Initial Layout

Initial Layout Construction
Preliminaries
From-To Chart / Flow-Between chart
REL Chart
Layout Scores
Traditional Layout Construction

Manual CORELAP Algorithm
Graph-Based Layout Construction
REL Graph, REL Diagram, Planar Graph

Layout Graph, Block Layout
Heuristic Algorithm to Construct a REL Graph
General Procedure
Copyright 1999. Created by Jose Ventura for the College-Industry Council for Material Handling Education
From-To and Flow-Between Charts

Given M activities, a From-To Chart
represents M(M-1) asymmetric quantitative
relationships.
Example:
A Flow-Between Chart represents

M(M-1)/2 symmetric quantitative
relationships, i.e.,
gij = fij + fji, for all i > j,
f12 f13
f21
f31
f23
where
gij = material flow between activities i and j.
f32
where
fij = material flow from activity i to activity j.
Relationship (REL) Chart

A Relationship (REL) Chart represents
M(M-1)/2 symmetric qualitative
relationships, i.e.,
r12
r13
r23
where
rij {A, E, I, O, U}: Closeness Value
(CV) between activities i and j; rij is an
ordinal value.
A number of factors other than material

handling flow (cost) might be of primary
concern in layout design.
rij values when comparing pairs of activities:
A = absolutely necessary
5%
E = especially important
10 %
I = important
15 %
O = ordinary closeness
20 %
U = unimportant
50 %
X = undesirable
5%
V(rij) = arbitrary cardinal value assigned to rij,
e.g., V(U) = 1, etc.
Adjacency
Two activities are (fully) adjacent in a layout if they share a common border of positive
lenght, i.e., not just a point.
Two activities are partially adjacent in a layout if they only share one or a finite
number of points, i.e., zero length.
Let aij [0, 1]: adjacency coefficient between activities i and j.

1 if activities i and j are adjacent,
a ij (0 1) if they are partially adjacent, and

0 if they are not adjacent.
Example:
(Fully) adjacent: a12 = a13 = a24 = a34 = a45 = 1,

Partially adjacent: a14 = a23 = a25 = , and
Non-adjacent: a15 = a25 = 0.
Layout Scores
Two ways of computing layout scores:
Layout score based on distance:

M 1 M
LS d V(rij ) d ij
i 1 ji 1
where dij = distance between activities i and j.
Layout score based on adjacency:

M 1 M
LS a V(rij ) a ij
i 1 ji 1
where aij [0, 1]: adjacency coefficient between activities i and j.
Traditional Layout Configuration

An Activity Relationship Diagram is developed from information
in the activity relation chart. Essentially the relationship diagram is a
block diagram of the various areas to be placed into the layout.
The departments are shown linked together by a number of lines. The
total number of lines joining departments reflects the strength of the
relationship between the departments. E.g., four joining lines indicate
a need to have two departments located close together, whereas one
line indicates a low priority on placing the departments adjacent to
each other.
The next step is to combine the relationship diagram with
departmental space requirements to form a Space Relationship
Diagram. Here, the blocks are scaled to reflect space needs while
still maintaining the same relative placement in the layout.
Legend
A Rating
E Rating
I Rating
O Rating
U Rating
X Rating
A Block Plan represents the final layout based on activity

relationship information. If the layout is for an existing facility, the
block plan may have to be modified to fit the building. In the case of
a new facility, the shape of the building will confirm to layout
requirements.
Example
REL chart:
1. Offices
2. Foreman
3. Conference Room
4. Parcel Post
5. Parts Shipment
6. Repair and Service Parts
7. Service Areas
8. Receiving
9. Testing
10. General Storage
O
4
I
5
U
E
5
O
4
U
U
U
O
3
I
2
U
O
4
E
3
I
2
O
2
U
U
I
4
U
U
U
E
3
A
1
Reason
Flow of material
Ease of supervision
Common personnel
Contact Necessary
Conveniences
U
I
2
U
I
1
Code
U
I
2
Rating
Definition
Absolutely Necessary
Especially Important
Important
Ordinary Closeness OK
Unimportant
E
3
X
Undesirable
Copyright 1999. Created by Jose Ventura for the College-Industry Council for Material
Handling Education
Example (Cont.)
5
10
Activity Relationship
Diagram
Example (Cont.)
5
(500)
7
(575)
8
(200)
9
(500)
6
(75)
10
(1750)
4
(350)
Space Relationship
Diagram
3
(125)
2
(125)
1
(1000)
Manual CORELAP Algorithm
CORELAP is a construction algorithm to create an activity relationship (REL) diagram

or block layout from a REL chart.
Each department (activity) is represented by a unit square.
Numerical values are assigned to CVs:

