Facility Layout Problem By Integration of AHP and computer simulation with DEA
The facility layout problem (FLP) is concerned with finding the optimal facility arrangement in the existing layout. A layout generation and its evaluation are often challenging and time consuming due to their inherent multiple objectives in nature and their data collection process. This paper aims to propose an integrated approach of fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (AHP), computer simulation and data envelopment analysis (DEA) for facility layout design improvement and optimisation. Computer simulation is used to determine quantitative measures. AHP is used to determine first, the weight of qualitative measures for layout alternatives and second, their qualitative measures. DEA is performed by employing total cost and wait time as the input variables, accessibility and flexibility as the output variables to evaluate different layouts. Then, the alternative layouts are ranked by solving the super-efficiency DEA model for the layouts. The results imply that the proposed methodology is more reliable compared to the existing approaches.