A local genetic approach to multi-objective, facility layout problems with fixed aisles

We develop a new local genetic algorithm hybridized tabu search, to solve multi-criteria facility layout problems. Within these types of problems, we consider two objectives involving material handling costs and non-material relationship requirements according to the idea of systematic layout planning. Our focus is on a particular case which involves the explicit consideration of fixed aisles and transverse passageways between sections. Numerical experiments as well as comparative tests show the great effectiveness of the proposed method in dealing with multi-criteria facility layout problems up to some moderate scales.