V(A) = 10,000,
V(E) = 1,000,
V(I) =
100,
V(O) =
10,
V(U) =
1,
V(X) = -10,000.
For each department, the Total Closeness Rating (TCR) is the sum of the absolute
values of the relationships with other departments.
Procedure to Select Departments

1. The first department placed in the layout is the one with the greatest TCR value. I|f a tie
exists, choose the one with more As.
2. If a department has an X relationship with he first one, it is placed last in the layout. If a
tie exists, choose the one with the smallest TCR value.
3. The second department is the one with an A relationship with the first one. If a tie exists,
choose the one with the greatest TCR value.
4. If a department has an X relationship with he second one, it is placed next-to-the-last or
last in the layout. If a tie exists, choose the one with the smallest TCR value.
5. The third department is the one with an A relationship with one of the placed departments.
If a tie exists, choose the one with the greatest TCR value.
6. The procedure continues until all departments have been placed.
Procedure to Place Departments
Consider the figure on the right. Assume that a department is placed

in the middle (position 0). Then, if another department is placed in
position 1, 3, 5 or 7, it is fully adjacent with the first one. It is
placed in position 2, 4, 6 or 8, it is partially adjacent.
For each position, Weighted Placement (WP) is the sum of the numerical values for all
pairs of adjacent departments.
The placement of departments is based on the following steps:

1. The first department selected is placed in the middle.
2. The placement of a department is determined by evaluating all possible locations
around the current layout in counterclockwise order beginning at the western edge.
3. The new department is located based on the greatest WP value.
Example
1. Receiving
A
2. Shipping
A
E
3. Raw Materials Storage
E
A
4. Finished Goods Storage
5. Manufacturing
8. Offices
9. Maintenance
E
U
A
7. Assembly
6. Work-In-Process Storage
CV values:
V(A) = 125
V(E) = 25
V(I) = 5
V(O) = 1
V(U) = 0
V(X) = -125
Partial adjacency:
= 0.5
O
A
Table of TCR Values
Department
Summary
Dept.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
TCR Order
1 2 3
A E I O U X
A
A
E
U
U
U
A
O
E
A
E
E
O
A
E
U
O
U
A
E
A
A
O
A
U
O
U
O
A
A
O
O
U
U
U
A
A
A
X
A
A
E
E
E
O
O
X
X
O
A
A
U
A
O
A
X
-
3
2
3
2
4
2
4
1
3
A
E
A
O
O
U
E
U
A
E
E
A
U
U
E
A
1
2
3
4
1
0
0
3
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
1
0
1
2
4
0
2
2
2
3
2
1
1
2
3
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
2
1
402
301
450
351
527
254
625
452
502
(5)
(7)
(4)
(6)
(2)
(8)
(1)
(9)
(3)
Example (cont.)
62.5 125
125
62.5 125
62.5 125
62.5
62.5 187.5 187.5 62.5
125
125
62.5
62.5 187.5 187.5 62.5
125
62.5
62.5 125.5 63.5
1.5
0.5
187.5
125
187.5
187.5
62.5 126.5
62.5 125
62.5
0.5
Example (cont.)
12.5 37.5 100 137.5 62.5
37.5
37.5
12.5
25
12.5
12.5
25
12.5
125
87.5
62.5
137.5 62.5
137.5
125
62.5 125
125
125
62.5
62.5 125
188 62.5
0.5
125
63.5
0.5
1.5
1.5
0.5
Example (cont.)
0.5
0.5
12.5 25.5 -60.5
-61.5
-112
-37.5
12.5 112.5
25
12.5 87.5
75
-62.5 -37.5 12.5
Planar Graph
Assumption:
A Planar Graph is a graph that can be drawn in two dimensions with no arc crossing.
1 if activities i and j are fully adjacent,

