Title: Locating a rectangular barrier facility on the plane: a bi-objective approach

Authors: Mustafa S. Canbolat; George O. Wesolowsky; Michael von Massow

Addresses: School of Business and Management, SUNY Brockport, Brockport, NY, USA ' DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada ' Department of Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada

Abstract: We study the problem of finding a minimax location for a rectangular barrier facility on the plane and simultaneously minimising the interference of the barrier facility to the interactions among the existing facilities using rectilinear distances. This provides an ex post opportunity to modify an existing network or layout while minimising the disruption. The problem is formulated as a bi-objective problem and a mixed integer program is proposed as a solution methodology. A simulated annealing algorithm is presented for an extension of the problem where expropriation or removal of existing facilities is also possible. We consider expropriation or removal of existing facilities only if such policy is necessary or cost-beneficial.

Keywords: planar facility location; facility layout; barriers; expropriation; optimisation; heuristics.

DOI: 10.1504/IJOR.2023.133747

International Journal of Operational Research, 2023 Vol.48 No.1, pp.117 - 139

Received: 05 Apr 2020
Accepted: 05 Jan 2021
Published online: 03 Oct 2023 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article