HOPE: A genetic algorithm for the unequal area facility layout problem

In this paper we outline a Genetic Algorithm (GA) based algorithm for solving the single-floor facility layout problem. We consider departments of both equal and unequal sizes. The GA's performance is evaluated using several test problems available in the literature. The results indicate that GA may provide a better alternative in a realistic environment where the objective is to find a number of ‘reasonably good’ layouts. The implementation also provides the flexibility of having fixed departments and to interactively modify the layouts produced.