a ij
0 otherwise.
Planar
Nonplanar
A graph is nonplanar if it contains either one of the two Kuratowski graphs:
Relationship (REL) Graph
Given a (block) layout with M activities, a corresponding planar undirected graph,

called the Relationship (REL) Graph, can always be constructed.
1
4
(Exterior)
Block Layout
2
4
6
REL Graph
A REL graph has M+1 nodes (one node for each activity and a node for the exterior of
the layout. The exterior can be considered as an additional activity. The arcs correspond
to the pairs of activities that are adjacent.
A REL graph corresponding to a layout is planar because the arcs connecting two
adjacent activities can always be drawn passing through their common border of
positive length.
Relationship (REL) Diagram
A Relationship (REL) Diagram is also an undirected graph, generated from the REL
diagram, but it is in general nonplanar.
A REL diagram, including the U closeness values, has M(M-1)/2 arcs. Since a planar
graph can have at most 3M-6 arcs, a REL diagram will be nonplanar if M(M-1)/2 >
3M-6.
M(M-1)/2 > 3M-6
M 5.
A REL graph is a subgraph of the REL diagram.
For M 5, at most 3M-6 out of M(M-1)/2 relationships can be satisfied through

adjacency in a REL graph.
An upper bound on LSa, LSaUB, is the sum of the 3M-6 longest V(rij)s.
Maximally Planar Graph (MPG)
A planar graph with exactly 3M-6 arcs is called Maximally Planar Graph (MPG).
Not MPG since
has only 5 arcs
(5 < 6 = 3M-6)
MPG since
has 6 arcs
The interior faces of a graph are the bounded regions formed by its arcs, and its
exterior face is the unbounded region formed by its outside arcs.
EF
IF1
IF2
The tetrahedron has three interior faces (IF1, IF2

and IF3) and an exterior face (EF)
IF3
Maximally Planar Graph (MPG)
The interior faces and the exterior face of an MPG are triangular, i.e., the faces are
formed by three arcs.
Not triangular
Not an MPG
The REL graph of a given a (block) layout may not be an MPG.
Not an MPG
REL Graph
Layout
Maximally Planar Weighted Graph (MPWG)
An MPG whose sum of arc weights is as large as any other possible MPG is called a
Maximally Planar Weighted Graph (MPWG).
Using the V(rij)s as arc weights, a REL graph that is a MPWG has the maximum
possible LSa, close to LSaUB.
Since it is difficult to find an MPWG, a Heuristic (non-optimal) procedure will be used

to construct a REL graph that is an MPG, but may not be an MPWG (although its LSa
will be close to LSaUB).
The Layout Graph is the dual of the REL graph.
Given a graph G, its dual graph GD has a node for each face of G and two nodes in GD
are connected with an arc if the two corresponding faces in G share an arc.
Layout Graph
Example.
GD
The number of nodes in G (primal graph) is the same than the number of faces in G D
(dual graph), and vice versa. In addition,
(GD)D = G.
Primal Graph is Planar Dual Graph is planar.
Layout Graph (Cont.)
Given a layout, the corresponding layout graph can always be constructed by placing
the nodes at the corners of the layout where three or more activities meet (including the
exterior of the layout as an activity). The arcs in the graph are the remaining portions of
the layout walls. E.g.,
a
3
d
g
f
Activities 3, 5, and
exterior meet here
(Exterior)
Layout
Only activity 3 and

exterior meet here
Layout Graph
Given a REL graph (RG), its corresponding layout graph (LG) is LG = RGD. E.g.,
6
RGD
LGD
RG
LG
Layout Graph (Cont.)
If LG is given, then RG = LGD, but for layout construction, the layout is not known
initially, so LG cannot be constructed without RG.
If a planar REL graph (primal graph) exist, the corresponding layout graph (dual graph)
is also planar. Therefore, it is possible theorectically to construct a block layout that will
satisfy all the adjacency requirements. In practice, this is not straightforward because the
space requirements of the activities are difficult to handle.
Example
REL graph (Primal graph):
Space Requirements:
Dept.
Area
300
200
100
200
100
(exterior)
Example (Cont.)
Layout graph (Dual graph):
6
A
B
4
1
8
3
2
C
5
D
7
Example (Cont.)
Square Block Layout:
(areas are not considered)
Block Layout:
8
8
C
7
E
5
A corner point is a point where at least three departments meet, including the exterior
department.
Note that each corner point in the block layout corresponds to a node in the layout
graph. In the first block layout, each corner point is defined by exactly three
departments. In this case, there is a one-to-one correspondence between corner points
and nodes in the layout graph. In the square block layout, there are two corner points
defined by four departments, i.e., (A, B, C, D) and (B, D, E, F). Each of these two corner
points corresponds to two nodes in the layout graph.
Heuristic Procedure to Construct a Relationship Graph

