. values can be specified between modules of
propose a hybrid heuristic that consists of three parts. the same activity to encourage contiguity of activity
In the first part, several partial assignments are gen- space. Heuristics in constructive procedures can also
erated for use as starting points for a constructive be used to ensure contiguity of space. For example,
heuristic Ža breadth first search tree is used to enu- after the initial module is placed for an activity in the
merate a set of good partial assignments.. In the Liggett implementation of the Graves–Whinston al-
second part, these starting points are used to con- gorithm w41x, locations evaluated for the placement
struct complete assignments. They experimented with of subsequent modules of the same activity are lim-
both the Gilmore w18x and Graves–Whinston w21x ited to adjacent modules. The order of location mod-
constructive approaches for completing the solution. ule selection is based on the expected value of the
Finally, attempts at improving the constructed solu- objective function. For constructive procedures there
tions are made by the application of both pair-wise is no guarantee, however, that activities will not be
and triple-exchange routines. split Žunless backtrack strategies are employed at
perhaps a prohibitive cost. and modularization can
produce irregular shapes that are undesirable or un-
7. Unequal areas workable Žsee Fig. 4 for the effect of modularization
on a block plan..
Most of the approaches reviewed above can be Some approaches do not require Žor allow. a
used to generate acceptable solutions to the one-to- predefined plan perimeter making it easier to control
one assignment problem. However, space planning activity shape. A key feature of a constructive proce-
problems are generally more complex than the clas- dure, SHAPE w23x, is the order candidate location
sical quadratic assignment formulation due to the modules are considered. The shape of the layout
imposition of activity area requirements. Since areas evolves as departments are placed in the modules
required by activities are not necessarily equal, it is surrounding those already occupied. The collection
not always feasible to match activities and locations of modules adjacent to a partial layout constitutes a
on a one-to-one basis. Note, this is not true if potential activity location. The set of modules that
location perimeters Že.g., existing offices. have been minimizes the current value of the objective function
predefined since the assignment of activities to loca- is chosen for activity assignment. Earlier versions of
tions can be limited by size constraints. Such con- this type of program include CORELAP w35x and
straints are generally handled in the quadratic assign- ALDEP w52x. While such approaches guarantee activ-
ment formulation with the fixed cost function. Fixed ity contiguity, they are not generally effective given
costs can be set prohibitively high for the assignment existing plan perimeters. These programs can, how-
of activities to offices of unacceptable size. At the ever, be valuable tools for exploring variations in the
block plan level, however, the problem becomes size and shape of a building during the schematic
more difficult since we are locating activities on a design phase. For the algorithms that require preset
plan where location boundaries have not been pre- perimeters, layouts free from shape constraints can
fixed. be generated by specifying a large square perimeter
or a perimeter the size and shape of the site.
7.1. Modular approach Buffa and Armour’s early approach to the unequal
area floorplan layout problem limited the exchange
A typical approach to the unequal area block plan of activities to pairs of equal area w9x. This constrains
problem Žfor the class of algorithms discussed above. the problem significantly in terms of exploration of
is to partition the plan into equal size modules. Each the possible solution space. Other improvement pro-
activity is then partitioned into modules of the same cedures exchange individual activity modules, but
size according to required floor area. The problem is must include constraints to maintain contiguity of
then one of assigning activity modules to location activity shape. Exchange procedures can also be used
modules in a one-to-one fashion. For the quadratic to improve shapes resulting from constructive proce-
assignment problem, artificially high interaction Žad- dures.
Fig. 4. Effect of modularization on a block plan.
The method of plan modularization has important ities with high interactions in close proximity to each
implications for the automated algorithm. If an exist- other. The leaves on the tree represent activities to be
ing building has not been designed on a square placed, and interior nodes represent the slicing opera-
planning grid or if the perimeter has other than right tion Žleft cut, right cut, bottom cut or top cut as
angled edges, the modularized plan will only approx- shown in Fig. 5.. A simulated annealing procedure is
imate the actual perimeter. The smaller the grid size, used to exchange slicing operators in the tree, thus
the better the approximation of the existing plan. generating different rectangular partitioning schemes.
However, a small grid size increases the number of The objective function used to drive the annealing
modules. This leads to increased computation time in process includes the quadratic term of the QAP and a
generating a layout. It may also cause fragmented penalty term for geometric constraints. Tam shows
activity shapes. good results with 20 and 30 activities.
7.2. Arrangement of rectangles
Other approaches to the unequal area layout prob-

