Machine layout problem in modern manufacturing facilities

New manufacturing technologies and philosophies such as group technology, flexible manufacturing systems, just-in-time, and robots have emerged in recent years. Manufacturing facilities which utilize these technologies and philosophies require new models and solution methodologies to address their design and operations. One of the design activities in modern manufacturing facilities is determining machine arrangement on the facility floor. This activity involves several details of the facility and interacts with several of its functional areas. Further, machine layout has some features which distinguish it from the block layout problem. As a consequence, existing layout procedures which concentrated on developing a block may not be directly applied to machine layout, and new models and solution procedures are required. This paper reviews the machine layout problem in modern manufacturing facilities, and addresses design issues of machine layout and the suggested optimization approaches for developing the layout. Potential areas for research are also suggested.