Multicriteria facility layout problem: An integrated approach

In this paper, a facility layout problem with multiple criteria is addressed. Three consecutive submodels for solving the problem are integrated and presented hierarchically. The paper first uses the analytic hierarchy process to tackle the qualitative aspect of the facility layout problem. As a result, a relative weight for each qualitative criterion and a closeness rating matrix are obtained. The paper then formulates a multiple objective Quadratic Assignment Problem to combine the qualitative and quantitative objects. The weights of both the qualitative as well as the quantitative factors are included in the model. The transformation constant, which is used to transform the closeness rating scale to correspond with the work flow volume, is also incluced. Finally, the paper uses the simulated annealing search technique to find a near optimal solution.