lem partition rectangular shapes into smaller rectan-
gles for assignment. Tam w54,55x represents the lay-
out as a slicing structure that is constructed recur-
sively by partitioning a rectangular block. Each rect-
angular partition in the slicing structure corresponds
to the space allocated to an activity. Tam uses cluster
analysis to generate a slicing tree which places activ- Fig. 5. Tam’s slicing free and associated layout w54x.
Tate and Smith w57x use a genetic algorithm with 8. Constraint based methods for unequal area
a flexible bay structure. The prespecified rectangular layout
area is divided in one direction into bays of varying
width. Each bay is then divided into rectangular Methods which do not focus on a single objective
partitions of equal width but different lengths. The but rather seek to generate solutions that meet a
bays are flexible in that their widths will vary with number of different Žpossibly conflicting. constraints
their number and contents. In the Tate and Smith generally deal with the unequal area layout problem
equal-area genetic algorithm discussed earlier w56x, a in terms of arrangements of rectangles. Three meth-
solution was represented by a permutation of inte- ods mentioned earlier, LOOS w14x, WRIGHT w6x and
gers Žone through n, where n is the number of HeGeL w2x, all formulate the problem as one of
activities. and the locations of the integers in the arrangement of rectangles with sides parallel to axes
sequence correspond to locations on the plan. In this of an orthogonal system. They all attempt to satisfy
implementation, the locations correspond to bay par- two types of constraints: one set that is dependent on
titions and an additional sequence is required to the structure or topology of the problem such as the
represent a solution. This second sequence defines requirement that the rectangles not overlap and fit
the number of bays and the number of partitions per within a given boundary; and a second set of con-
bay by indicating where breakpoints exist. Changing straints which are independent of structure and con-
the location of break points can change the number sider attributes such as area, dimension, orientation,
of rectangles per bay andror the number of bays. and adjacency requirements.
Solutions are evaluated and compared using the ob- LOOS and HelGeL are hierarchical generate-and-
jective function of the quadratic assignment problem test methods that incrementally construct solutions
with the addition of adaptive penalty functions to by adding one rectangle at a time to a partial solu-
handle area and proportion requirements for activi- tion, testing for constraint satisfaction at each step.
ties. LOOS w14x employs a breadth first search, generating
Van Camp et al. w58x use a nonlinear model. candidate solutions at each stage by enumerating all
Activities are considered to be of fixed area but of possible ways of adding a new rectangle to a partial
variable dimensioned rectangular shape. Using a sim- solution. Each intermediate state is examined for
ilar measure as the QAP, the objective function constraint violation. If a structure dependent con-
represents the cost of flow of material between activ- straint is violated the intermediate solution is pruned.
ities multiplied by the distance between activity cen- A count of other constraints violated is made for any
troids. An additional term measures distance between partial state and only those with the lowest counts
activities and the outside wall. Constraints require are selected for expansion. By sequentially expand-
that no two departments overlap, that departments ing partial solutions and pruning less promising can-
must be contained in the facility and meet area as didates, LOOS commits to a set of current globally
well as shape constraints Žagain using the penalty best candidate solutions and avoids backtracking.
function approach.. Nonlinear optimization is used to HeGeLrHeGeL2 w2x also constructs a solution in
generate an initial feasible solution Žnote activity a step-by-step fashion, however, it follows a depth-
centroids and dimensions are viewed as continuous first search. The solution procedure is based on a
variables which can vary over the dimensions of the protocol analysis of the problem-structuring and
exterior boundaries.. The nonlinear optimization problem solving behavior of designers. Layout re-
generally results in local optima. The procedure then quirements are expressed as relationships between
applies a pair-wise exchange improvement procedure objects to be located. These relationships, which are
to reduce the value of the interactive portion of the called ‘predicates’, are used as generative constraints
objective function. At this stage infeasible solutions or evaluative criteria. A generative predicate results
Žwhere an activity is too large for the available in the selection of a design unit to be placed Žfor
location. are accepted. A return is then made to the example, a direct access requirement.. Alternative
nonlinear algorithm to generate a new feasible solu- locations for the design unit are then generated based
tion. on the predicate. These locations are tested against
the other predicates associated with the design unit. Designers can choose between minimizing empty
If none of the generated locations meets the test space Žmaking the most use of space. or maximizing
criteria, HeGeL will backtrack. If a single location empty space by compacting the layout. Jacobs uses a
meets the criteria, the placement is made. If there are two-stage solution procedure where each stage com-
multiple locations, they are presented to the user for bines both a constructive and improvement proce-
selection. The user selects a final location and others dure. In the first stage units are ranked for order of
are stored for possible later backtracking. While the placement by boundary preferences, adjacency pref-
original approach relied on the user to direct the erences, and the distance measure. A solution is then
search in terms of selection of the next generative constructed incrementally based on the priority or-
predicate or unit to place, HeGeL2 implements an dering by generating all feasible locations for the
optimization methodology to make the best place- next design unit to be placed. A location is selected
ment decision at each stage. for placement based on the objective function. If a
WRIGHT w6x implements a constraint-directed unit will not fit on the layout, all units are removed
search called disjunctive constraint satisfaction in and the process is restarted. Once a solution is
which constraints are incrementally satisfied. The constructed it is improved with a pair-wise exchange
layout is represented using algebraic equations and procedure. Since there is an element of randomness
inequalities of variables that represent the border in the initial placement ordering as well as in the
lines, dimensions, areas and orientation of the design selection of a location for placement Žif two loca-
units. These are called atomic constraints. Disjunc- tions yield the same value for the objective, the
tive constraints are Boolean combinations of atomic selection is made randomly., a different solution will
constraints and specify the ‘‘structural alternatives result each time the process is restarted.
considered by WRIGHT for satisfying the
constraint.’’ For example, a disjunctive constraint
might represent the four alternatives of placing one
unit directly adjacent to another Žit can be north, 9. Graph theoretic approaches
