DoorFAST; A constructive procedure to optimally layout a facility including aisles and door locations based on an aisle flow distance metric

A methodology for designing a layout for factories, office buildings or homes is presented based on a new metric SPAAC (shortest path along aisles and corridors). The metric represents the correct movement of a fork truck or an automated guided vehicle (AGV) along aisles from door to door. Floyd's algorithm is used to compute the metric. Optimization is based on fundamental work by Drezner implemented by Tretheway. Linear programming and genetic algorithms are used to optimize door placement based on the overall metric for the layout. Department size is explicitly included in the cost model. An expert system rule for plant layout is suggested based on test rules.