Custom design of facility layouts for multiproduct facilities using layout modules

The functional, flowline and cellular layouts are traditional facility layouts that have been discussed extensively in the literature. However, due to the large variety of parts usually produced in jobshops, none of these layouts by themselves provide a satisfactory layout solution. This paper introduces a new idea in layout design that decomposes a layout into a network of "layout modules." Each module has a unique material-flow pattern, which, in some cases, corresponds to that of one of the traditional layouts. The use of layout modules allows for a single facility to have different types of layout configurations designed for different portions of its material-flow network. This paper introduces a systematic method for implementation of this design approach and demonstrates its application using a sample of routings obtained from industry.