Empirical approximation of volume distance distributions for line layout problems

A distinction is defined between line layout problems where travel distance parameter values are a static or dynamic function of the sequencing of workcentres. Static line layout problems generally feature workcentres of equal area. In dynamic line layouts, space requirements can vary among workcentres. A series of dynamic line layout problems is generated to represent a cross-section of material flow patterns and workcentre space requirements distributions. For each of these problems, a random sample of workcentre sequences is generated and used to approximate the distribution of volume distance values associated with the population of all possible line layout solutions. The accuracy of these approximations is compared for alternative sample sizes and resolutions of the histogram used to represent the volume distance distribution.