1. Rank activities in non-increasing order of TCRk, k = 1, ,M, where
k-1
TCRk =
Max{0, V(r
i 1
ik
)}
Max{0, V(r
kj
)}.
j=k+1
(Note that the negative values of V(rik) and V(rkj) are not included in TCRk).
2. Form a tetrahedron using activities 1 to 4 (i.e., the activities with the four largest TCR ks).
3. For k = 5, , M, insert activity k into the face with the maximum sum of weights (V(r ij))
of k with the three nodes defining the face (where insert refers to connecting the inserted
node to the three nodes forming the face with arcs).
4. Insert (M+1)th node into the exterior face of the REL graph.
Example
REL chart:
CV values:
A
B
I
O
X
D
E
F
I
O
U
E
E
U
E
E
V(A) = 81
V(E) = 27
V(I) = 9
V(O) = 3
V(U) = 1
V(X) = -243
Table of TCR Values

Department
Summary
Dept.
TCR Order
A
105
38
58
39
35
165
Example (Cont.)
Step 2:
A
O
I = rAD V(rAD) = 9
A
C
E
F
U
E
Example (Cont.)
Step 3: Insert B.
A
I
EF
IF1
IF2
X C
E
E
X
E
Face
IF3
U
U
LSa
EF
9 + 1 + 27 = 37
IF1
9 + 27 - 243 = -207
IF2
9 - 243 + 1 = -233
IF3
27 - 243 + 1 = -215
Insert B in EF
U
Example (Cont.)
Step 3 (Cont.): Insert B.
A
EF
IF1
IF3
IF2
C
IF4
D
IF5
Face
LSa
EF
IF1
IF2
33
IF3
31
IF4
31
IF5
Insert E in IF2
Example (Cont.)
Step 4: Call exterior activity EX.
A
EX
B
E
C
Since arcs (AB), (BD),

and (DA) are the outside
arcs, EX connects to
nodes A, B, and D.
Example (Cont.)
LSaUB is the sum of the 3M - 6 ( 3 6 - 6 = 12), largest V(rij)s.

In the last example,
LSaUB = V(rAF) + V(rBF) + V(rCE) + V(rCF) + V(rDF) + V(rAB) + V(rAD) + V(rAC)
+ V(rAE) + V(rEF) + V(rBD) + V(rBE) = 81 + 27 + 27 + 27 + 27 + 9 + 9 + 3
+ 3 + 3 + 1 + 1 = 218.
For the final REL graph, LSa = 218.
LSaUB = LSa The final REL graph is an MPWG It is optimal.

LSaUB > LSa The final REL graph may not be an MPWG It may not be optimal.
Using the Heuristic procedure, the generated REL graph will always be an MPG since
each face is triangular.
General Procedure for

