Facility Layout
Problems (FLPs) are combinational optimization problems, which are relevant to both manufacturing and service
sectors. FLPs are known to be NP-hard. They usually involve the arrangement of departments to minimize the distance traveled by units of flow, people, material, information, and other supporting services in the safest and most effective manner. Due to the practical importance of FLPs, many approximate algorithms i.e.
metaheuristics have been developed to tackle them. This paper provide a review on the fundamental of some metaheuristics commonly used to solve FLPs, as well as the previous and current
research trends in this area. Discussion and comparison of the metaheuristics will be made in terms of their formulations, the solutions obtained and the types of layout involved. It is hoped that this paper will provide a new perspective for research in FLPs.