south, east or west of the second.. Solutions are
generated by sequentially instantiating disjunctive Graph theoretic approaches also handle the un-
constraints and solving the current constraint satis- equal area block plan. In these approaches a block
faction problem ŽCSP.. A CSP is consistent if there plan is constructed as the dual of a planar graph
exists values for all variables that simultaneously where nodes represent spaces and links represent
satisfy all constraints. If a CSP is inconsistent, the required adjacencies. While it is always possible to
propagation algorithm backtracks and selects an al- construct a block plan from a planar graph which
ternative disjunct. The full solution process will find meets the given adjacency requirements between
all significantly different solutions. Since a problem spaces and between spaces and the outside area, the
can be underconstrained or overconstrained, the de- resulting plan may not meet size and shape require-
sign process is characterized by the addition or relax- ments imposed on each space. Constructing a block
ation of constraints by the designer. plan that meets size and shape requirements is a
Rather than formulating competing criteria as a nontrivial problem.
diverse set of constraints, Jacobs w28x combines them A graph theoretic approach is a two stage process.
into a single weighted objective function. The crite- In the first stage a planar graph which corresponds to
ria considered include the distance between design the adjacency requirements is generated. A planar
units with respect to frequency of interaction Žthe graph is one which can be drawn so that no two
typical single objective function criteria considered edges intersect. A planar graph is maximal if no
by the first class of solution techniques., as well as edges can be added without losing planarity. It is
direct adjacency requirements. He also includes cri- possible that the adjacency requirements cannot be
teria related to the alignment of spaces with a goal of represented by a planar graph. In this case the prob-
keeping the structure of the layout as simple as lem is overconstrained and the solution procedure
possible. A final consideration is the use of space. becomes one of generating maximal planar graphs
which maximize the number of adjacencies or the ing row of the hexagonal graph. A feasible layout
weighted adjacencies met by the graph. Once a graph with respect to area is determined by adjusting the
has been formed, the second stage involves generat- height of a row. Fig. 6 shows a hexagonal adjacency
ing the actual layout. See Baybars and Eastman w5x graph with the resulting layout. Goetschalckx’s algo-
and Foulds w16x for a more detailed discussion of the rithm, SPIRAL, has been implemented in a commer-
graph theoretic approach and early applications. cial product called FactoryOPT by CIM TECH-
A typical graph theoretic heuristic for the layout NOLOGIES of Ames, Iowa. Montreuil et al. w47x
problem consists of the following steps: uses a linear programming model to generate a block
Stage 1: Generating a planar graph layout of rectangular spaces from a planar adjacency
Ø Form a weighted graph of the relationships graph. A limitation of both Goetschalckx’s and Mon-
between facilities treuil et al.’s approach is that the building perimeter
Ø Identify a maximal planar subgraph of rela- must be rectangular.
tively high weight The graph theoretic formulation differs from the
Stage 2: Generating a block plan traditional quadratic assignment approach to the lay-
Ø Construct the dual from the planar subgraph. out problem in a number of ways. The fundamental
The dual represents a layout apart from the fact difference is that the graph theory approach consid-
that shapes and areas have not been taken into ers only direct adjacency requirements. No consider-
account. ation is given to nonadjacent pairs of facilities with
Ø Attempt to accommodate shapes and areas in respect to communication costs, even if they are
forming a block plan from the dual. relatively close together on the plan. In addition,
Much research focuses on just the first stage of
the process-generating a maximal planar graph. A
planar graph can be generated by adding or subtract-
ing edges following a step-by-step process. Typically
edges are added in a greedy fashion Žlocal construc-
tive method. where planarity is tested after each
edge addition. Leung w36x presents such a construc-
tive procedure which capitalizes on the fact that
triangulated graphs are maximally planar. The
method starts with a planar subgraph which is gener-
ated by enumerating all possible groups of four
vertices. The group with maximum weight is se-
lected. At each subsequent step either a single vertex
or a triple of vertices which maximizes the additional
edge-weight per vertex is added to a face. Once a
maximal planar graph is constructed, many methods
apply some type of improvement procedure such as
pair-wise exchange or simulated annealing to im-
prove the adjacency score while maintaining pla-
narity.
By requiring a hexagonal structure for the adja-
cency graph, Goetschalckx w19x has developed an
efficient method for generating a rectangular block
plan that meets area requirements from the dual of a
planar graph. The rectangular floor plan is divided
into rows based on the number of rows of the
hexagonal graph. Each row in the plan is then parti- Fig. 6. Goetschkhs’s hexagonal adjacency graph with resulting
tioned into the number of spaces in the correspond- layout w19x.
fixed costs are not included in the graph theoretic require multiple floors. This can be modeled as a
formulation nor are preassigned spaces accommo- one-to-one module placement problem, where the
dated. Foulds w16x views the graph theoretic ap- floors and activities are comprised of equal area
proach as more appropriate for the design of a new modules. However, it is more attractive to think in
facility where there is more design freedom, while terms of assigning an entire activity to a floor in a
the QAP formulation is more useful in a structured single step Žnote, activities may also be allocated
situation. over multiple floors.. Both constructive and im-
provement procedures can be used to generate a
plan. Simple rules of thumb for locating groups on
10. Many-to-one and one-to-many assignment floors Žlocal heuristics. can produce decent starting
solutions to be modified by improvement procedures.
A problem that has not been addressed as much in A simple pair-wise exchange requires the exchange
academic research but is probably the most widely of relatively equal area activities unless there is free
used commercial application is the stack plan. In space on a floor. Alternatively, clusters of groups of
stacking problems activities and locations may have similar size can be identified for exchange. It is also
unequal areas, however, there is not the added com- possible to exceed available floor area during the
plexity activity shape brings to block plan problems. exchange process using some form of adaptive
Locations in a stack plan generally represent floors penalty function to ultimately converge on an accept-
of a building Žphysically shown as a bar.. Activities able solution. While we have not found applications
are represented by areas, colored bars assigned to the of some of the newer approaches such as genetic
floors Žsee Fig. 7.. Multiple activities can be as- algorithms to the stack problem, there could be a
signed to a single floor or a single activity can great deal of potential in this area.
Fig. 7. A typical stack plan.