Graph Based Layout Construction
1. Given the REL chart, use the Heuristic procedure to construct the REL graph.
2. Construct the layout graph by taking the dual of the REL graph, letting the facility
exterior node of the REL graph be in the exterior face of the layout graph.
3. Convert (by hand) the layout graph into an initial layout taking into consideration the
space requirement of each activity.
REL Chart
REL Graph
Layout Graph
Initial Layout
Space
Requirements
Example
Step 1: (from before)
EX
B
E
C
REL Graph
Example (Cont.)
Step 2: take the dual of RG
A
B
EX
E
C
F
D
Layout Graph
Example (Cont.)
Step 3:
A
D
F
Initial layout is
drawn as a square,
but could be any
other shape.
Only A and B are
nonrectangular.
Initial Layout
Comments
1. If an activity is desired to be adjacent to the exterior of a facility (e.g., a shipping/receiving
department), then the exterior could be included in the REL chart and treated as a normal
activity, making sure that, in step 1 of the general procedure, its node is one of the nodes
forming the exterior face of the REL graph.
2. The area of each interior face of the layout graph constructed in step 2 does not correspond to
the space requirements of its activity.
3. In step 3, the overall shape of the initial layout should be usually be rectangular if it
corresponds to an entire building because rectangular buildings are usually cheaper to
build; even if the initial layout corresponds to just a department, a rectangular shape would
still be preferred, if possible.
4. In step 3, the shape of each activity in the initial layout should be rectangular if possible, or at
most L- or T-shaped (e.g., activities A and B), because rectangular shapes require less wall
space to enclose and provide more layout possibilities in interiors as compared to other
shapes.
Comments (Cont.)
5. All shapes should be orthogonal, i.e., all corners are either 90 or 270 (e.g., a triangle is not
an orthogonal shape since its corners could all be 60 ).
6. In step 1, if the LSa of the REL graph is less than LSaUB, then the REL graph may not be
optimal. The following three steps may improve the REC graph for the purpose of increasing
LSa:
a) Edge Replacement: replace an arc in the REL graph with a new arc not previously
in the graph, without losing planarity, if it increases LSa.
b) Vertex Relocation: move a node in the REL graph connected to three arcs to
another triangular face if it increases LSa.
c) Use a different activity to replace one of the four activities of the tetrahedron
formed in step 2 of the Heuristic procedure to construct a new REL graph.

Initial Layout

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Initial Layout

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Initial Layout Construction

Traditional Layout Construction

REL Graph, REL Diagram, Planar Graph

From-To and Flow-Between Charts

A Flow-Between Chart represents

Relationship (REL) Chart

A number of factors other than material

Let aij [0, 1]: adjacency coefficient between activities i and j.

a ij (0 1) if they are partially adjacent, and

(Fully) adjacent: a12 = a13 = a24 = a34 = a45 = 1,

Layout score based on distance:

where dij = distance between activities i and j.

Layout score based on adjacency:

where aij [0, 1]: adjacency coefficient between activities i and j.

Traditional Layout Configuration

A Block Plan represents the final layout based on activity

Manual CORELAP Algorithm

CORELAP is a construction algorithm to create an activity relationship (REL) diagram

Each department (activity) is represented by a unit square.

Numerical values are assigned to CVs:

Procedure to Select Departments

Procedure to Place Departments

Consider the figure on the right. Assume that a department is placed

The placement of departments is based on the following steps:

3. Raw Materials Storage

4. Finished Goods Storage

Table of TCR Values

62.5 187.5 187.5 62.5

62.5 187.5 187.5 62.5

62.5 125.5 63.5

12.5 25.5 -60.5

-62.5 -37.5 12.5

1 if activities i and j are fully adjacent,

A graph is nonplanar if it contains either one of the two Kuratowski graphs:

Relationship (REL) Graph

Given a (block) layout with M activities, a corresponding planar undirected graph,

Relationship (REL) Diagram

A REL graph is a subgraph of the REL diagram.

For M 5, at most 3M-6 out of M(M-1)/2 relationships can be satisfied through

Maximally Planar Graph (MPG)

The tetrahedron has three interior faces (IF1, IF2

Maximally Planar Graph (MPG)

The REL graph of a given a (block) layout may not be an MPG.

Maximally Planar Weighted Graph (MPWG)

Since it is difficult to find an MPWG, a Heuristic (non-optimal) procedure will be used

The Layout Graph is the dual of the REL graph.

Primal Graph is Planar Dual Graph is planar.

Layout Graph (Cont.)

Only activity 3 and

Layout Graph (Cont.)

REL graph (Primal graph):

Heuristic Procedure to Construct a Relationship Graph

Table of TCR Values

Since arcs (AB), (BD),

LSaUB is the sum of the 3M - 6 ( 3 6 - 6 = 12), largest V(rij)s.

For the final REL graph, LSa = 218.

LSaUB = LSa The final REL graph is an MPWG It is optimal.

General Procedure for

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