PREDICTING VOLUME DISTANCE PERFORMANCE FOR LAYOUT PROBLEMS WITH STATIC DISTANCE FUNCTIONS

This study investigates the predictability of the form and parameters of the distribution of materials handling volume distance values assoc iated with layout problems characterized by static distance functions. Previous research suggests that volume distance distributions associa ted with line layout problems tend toward normality. This study extend s these results to more general cases of layout problems where distanc es between workcentre locations do not vary with alternative assignmen ts of workcentres to locations. The feasibility of generating estimate s of volume distance distribution parameters using random samples of l ayout alternatives is also investigated. Volume distance parameter est imates are used to define satisfying criteria for heuristic layout alg orithms, which are illustrated through a series of quadratic assignmen t problems with known optimal solutions.