Facilities design using a split departmental layout configuration

A plant layout in the context of manufacturing facilities design consists of the production areas, manufacturing support areas and personnel areas. In facilities design, plant layout has been determined to be one of the most important elements in the effectiveness of systematic manufacturing operability. This paper describes the development of a split departmental plant layout generation system (LAYSPLIT) in the domain of facilities design to develop layouts that will minimize the material handling costs. The plant layout generation system consists of a data acquisition module, a pair‐wise departmental exchange module, a layout development module, and a graphical representation module. The approach used to develop the system using a split departmental method, and the characteristics of the system are outlined. The advantages of the developed system in terms of facilitating effective operations and increasing productivity in manufacturing environments are discussed. The results obtained from LAYSPLIT are compared with that produced by the MCRAFT system and discussed.