Facilities design with graph theory and strings

A facilities design algorithm is developed based upon such graph theory concepts as maximal spanning trees and planar graphs. The upper bound to the demands made by closeness ratings is developed from graph theory. The algorithm lends itself to computer solution minimizing the costs of flow between activities. An alternative approach using strings and the list processing capabilities of computers is suggested. Numerical examples are provided given input in the form of the relationship matrix and working through the block plan layout.