Mahdavi et al. w43x, Zhang presents a new ap-

proach to the stacking problem. She clusters what are
termed functional units Žactivities to be located. into
groups and assigns groups to floors such that the
weight between floors is minimized. To begin the
process functional units are sorted by their total
connected weights in descending order. Each of the
first nf y 1 units is then assigned to a separate group
Žwhere nf represents the number of floors in the
stacking problem.. The remaining units are assigned
to the last group. Each group has an area constraint
corresponding to one floor of the building. Func-
tional units are moved from the last group to other
groups such that intergroup weights are minimized
and area requirements are satisfied. When no move
will produce a gain or improve the area balance, the
process is over. Groups are now assigned to actual
Fig. 8. Using spacefiling curves to construct layouts w8x.
floors. If the floors are of different size than it is
obvious which cluster is assigned to which floor. If
tween floors or within floors. The criterion function
they are the same size, a dynamic programming
used to drive the improvement process is a function
algorithm is used to assign groups to floors with the
of horizontal travel between locations on the same
objective of maximizing adjacent floor weights.
floor and vertical travel which is a combination of
Another similar problem is the assignment of
horizontal travel from each activity to the lift and the
multiple occupants to a single office. In this case as
travel time of the lift. The use of space filling curves
well, an algorithm need not worry about the actual
ensures activity contiguity is always maintained and
shape of space, only the activity area assigned to
can help manage activity shape.
each location. The same solution techniques can be
Kaku et al. w32x use a K-median heuristic to
applied to the stack and the many-to-one office
cluster departments into groupings in such a way that
assignment problem. Only the graphic representation
inter-group interaction is minimized where the num-
is different.
ber of floors determines the number of groups. This
is similar to Mahdavi et al.’s w43x stacking process.
11. Multi-floor layout problems Once clusters are created they are assigned to floors
using a quadratic assignment objective function.
Block and stack problems are considered simulta-
Block plans for each floor are then generated based
neously with multi-floor algorithms. Bozer et al. w8x
on distances between locations on the floor and
have developed an algorithm called MULTIPLE
ŽMULTI-floor Plan Layout Evaluation. which adopts between these locations and the elevator. Interactions
with activities on other floors are assumed to flow
the grid cell representation for the unequal area
through the elevator. Thus activities with strong
block layout problem. Each floor of the building is
connections to other floors will be placed next to the
divided into grid modules. Spacefilling curves are
elevator. This algorithm is limited to equal area
used to layout activities on the grid. A space filling
activities and a single elevator per floor.
curve is a way of visiting neighbors on a grid by
taking horizontal, vertical or diagonal steps to adjoin-
ing grid cells Žsee Fig. 8.. The layout is controlled by 12. Expert systems
the order activities are placed in the grid. An initial
layout assigns activities to floors. A simulated an- While not true expert systems, many of the early
nealing improvement algorithm is used to modify the heuristics for automated layout implemented rules of
order of layout by exchanging activity locations be- thumb that a designer might follow in generating a
layout. Modelling the solution process of the human closeness relationships between departments. A stan-
designer is dealt with more explicitly in the work by dard constructive algorithm is linked with an im-
Akin et al. w2x on layout protocol analysis which provement component to generate the layout. Cle-
resulted in the HeGeL system discussed earlier. land and Hills w10x use a simulated annealing ap-
A more traditional expert system approach devel- proach for the actual layout, but use a knowledge-
oped by Malakooti and Tsurushima w44x combines based system as an intelligent editor to guide the
multiple-criteria decision making with an expert sys- designer in problem formulation and as an intelligent
tem. The expert system has four parts: critic to assess the quality of the layout and to
Ø A data base which expresses the problem to be suggest ways to improve it.
solved. All raw data is treated as facts such as the
number of activities, size, and flow.
Ø A knowledge base which stores domain-specific 13. Commercial applications
problem-solving knowledge such as rules of
thumb for generating the layout. While there seems to be considerable interest in
Ø A priority base, which contains priorities for rules, computer programs for facility layout, there are sur-
adjacency, the order of assignment, etc. prisingly few commercially available products. The
Ø An inference engine, which controls the so-called ‘layout’ features of many CAD systems
problem-solving structure. simply provide a graphic interface for the user to
The expert system interacts with the decision layout a plan in manual mode with little or no access
maker through the inference engine allowing the to information concerning the layout criteria. On the
decision maker to change the priorities or rules. An other hand, a solution generated by an automated
interpretation of the layout, which includes all the algorithm that is based on a single cost function
rules that have been used to assign activities to sites, captures only one aspect of a designer’s concerns in
is displayed so that the decision maker can see why any realistic context. A system which meets com-
individual assignments have been made. A what-if mercial needs of today should provide interface ca-
analysis module allows the decision maker to change pabilities ranging from complete user interaction,
information in the data, the knowledge or priority where the user interactively specifies the location of
bases and see the results. By giving priority to each activity, to complete automation, where an
different criteria and comparing the resulting layouts, algorithm generates an initial solution w40x. Or as
the system can automatically update priorities based desired, a designer should be able to interactively
on the decision maker’s choices. locate some activities and use an algorithm to locate
Recent references to expert systems tend to focus or suggest locations for others. Rather than generat-
more on the integrated problem solving experience ing a single least-costly plan, the designer with the
than on the actual layout process. Many expert sys- aid of automated algorithms can make tradeoffs be-
tems use existing tools for the actual layout which tween competing criteria and converge on a solution
include both constructive and improvement proce- that responds to a broad spectrum of complex and
dures mentioned earlier. Abdou and Dutta w1x use an often ill-defined issues.
expert system to derive the relationship chart from a In order to meet the needs of facility designers
set of multiple criteria that are fuzzy, non-quantifia- and managers a number of factors must be present in
ble and apparently conflicting. Once the relationships a commercial product:
are derived a standard layout generation package Ø The ability to handle large scale problems
Žsuch as ALDEP or CORELAP. is used to derive a Ø A modern interactive interface
suitable layout. The expert system is then used to Ø Support for an iterative design process
examine the feasibility of the result. Ø Links to CAD and Facilities Management
FLEXPERT w4x, a facility layout expert system Databases
based on the theory of fuzzy logic follows a similar It is clear that realistic space allocation problems
scenario. It uses the expert system to generate a can involve the assignment of space for very large
relationship chart to combine criteria on flow and organizations. A single problem can include multiple
buildings, numerous floors and hundreds if not thou- quirements. Output resulting from a layout planner
sands of activities. Automated solution procedures to can be used to update the databases and even gener-
date have not been tested for problems of this size. ate transactions such as move orders.
The program interface should be able to prepare In spite of the long research history associated
and present data at any desired level of aggregation with automated layout and space allocation systems,
and use output from one stage of the design process in practice these systems have not been utilized to
to generate subproblems at the next stage Žfor exam- their full potential. We would expect this to change
ple, from stacking a multi-storey building to block in the near future given the increasing interest in
plans of individual floors.. An early commercial facilities planning and management, the increasing
implementation, the Calcomp Facilities Planning and use of computer-aided design tools in the building
Management Application Package, allowed designers design and management industry, and the improve-
to select both the level of space aggregation and ments in computer hardware and software which
activity aggregation from a graphically displayed make the solution of larger scale problems possible
organization chart. Such an approach is an effective as well as facilitate human–computer interaction.
way of reducing the size of large scale problems to
make both human and algorithmic problem solving
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A New Trend in Designing Plant Layouts for the Process Industry 95
X7
A New Trend in Designing Plant Layouts

