CHAPTER FOUR

COMPUTER TECHNIQUES

4.1Introduction]4[

A number of different procedures have been developed to aid the facilities planner in
designing layouts. These procedures can be classified into two main categories:
construction type and improvement type. Construction type layout methods
basically involve developing a new layout from scratch.
Improvement procedures generate layout alternatives based on an existing
layout. Based on the above two procedures, many algorithmic approaches
have been developed.

4.1.1 ALDEP Automated Layout Design Program ]5[

Construction algorithm
Input requirements are as follows:
Relationship chart
Department areas
Sweep width
Arbitrarily selects first department
Allows fixed departments
First department selected randomly
Next department selected based on relationship with placed departments
If more than one with same relationship, choice is random
If no departments with minimally acceptable relationship exist, choice is
random
Place first department in the upper left corner and extend downward
Additional departments begin where the previous one ended
Sweep width < area of smallest department

1
 Why?

4.1.2.1 ALDEP Example

1 grid = 5 m2
Sweep width = 3

4.2.2 ALDEP layout solution

Start laying out departments top-down and left to right, when you came to border
continue laying out bottom-up and left to right...

Suppose dept. 1 (offices) is selected first to be placed

2
Dept. 3 (conf. room) is selected due to E rating with 1

Dept. 2 (foreman) is selected due to I rating with 3

Dept. 5 (parts shipment) is selected due to E rating with 2

3
Dept. 6 (general storage) is selected due to A rating with 5

Dept. 4 (receiving) is selected due to A rating with 6

Total score of the final layout is computed using the following values: A= 64, E=16,
I=4, O=1, U=0, X=-1024, and only fully adjacent departments take points

4
4.1.2 CORELAP(3)

CORELAP is a construction algorithm to create an activity relationship (REL)

diagram or block layout from a REL chart.
Each department (activity) is represented by a unit square.
Numerical values are assigned to CVs:
V(A) = 10,000, V(O) = 10,
V(E) = 1,000, V(U) = 1,
V(I) = 100, V(X) = -10,000.
For each department, the Total Closeness Rating (TCR) is the sum of the
absolute values of the relationships with other departments.

4.1.3 Procedure to Select Departments

1. The first department placed in the layout is the one with the greatest TCR
value. If a tie exists, choose the one with more As.
2. If a department has an X relationship with he first one, it is placed last in the
layout. If a tie exists, choose the one with the smallest TCR value.

5
 3. The second department is the one with an A relationship with the first one. If
a tie exists, choose the one with the greatest TCR value.
4. If a department has an X relationship with he second one, it is placed next-to-
the-last or last in the layout. If a tie exists, choose the one with the smallest
TCR value.
5. The third department is the one with an A relationship with one of the placed
departments. If a tie exists, choose the one with the greatest TCR value.
6. The procedure continues until all departments have been placed.

4.2.4 Procedure to Place Departments

Consider the figure on the right. Assume that a department is placed in the
middle (position 0). Then, if another department is placed in position 1, 3, 5
or 7, it is fully adjacent with the first one. It is placed in position 2, 4, 6 or
8, it is partially adjacent.

For each position, Weighted Placement (WP) is the sum of the numerical
values for all pairs of adjacent departments.
The placement of departments is based on the following steps:
1. The first department selected is placed in the middle.
2. The placement of a department is determined by evaluating all possible
locations around the current layout in counterclockwise order
beginning at the western edge.
3. The new department is located based on the greatest WP value.

6
4.2.4 Example

7
8
4.5 CRAFT (Computerized Relative Allocation of Facilities
Technique)(2)
First computer-aided layout algorithm (1963)
The input data is represented in the form of a From-To chart, or qualitative
data.
The main objective behind CRAFT is to minimize total transportation cost:

fij= material flow between departments i and j

cij= unit cost to move materials between departments i and j
dij= rectilinear distance between departments i and j
Improvement-type layout algorithm

4.5.1 Steps in CRAFT

Calculate centroid of each department and rectilinear distance between pairs of

departments centroids (stored in a distance matrix).

9
 Find the cost of the initial layout by multiplying the
From-To (flow) chart,
Unit cost matrix, and
From-To (distance) matrix
Improve the layout by performing all-possible two or three-way exchanges
At each iteration, CRAFT selects the interchange that results in the
maximum reduction in transportation costs
These interchanges are continued until no further reduction is possible

4.6 Example (Craft)

Total movement cost = (20 x 15) + (20 x 10) + (40 x 50) + (20 x 20) + (20 x 5)
+ (20 x 10) = 3200
Solution :

10
The possible interchanges for the initial layout are:

1. A B interchanging

Movement Cost = (20 x 15) + (30 x 10) + (10 x 50) + (10 x 20) + (30 x 5)
+ (20 x 10) = 1650
The reduction in movement cost = 3200 1650 = 1550

2. A C interchanging

gyC = [ (100)15 + (200)5 ] /300 = 8.33

11
gxC = [ (100)5 + (200)10 ] /300 = 8.33
Movement Cost = (10 x 15) + (20 x 10) + (10 x 50) + (23.34 x 20) + (20 x 5)
+ (30 x 10) = 1716.8
The reduction in movement cost = 3200 1716.8 = 1483.2

3. Other interchanges and savings

4. Current layout after A B interchanging

With this layout new pair wise interchanges are attempted as follows :

12
 A D, B C, C D
A B not considered since it will result no savings
A C not considered since they dont have common borders
B D not considered since they dont have common borders

5. Interchanges and savings

So, the current layout is the best layout that CRAFT can find

4.7 CRAFT Facts

CRAFT only exchanges departments that are
Adjacent (share at least one common edge)
Have equal areas
Adjacency is a necessary but not sufficient criteria for swapping departments
Quality of final solution depends on the initial layout
Final solution may be locally optimal, not globally optimal

4.8 MULTIPLE (MULTI-floor Plant Layout Evaluation)(4)

Improvement type
13
 From-To chart as input
Distance based objective function (rectilinear distances between centroids).
Improvements: Two way exchanges and steepest descent
MULTIPLE can exchange departments that are not adjacent to each other.
The layout is divided into grids
Space Filling Curves are generated so that the curve touches each grid in the
layout.

A layout vector (DEO) is specified and the departments are added to the
layout using the layout vector.
To exchange departments, the positions of the departments in the layout vector
are exchanged.

Depts: 1 = 12 grids, 2 = 4 grids, 3 = 6 grids

4.9 Example - MULTIPLE

14
6 departments, Each grid 10 ft by 10 ft. All cij = $0.1/ft No locational restrictions

Space Filling Curve = A - D - E - B - C - F

Initial Layout Vector = 6-2-3-4-5-1

Solution :
Cost = 100*20*0.1 + 10*10*0.1 + 5*10*0.1 + 25*10*0.1 + 25*10*0.1 + 10*10*0.1
+100*20*0.1 = 475

15
1. First Iteration

2. First Iteration

Exchange 1-2 = $335, Exchange 1-3 = $315, Exchange 1-4 = $435,

Exchange 1-5 = $715, Exchange 1-6 = $475
Exchange 2-3 = $405, Exchange 2-4 = $335, Exchange 2-5 = $495,
Exchange 2-6 = $715
Exchange 3-4 = $315, Exchange 3-5 = $315, Exchange 3-6 = $425,
Exchange 4-5 = $435, Exchange 4-6 = $315
Exchange 5-6 = $355

16
406. MULTIPLE vs. CRAFT

Multi-floor capabilities

Accurate cost savings

Exchange any two departments

Considers exchanges across floors

17