FACILITY LAYOUT TO SUPPORT JUST-IN-TIME

lit this paper, rue develop a heuristic algorithm based on Benders' De composition to solve a version of the facility layout problem with dec entralized shipping/receiving (s/r). Multiple s/r areas are allowed al ong the perimeter of the facility and each department can be serviced by the closest s/r area. Our work on this problem was motivated by jus t-in-time systems which require that frequent trips be made with small move quantities. In such circumstances, the use of decentralized sir areas can significantly decrease material handling costs. We study a v ersion of the problem in which the dimensions and Locations of rectang ular departments must be determined (subject to constraints), and each department must be simultaneously assigned to the nearest s/r area. T he objective is to minimize the total cost of moving materials between pairs of departments, and between the departments and their respectiv e s/r areas. Computational results for problems with up to 30 departme nts are reported.