On solving facility layout problems using genetic algorithms

Tam and Chan present a parallel genetic algorithm approach to solve the facility layout problem. They adopt a slicing tree representation of a floor layout. The coding scheme represents a layout as a string with three parts. This paper demonstrates the difficulties in applying classical crossover and mutation operators for solving facility layout problems. The paper modifies the representation of Tam and Chan and introduces a new preserving operation, referred to as transplanting, that manages to produce feasible offspring. It also studies the applicability of other genetic operations such as diagonal crossover and cloning in generating feasible offspring. The paper is written in a note format and the reader may refer to Tam and Chan for more details.