Shortest path based simulated annealing algorithm for dynamic facility layout problem under dynamic business environment

This paper studies a new kind of dynamic multi-stage facility layout problem under dynamic business environment, in which new machines may be added into, or old machines may be removed from the plant. We define this problem first on the basis of unequal area machines and continual presentation of layouts. Compared with nodes and arcs of the flow chart, we convert this problem into a shortest path problem by studying its cost function and machine adding/removing heuristic rules, and the corresponding mathematical model for this problem is established. An auction algorithm is proposed here to solve the shortest path problem. Finally, a shortest path based simulated annealing algorithm is presented to solve the optimization problem. Parameters of the SP based SA algorithm are discussed to improve the performance of the algorithm. Some cases are used to verify the proposed algorithm. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.