Facility Layout: Mathematical Optimization Techniques and Engineering Applications

This book presents a structured approach to develop mathematical optimization formulations for several variants of facility layout. The range of layout problems covered includes row layouts, floor layouts, multi-floor layouts, and dynamic layouts. The optimization techniques used to formulate the problems are primarily mixed-integer linear programming, second-order conic programming, and semidefinite programming. The book also covers important practical considerations for solving the formulations. The breadth of approaches presented help the reader to learn how to formulate a variety of problems using mathematical optimization techniques. The book also illustrates the use of layout formulations in selected engineering applications, including manufacturing, building design, automotive, and hospital layout.

Miguel F. Anjos is Chair of Operational Research at the School of Mathematics, University of Edinburgh, UK, and Inria International Chair. His research interests are in the theory, algorithms and applications of mathematical optimization. He was Editor-in-Chief of Optimization and Engineering, and sits on several other international editorial boards. His accolades include a Canada Research Chair, an NSERC Industrial Research Chair, a Humboldt Fellowship, the title of EUROPT Fellow, and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. He is a Senior Member of IEEE and a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering.
Manuel V.C. Vieira is Assistant Professor at Nova University of Lisbon, and member of the research centers CMA-UNL (Portugal) and GERAD (Canada). He received his PhD from TU Delft, The Netherlands, 2008. In his research, he has covered topics such as interior-point methods and satisfiability. More recently he became interested in applying mathematical optimization to problems originating from industry, namely layout problems and the container loading problem. He was guest editor for a special issue on facility layout of IFOR, the journal of the Canadian Operational Research Society.