for the Process Industry
Richart Vazquez-Roman and M. Sam Mannan
Instituto Tecnológico de Celaya & Texas A&M University
Mexico & USA
1. Introduction
Process safety might be considered as the most important area to improve several aspects in
the process industry design. Ways of dealing with hazards include means to either control
them or totally remove them. Both control and removal ways can be applied during the
design stage to produce inherently safer designs. There exist several practical examples
where issues related to inherently safer designs have been explored (Kletz, 1984). Seven
basic principles of inherently safer design have been identified from many application cases:
intensification, substitution, attenuation, simplicity, operability, fail-safe design and second
chance design, see for instance (Mannan, 2005). Indeed, the plant layout has been identified
as a prominent feature for the second chance design, which means that it represents a
second line of defence to guard against initial hazards or failures since the process has been
already designed at this stage (Mannan, 2005).
Aids for the synthesis of inherently safer design are not well developed but some work has
been done in process designs to conform into this principle. It is considered here that one
way to avoid hazards is through safer designs that can be obtained for the process industry
by appropriate plant layout designs. Plant siting and plant layout are considered as the last
opportunity to enhance inherent safety during the design stage. The plant siting addresses
finding a location for a plant as a part of a collection of plants and this task normally
concerns with the safety for pupil surrounding the plants. The plant layout addresses the
arrangement of units and equipment of each plant and it normally concerns with the safety
for pupil inhabiting the plant (CCPS, 2003). In this work, the philosophy underlying the
conceptual plant layout is considered applicable to virtually all aspects of siting. Plant
layout is the term adopted in this work for both siting and plant layout where inherently
safer designs should be the prime aim.
The plant layout problem includes thus accommodation not only of the process facilities but
also of other facilities such as offices, parking lots, buildings, warehouses, storage tanks,
utility areas, etc. It introduces a number of forms in which the results of any risk may be
presented. A preliminary hazard screening will provide information to determine if the site
provides adequate separation distances from neighbouring areas or among the process
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96 Modeling, Simulation and Optimization – Tolerance and Optimal Control
units. Experience has produced guidelines for facility siting and layout that can be used to
estimate these distances (CCPS, 2003). However, there remains an inherent tendency to
overdesign and any resulting preliminary plot area is never appropriately sized. A good
model is required to estimate the risk related to eventually produce the optimal plot plan. A
good plant layout will logically indicate a greater degree of inherent safety.
It has been indicated that 15-70% of total operational costs depends on the layout (Tompkins
et al., 1996), and piping costs can be as high as 80% of the purchased equipment cost (Peters
et al., 2003). It is also considered that a number of accidents can be reduced with an optimal
process layout. Thus, the objective function must include sustainability factors to keep space
for future expansions, environmental concerns, reliability, efficiency and safety in plant
operations, land area and operating costs (Mecklenburgh, 1985).
Earlier plant layouts were based on common sense rules such as following the order in the
process and separating adjacent units by sufficient distances to allow maintenance
operations (Mecklenburgh, 1973; Moore, 1962). This procedure is not practical for
optimization purposes and becomes particularly difficult to accommodate a large number of
process units (Armour and Buffa, 1963). The complete problem is often partitioned to
generate modules which are easier to solve in a sequence (Newell, 1973). This approach was
improved through graph theory (Abdinnour-Helm and Hadley, 2000; Goetschalckx, 1992;
Huang et al., 2007; Watson and Giffin, 1997) and fuzzy logic techniques (Evans et al., 1987).
The difficulty of solving the layout problem via programming techniques has been
demonstrated in the arrangement of departments with certain traffic intensity which is a
strongly NP-hard problem (Amaral, 2006). However, several efficient and systematic
strategies have been developed to solve particularities of the layout problem. Several
algorithms to solve the facility layout problem have been formulated as a quadratic
assignment problem (QAP) (Koopmans and Beckmann, 1957; Pardalos et al., 1994; Sahni
and Gonzalez, 1976). The QAP formulation is equivalent to the linear assignment with
additional constraints (Christofides et al., 1980). Several QAP models were evolved into
mixed integer programming (Montreuil, 1990; Rosenblatt, 1979; Urban, 1987). Another
formulation was developed for facilities having fixed orientation and rectangular shape
where the big-M method was applied to improve the numerical calculation (Heragu and
Kusiak, 1991). Other MILP formulations solved different particularities of the layout
problem through ad hoc methods or commercial packages (Barbosa-Póvoa et al., 2001;
Barbosa-Póvoa et al., 2002; Guirardello and Swaney, 2005; Papageorgiou and Rotstein, 1998;
Westerlund et al., 2007; Xie and Sahinidis, 2008). The layout of process units has been also
formulated as a mixed-integer non-linear program (MINLP); however, the MINLP is
converted to a MILP to ensure a numerical solution (Jayakumar and Reklaitis, 1996). A
substantial improvement to the big-M formulation for the layout problem has been obtained
with the convex-hull approach (Sherali et al., 2003). Stochastic techniques have shown their
capability to produce practical solutions for the plant layout problem. Genetic algorithms
are able to solve optimization problems containing non-differentiable objective functions
thought the global optimum is not guaranteed (Castell et al., 1998; Martens, 2004; Mavridou
and Pardalos, 1997; Wu et al., 2007). In addition, simulated annealing has been applied in
the layout of manufacturing systems (Balakrishnan et al., 2003; McKendall and Shang, 2006).
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The models to solve the layout problems cited above did not directly include safety issues.
A new trend in designing plant layouts for the process industry consists of extending the
layout formulations with safety issues. Though some MILP models have been proposed to
reduce financial costs (Papageorgiou and Rotstein, 1998; Patsiatzis et al., 2004; Patsiatzis and
Papageorgiou, 2002), modelling safety issues unavoidably end up in MINLP models.
Inspired by the Flixborough and Bophal accidents, the first paper on designing the plant
layout incorporated financial risk and protection devices cost to the classical piping and
land costs in the objective function (Penteado and Ciric, 1996). The Mary Kay O’Connor
Process Safety Center started a research to optimize the layout when some of the process
units may release toxic gases. The following sections refer to the results of this research.
2. Overall Problem Statement

This work focuses at solving the layout when toxic release might occur in any process unit.
The overall process layout consists on accommodating each process unit in a given land. The
task can be divided in three parts: a) some units are grouped to remain as closed as possible
among them with access for maintenance and fire-fighter actions to form facilities, b) all new
facilities must be accommodated within a land where other facilities may exist and c) the
pipe routing problem must be included in the two previous parts and it depends on the
interconnectivity. Since toxic releases affects pupil and not to process units, it is convenient
to describe the layout in terms of facilities where the control room becomes the most
important facility to allocate. Furthermore, facilities typically have rectangular shapes. For
the sake of simplicity, facilities and the available land are then considered to have
rectangular shapes. Thus, the overall problem is established as follow:
Given:
 A set of already existing facilities i  I ;
 A set of new facilities for siting s  S ;
 A set of release types r  R ;
 A subset ri (i, r ) of existing facilities i  I having a particular release r  R , and
displacement values, dxri and dyri to identify the exact releasing point with respect
to the center of the releasing i-facility;
 A subset rs ( s, r ) of existing facilities s  S having a particular release r  R , and
displacement values, dxsr and dy sr to identify the exact releasing point with respect
to the center of the releasing j-facility;
 The facilities interconnectivity for both types existing and new facilities;
 Length and depth of each new facility for siting, Lxs and Lys ;
 Length and depth of each existing facility, Lxi and Lyi , as well as their center
point,  xi , yi  ;
 Maximum length, Lx and depth, Ly , of available land;
 Size of the street, st;
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Each new facility center position  xi , yi  ;

