Study on a Layout Design Method for Leisure Ship Production Factories using a Heuristic Location-Allocation Algorithm

To ensure that the production system of a factory is efficient, the factory layout design should consider the location and material flow plans of facilities, workshops, and storage areas. Highly productive factories need to have an optimized layout planning process, and a customized design methodology of the production system is a necessity for feasible layout planning. This paper presents a method for designing a layout module's size and shape and provides a heuristic location-allocation algorithm for the modules. The method is implemented and validated using a rich internet application-based platform. The layout design method is based on the leisure ship production process; this method can be used for designing the layout of a new factory or remodeling an existing factory and its production system. In contrast to existing layout methods, the inputs required for the proposed method, such as target products, production processes, and human-resource plans, are simple. This layout design method provides a useful solution for the initial stage of factory design.