A spatial modeling perspective to problems in facilities design

Facility location, facility layout and material handling systems design are critical components in the overall problem of facilities design. In this dissertation, it is attempted to relate these three problems from a spatial planning point of view. Facility location and facility layout both deal with the location of new facilities in a region where there are existing facilities under certain rules of interaction between all facilities. In the facility location problem, the facilities are infinitesimal. However, in facility layout, new constraints determining the area requirements and locational restrictions are in place since facilities have finite-size. In an attempt to bridge the gap between these two areas, we introduce the finite-size facility placement problem. We consider the placement of a single finite-size facility in the Euclidean plane in the presence of impenetrable barriers to rectilinear travel. We identify the candidates for optimal placement(s) for a facility with a fixed orientation and then for a facility with a fixed server location. Discretization results are provided for polygonal barriers and facility.;The results of the finite-size placement problem are then used to present a nontraditional approach to the single facility layout problem. Using this approach, spatial aggregations are identified and aggregations due to centroid-to-centroid interfacility distance measurements are eliminated. Two cases have been studied: (1) the input/output point locations are known a priori; (2) facility placement and input/output location determination accomplished simultaneously.;We consider the placement of finite-size entities on the plane where the distance metric is defined on a mixed planar/network framework. In this representation, planar regions where the rectilinear metric holds are connected via a material handling network. Spatial issues (e.g., aisle widths, traveling paths of material handling equipment) can be integrated with non-spatial issues (e.g., turning penalties, aisle capacities) under this representation. We then discuss two location problems in a redesign context. The underlying problem is the placement of a single rectangular resource within the given facility. We show discretization results and propose solution methods for the problems.