Determine

 The occupied area out of the total land;
 The final cost associated with the optimal layout;
Two approaches have been developed to solve the above problem. The dispersion of the
toxic is important to calculate concentration and then the fatal effect for any toxic release
scenario. Hence the wind effect is an important factor in this kind of scenarios. Since the
wind behaves as a random variable for practical purposes, the first approach is referred as
the stochastic approach where the wind speed, wind direction, and other factors are dealt
through probabilistic models. In a second approach, the wind effect is modeled based on the
worst scenario and this approach is referred to as the deterministic one. Both stochastic and
deterministic approaches have different equations to evaluate the risk. However, they also
have common constraints which are given in the following section.
3. Common Constraints
The common constraints are classified as land constraints, non-overlapping constraints and
risk-related equations. In addition, the objective function contains also similar terms which
are also presented below.
3.1 Land Constraints

Any new facility must be accomodated inside the available land having a street around it.
The street size must be sufficient to facilitate the firefighting and emergency responses. Since
it is considered that new facilities and the available land are described by rectangles, the
center point for any new facility must satisfy:
 Lx 
 st  x s  Lx   s  st 
Lx s
 
(1)
2 2
 Ly 
 st  y s  Ly   s  st 
Ly s
 2 
(2)
2
For the sake of simplicity, the East direction is represented by the direction (0,0) to (∞,0) and
the North by the direction (0,0) to (0,∞).
3.2 Non-overlapping Constraints

Simple common sense indicates that two facilities cannot occupy the same space, i.e. they
must not overlap. A new facility s could be accommodated anywhere around another
facility k provided there is sufficient separation to build a street between them, Fig. 1. These
possibilities must be reproduced in a model without duplication or overlapping to avoid
numerical difficulties in the optimization procedure. The following disjunction identifies
four sections with respect to the facility k: left side, right side, north and south. It should be
observed that the north-south is initially grouped but it is later disaggregated:
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North
Left
Facility s
Facility k
Facility s Facility s
Facility s
Right
South
Fig. 1. Non-overlapping constraint
" N ","S " 

 
 s   
" L "  " R "  
min, x
x x D
  xs  x k  Dskmin, x 
k sk
 min, x  min, x   
 xs  x k  Dsk   xs  x k  Dsk   " N "
(3)
   
  min, y 
S
  
" "
  ys  y k  Dsk   y s  y k  Dsk  
min, y
where,
Lx s  Lx k
D skmin, x   st (4)
2
Ly s  Ly k
D skmin, y   st (5)
2
and st is the street size and facility s refers to a facility to accommodate and facility k can be
either a new or an already installed facility.
Since commercial optimization codes do not accept disjunctive formulations, equation (3) is
reformulated as a MINLP. There are three methods to achieve this transformation: direct use
of binary variables for each disyunction, the big-M and the convex hull (Grossmann, 2002).
The straighforward method of binaryzation generates new bilinear terms which are source
of numerical difficulties (McCormick, 1982) whereas the main drawback of the big-M
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formulation is that a bad selection yields poor relaxation (Grossmann, 2002). Thus the
convex hull has been prefered in this conversion procedure (Vázquez-Román et al., 2009).
3.3 Risk-related Equations

The reponse vs. dose curves for single exposures is typically represented with the probit
function as a straight-line (Finney, 1971):
Pr  k 0  k1 ln V (6)
where Pr is the probit variable, the dose V represents the causative factor, being the product
of concentration and exposure time for toxic releases, and k 0 and k 1 are best-fitting values
reported for several substances in several sources. The probit variable is related to the
probability of death, P, by:
P 
Pr  5
e u
1
2
2
/2
du (7)

The probit relationship transforms the typical sigmoid shape of the normal response versus
dose curve into a straight line.
3.4 The objective function

The piping cost, C piping , is one of the important cost factors in the layout problem. It can be
estimated by multiplying the separation distance, d ij , by the cost of the pipe, C p :
C piping  C d
(i , j )
P ij (8)
In principle, the distance should include the equivalent distance because of all accesories
such as elbows in changes of direction. For the sake of simplicity, the Manhatan and
Euclidian distances have been used. The latter is prefered in this work because the
derivative can be easily produced:
dij2  ( xi  x j ) 2  ( yi  y j ) 2 (9)
where d ij is the separation Euclidian distance between facility i with coordinates ( xi , yi )

and facility j with coordinates ( x j , y j ) .
The land cost, C land , represents the cost because of the area occupied by the overall layout.
To easy this calculation, the process layout starts always in the origin (0,0) and the area is
considered as the minimum rectangle that includes all facilities:
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Cland  cl Ax Ay (10)
where c l is the land cost per m2, and Ax and A y are the lengths in the x and y directions
which can be calculated from:
Ax  max( xs  Lxs / 2)
Ay  max( ys  Lys / 2)
(11)
Unfortunately the above formulation represents a non-convex function and it is not

