A hybrid methodology for the facility re-layout problem of food production systems in Industry 5.0 context

In this paper, a novel hybrid methodology for the Facility Re-Layout Problem (FRLP) of discrete food production companies is proposed and validated through its application to a real case. One of its main originalities is its Industry 5.0 approach by means considering sustainability, human centricity and resilience aspects. As an enhanced version of the classical Systematic Layout Planning (SLP) approach, the methodology incorporates novel aspects such as the identification of the re-layout requirement, the utilization of qualitative criteria provided by experts and the evaluation of psycho-social effects of the lay-out on workers. The methodology also incorporates a quantitative analysis provided by Machine Learning (ML) and Simulation tools. As a result of our methodology, several alternatives for plant re-layout are obtained, which are further evaluated by expert criteria taking into account discrete event simulation, putting the human being back at the center of decision-making and demonstrating the robustness of these solutions.