Next Generation Factory Layouts: Research Challenges and Recent Progress

Abstract

There is an emerging consensus that existing layout configurations do not meet the needs of the multi-product enterprise and that there is a need for a new generation of factory layouts that are more flexible, modular, and more easily reconfigurable. In this article, we offer a review of state of the art in the area of design of factory layouts for dynamic environments. We report on emerging efforts in both academia and industry in developing alternative layout configurations, new performance metrics, and solution methods for designing the "next generation" of factory layouts. In particular, we focus on describing efforts by the Consortium on Next Generation Factory Layouts (NGFL) to address some of these challenges. The consortium, supported by the National Science Foundation, involves multiple universities and several manufacturing companies. The goal of the consortium is to explore alternative layout configurations and alternative performance metrics for designing flexible and reconfigurable factories.1

Facility location via fuzzy modeling and simulation

“…where, 1 r is a positive constant defining the neighborhood range of the cluster or simply the radius of hypersphere cluster in data space.…”

“…As mentioned in the algorithm, subtractive clustering has four parameters, namely, acceptance threshold ε , reject threshold ε , cluster radius 1 r , and squash factor η . [5,17].…”

“…Facility layout is usually regarded as an optimization problem to determine the most efficient layout based on some prespecified criteria. [1,12] Facility location, on the other hand, concerns the choice of the location of one or multiple facilities, in a given geographical space and subject to some constraints, to optimally fulfill predetermined objectives. It is a strategic decision making compared to facility layout which is more operational.…”

Agent-based hierarchical production planning and scheduling in make-to-order manufacturing system

“…Moreover, other changes in the business environment like change in demand pattern cannot be handled simultaneously by the use of these two concepts. In terms of changes in demand pattern, two approaches related to layout design have been developed, including the dynamic layout (Rosenblatt and HAU, 1987;Balakrishnan et al, 1992;Balakrishnan and Cheng, 1998;Kochhar and Heragu, 1999) and robust layout (Rosenblatt and Kropp, 1992;Benjaafar et al, 2002). These approaches aim to add built-in flexibility or robustness to system layout in response to forecasted changes in demand pattern.…”

Algoritmo genético de agrupamento para formação de módulos de arranjo físico

“…Novos tipos de arranjo físico como o ágil, fractal, modular e distribuído têm despertado grande interesse entre os pesquisadores, seja em metodologia de projeto, em formas de avaliação de desempenho ou em comparações com arranjos físicos tradicionais (BENJAAFAR et al, 2002).…”