accepted in all optimization codes. Since the land cost and hence the area is minimized, a
more convenient form can be used as follows:
Ax  xs  Lxs / 2
Ay  ys  Lys / 2
(12)
where s runs for all facilities. Next section describes the model developed where the
stochastic effect of the wind is considered.
4. Stochastic Approach
Wind represents the main random factor in this stochastic approach developed to optimize
the plant layout (Vázquez-Román et al., 2008; 2009). The main affected receptors in a given
release scenario are those situsted in direction of the wind but there is also a reduced effect
on adjacent sectors. The occurrence of winds at any location are normally represented in the
wind rose plot where speed, directions and frequency are indicated. In addition,
atmosphere stability is also required in this approach. This information is estimated from
other meteorological variables such as altitude, total cloud cover, and ceiling height. A
procedure to incorporate meteorological data from several databases in the wind effect
analysis is fiven elsewhere (Lee et al., 2009). Fig. 2 shows the wind rose and the
cummulative probability versus wind direction for Corpus Christi obtained with this
procedure.
A credible release scenario must be proposed to define the expected amount of toxic
released material. The credible scenario depends on the size of pipes and process conditions
(Crowl and Louvar, 2002). Once the stochastic behavior of wind direction, wind speed and
atmospheric stability is charaterised with cummulative probability curves and the release
scenario is defined, a Monte Carlo simulation is applied where values for these stochastic
variables are randomly selected. For this set of selected values, an appropriate model for the
gas dispersion is used to estimate the concentration at all directions and several separation
distances.
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Fig. 2. Wind direction distribution in Corpus Christi
Ad hoc models can be developed to estimate concentrations of the toxic material in selected
points. In addition, there exits several methods for different release scenarios such as liquid,
dense gas or light gas (CCPS, 1996). The selected points must cover all possibilities in the
available land so that the maximum separation between the first point and the last one in a
given direction depends on the available land size. It is suggested to have intermediate
neighbour points as close as possible without compromising the calculation time. A similar
number of points must be used in each of several directions to get the concentration of the
toxic gas at all possible directions. Thus the 360° are divided by direction-sectors to have a
practical number of estimations. The Monte Carlo generates as many concentration values at
each point as Monte Carlo runs and this number should be as large as practically possible.
probit function. An exponential decay is assumed so that the probability of death at each  -
The concentration values can then be easily converted in risk of death values through the
direction, PD , is represented by the equation:


PD  a e
 b d r , 
(13)
where d r , refers to the distante from the release point in the  -direction to the point where
the probability is estimated and a and b are fitted parameters.
For the sake of simplicity, it is suggested that the number of direction-sectors be a multiple
of four. Thus each sector can be described by the initial and final angle of the sector and the
following dinjunction is used to identify the sector in wich an i-facility is being
accommodated with respect to the s-facility that may release a toxic gas:
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" α  interval" 
 y 
s ( y s  y i )  0 
  sx ( x s  x i )  0 
iri  
(14)
 sx ( y s  y i )  sx m ( x s  x i ) 
 x 
 s ( y s  y i )  s m 1 ( x s  x i ) 
x
where m is the slope calculated by
  2 
m   tan   
  n 
(15)
being n the number of direction-sectors whereas sx and s y are convenient vectors with
either positive or negative ones to determine in which quadrant the facility i is positioned
respect to facility s. sx contain positive ones in the elements referring to the first and fourth
quadrants but negative ones in thouss referring to the second and third quadrants. s y has
positive ones in elements referring to the first and second quadrants and negative ones
otherwise. The above disjunction is also converted to a MINLP via the convex hull
technique.
The following risk term is incorporated into the objective function:
C risk  c pp t l  f i,r Pi , r , s (16)

s ri ( i , r )
where c pp is the compensation cost per fatality, t l is the expected life of the plant, f i , r is
the frequency of the type of release r in facility i and PD i is the probability of death in the
i,r ,s
facility s because of release type k in facility i.
5. Deterministic Approach
It is often suggested that a better risk assessment for safety in chemical process plants
should be based on what is called the worst scenario (Leggett, 2004). A more recent study
(Díaz-Ovalle et al., 2009) ratifies that the worst scenario in a toxic release scenario
correspond to that one where the wind remains in calm under stable atmospheric condition.
Unfortunately, most of current models simplify the convective-diffusive dispersion equation
to produce practical equations but these models tend to misbehave when the wind speed
tends to zero. Models for both passive and dense dispersion phenomena produce higher
concentrations when the wind speed is lower. An accepted value to be used for the wind
speed in calm is 1.5 m/sec. Since the wind in calm can occur at any direction, then the risk
becomes symmetric and contours having the same risk level have circular shape.
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A deterministic model based on the worst scenario is given in (Diaz-Ovalle et al., 2008). A
threshold limit value (TLV) can be used to avoid exposures that may produce adverse
effects to pupil. It is suggested that the concentration must not exceed the ceiling value, i.e.
TLV-C, see for instance (Crowl and Louvar, 2002). Thus, the equation added to the general
layout model described above consists in constraining the distance so that the calculated
concentration cannot be superior to the TLV-C value. Otherwise and better than TLV, there
are emergency responses planning guideline (ERPG) values that can be used with the same
purpose in the layout determination. The objective function in the deterministic approach
only contains the land and piping cost terms. The following section contains an analysis of
the results obtained with both the stochastic and the deterministic approaches.
6. Discussion of Results and Future Research

