Facility Layout

Effective layout designs are necessary in many different businesses such as manufacturing facilities, assembly systems, warehouses, production and operations, retail stores, schools, office buildings, airports, health care (e.g., hospitals), utility providers (e.g.,water and sewer facilities), energy-generating facilities (e.g., nuclear power plants), service industries, and government operational facilities. Historically, however, layout design techniques were developed to solve manufacturing facility layout problems to identify the best locations for different manufacturing departments. Since the 1950s, facility layout methods have been expanded to solve a variety of applications, including the design of computer motherboards and integrated circuits (ICs). Diminishing physical space availability, high cost of relay outs, safety issues, and substantial long-term investments are good reasons for getting the design right the first time