The numerical difficulty of solving the layout problem even without toxic release has been
clearly identified in (Vázquez-Román et al., 2009). An example considers two new facilities
and the control room to be installed in a given land where there exist two installed facilities.
While applying several optimization methods and using different initializations, three
optima results were found. It should then be clear than increasing the number of units may
produce more local optima and the question would remain about what is the best layout.
The global optimum for this case was obtained through a global optimizer in GAMS (Brooke
et al., 1998), but the time required to achieve the solution is too high and this time became
unpractical when the number of facilities was increased.
To test the stochastic approach, a chlorine release was considered to occur in one of the
installed facilities. All information required for the stochastic approach is provided in
(Vázquez-Román et al., 2009). In this case two optimum layouts were detected with different
GAMS solvers, Fig. 3. Though the global optimum was clearly identified, it was observed
that it produced a small value in the cost associated to the financial risk whereas this cost
became negligible in the other local optimum. Hence the question is again about what
solution should be better to use. Another disadvantage of the stochastic approach is the time
required to get the parameters of the exponential decay function for the probability of death.
In principle, a high number of simulations should be used in the Monte Carlo procedure.
The number of calculations could be reduced by reducing the number of direction-sectors
but again a large number would produce more representative results. These results have
been ratified with other examples in (Vázquez-Román et al., 2008).
Solving the layout with the deterministic approach tends to produce more conservative
layouts (Diaz-Ovalle et al., 2008). However, when the toxic material is too toxic this
approach may produce layouts occupying a large area. This was the case for the example
used in (Vázquez-Román et al., 2009). This approach has the advantage that no extra
calculation is required to incorporate the wind effect since calm conditions and hence
symmetric effect is assumed. Thus the deterministic approach tends to enforce prevention,
mitigation and removal of hazards to reduce the required land. This is typically achieved by
inserting devices so that the final layout becomes more expensive than the one produced
with the stochastic approach. This approach is justified by the fact that several severe
accidents have occurred when calm conditions prevailed.
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dicopt-minos-cplex
dicopt-conopt-cplex baron-minos-cplex
A= 3025 m2 A= 3000 m2
NB CR
CR
FB FB
NA NA
FA NB
FA
Fig. 3. Optimal layouts with the stochastic approach
The two approaches are in effect an application of the principle of inherently safer design. In
fact, an inherently safer design is easier to achieve during the plant layout design. However,
more research is required to ensure convergence to the global optimum. We are considering
the possibility of convexifying the equations so that any local optimization solver could
achieve the global irrespectively of the initialization. Also, we are developing 3D–CFD
programs to evaluate particular layouts such as each local optimum to detect if streams can
form and potentially increase the risk of a given layout. Finally, other properties such as
corrosiveness, flammability and explosibility; operating conditions such as pressure and
temperature; reaction conditions such as phase, rate, heat release, yield and side reactions;
and effluents and wastes must be incorporated in solving the layout problem.
7. Acknowledgements
The contribution to this research by Jin-Han Lee, Seungho Jun and Chistian Diaz-Ovalle as
well as the support by TAMU-CONACyT and DGEST is deeply acknowledged.
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Modeling Simulation and Optimization - Tolerance and Optimal
Control
Edited by Shkelzen Cakaj
ISBN 978-953-307-056-8
Hard cover, 304 pages
Publisher InTech
Published online 01, April, 2010
Published in print edition April, 2010
Parametric representation of shapes, mechanical components modeling with 3D visualization techniques using
object oriented programming, the well known golden ratio application on vertical and horizontal displacement
investigations of the ground surface, spatial modeling and simulating of dynamic continuous fluid flow process,
simulation model for waste-water treatment, an interaction of tilt and illumination conditions at flight simulation
and errors in taxiing performance, plant layout optimal plot plan, atmospheric modeling for weather prediction,
a stochastic search method that explores the solutions for hill climbing process, cellular automata simulations,
thyristor switching characteristics simulation, and simulation framework toward bandwidth quantization and
measurement, are all topics with appropriate results from different research backgrounds focused on tolerance
analysis and optimal control provided in this book.
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PROPUESTA METODOLÓGICA GENERAL PARA LA REORDENACION

Y OPERACIÓN DE UNA PLANTA YA EXISTENTE DE

GENERAL METHODOLOGICAL PROPOSAL FOR THE REDEVELOPMENT

Dora María, Londoño Arias ¹

¹ Administradora de Empresas, Coordinadora Administrativa División Médica, MSD Colombia

² Ingeniero Industrial, Estudiante de posgrado, Gerencia Logística Integral

Palabras Clave: contractibilidad, procesos, modelo lineal de ordenamiento, logística, warehousing.

Key words: contractility, processes, linear model of management, logistics, warehousing.

Figura 1. Esquema de constructibilidad

En las estepas anteriores a la construcción, anteproyecto, factibilidad y diseño, la contructibilidad es importante ya

2.1.2 Materiales de construcción

3 Logística Esbelta [14]

3.1.2 Metodología de las 5s.

1. Seleccionar: Determine que es necesario en el área de trabajo y retire los excedentes.

3.1.3 Cartografía de la cadena de valor

Figura 2. Concepto cadena de valor

4 Metodologías para el reordenamiento de naves de almacenamiento

4.1 Consideraciones sobre el diseño y operación de las naves de almacenamiento

4.1.1 Reorganización del Almacén Actual [16]

Un eficiente aprovechamiento del espacio

Figura 3. Como diseñar y organizar el almacén.

4.1.2 Sistemas de almacenamiento

Almacenamiento ordenado o a hueco fijo

Figura 4. Sistemas de almacenaje.

4.1.3 Tipos de Almacenamiento

0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7

METROS CUADRADOS POR ESTIBA

Figura 5. Utilización del espacio

4.1.4 Clases de Almacenes [19] [20]

Según la naturaleza del Producto: Almacén de materias primas, de semielaborados, de productos

4.1.5 Tipos de Estanterías

Figura 6: Estantería de carga ligera

Figura 7: Estantería de palatización compacta

Figura 8: Estantería de palatización dinámica por gravedad

Figura 9: Estantería en cantiléver

Figura 10: Almacén auto portante

4.1.6 Lay-out del depósito

Figura 11: Layout de almacén de lubricantes

4.1.8 Software para ubicar los productos en el almacén (locator Systems)

4.1.9 Warehousing [3]

El proceso de administración de un almacén tiene tres niveles de decisiones determinantes:

El proceso de salida de materiales del almacén

El flujo de materiales en un depósito, se analiza con las siguientes figuras:

Figura 12: Flujo de entrada y salida warehousing

Figura 13: Flujo de removidos warehousing

Recepción – Del Staging a ET – De Et a almacén – De almacén a ET – De ET a picking/dock – De picking a

5.1 Modelo Lineal de Ordenamiento [22].

Xij{01 (i,j = 1,2…, Z, L) (2.4)

5.1.1 Aplicación del Modelo

Figura 14. Solución gráfica del ordenamiento de los materiales en el almacén.

355 283 249 339

Procedimiento Falk [34]

Para ello se recomienda el procedimiento de Falk.

El material 1 se almacena en la ubicación L4, el material 2 se almacena en la ubicación L3 el material 3 se almacena

Xij: 1 cuando el material i se encuentra en la ubicación j. y 0 cuando no se ubica ahí.

Figura 15. Resultado aplicación Modelo Lineal de ordenamiento

El material 1 se ubica en la posición L4;

5.2 El balnaced score card

5.3.1 Algoritmo de Ghiani [29].

Variables: para n el numero de productos en el almacén y j=1…n, la variable es la cantidad de productos j a

O a través del heurístico.

5.3.3 Algoritmo de Khuri [30]

Reiniciar los objetos en orden decreciente de peso

Instancias del problema