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The gradual shift from industrial to service economies which has been characteristic of all the western democracies for at least the last century has not been reflected in research on the services in a manner commensurate with the pace and importance of that shift. Although there are semantic and practical difficulties in defining exactly what is meant by services, one can discern a rough continuum running through most definitions and categorisations, with creating, altering, or combining material objects on one end of the continuum, and dealing with an individual's problems and needs through the use of a helping relationship on the other. Using this model, it is clear that the overwhelming majority of research studies into work attitudes, patterns, influences, productivity and so forth, have been towards the materials‐altering, or industrial, end of the continuum.

The purpose of this paper is to review, evaluate and classify the academic research that has been published in facility layout problems (FLPs) and to analyse how researches and practices on FLPs are.

The review is based on 166 papers published from 1953 to 2021 in international peer-reviewed journals. The literature review on FLPs is presented under broader headings of discrete space and continuous space FLPs. The important formulations of FLPs under static and dynamic environments represented in the discrete and continuous space are presented. The articles reported in the literature on various representations of facilities for the continuous space Unequal Area Facility Layout Problems (UA-FLPs) are summarized. Discussed and commented on adaptive and robust approaches for dynamic environment FLPs. Highlighted the application of meta-heuristic solution methods for FLPs of a larger size.

It is found that most of the earlier research adopted the discrete space for the formulation of FLPs. This type of space representation for FLPs mostly assumes an equal area for all facilities. UA-FLPs represented in discrete space yield irregular shape facilities. It is also observed that the recent works consider the UA-FLPs in continuous space. The solution of continuous space UA-FLPs is more accurate and realistic. Some of the recent works on UA-FLPs consider the flexible bay structure (FBS) due to its advantages over the other representations. FBS helps the proper design of aisle structure in the detailed layout plan. Further, the recent articles reported in the literature consider the dynamic environment for both equal and unequal area FLPs to cope with the changing market environment. It is also found that FLPs are Non-deterministic Polynomial-complete problems, and hence, they set the challenges to researchers to develop efficient meta-heuristic methods to solve the bigger size FLPs in a reasonable time.

Due to the extremely large number of papers on FLPs, a few papers may have inadvertently been missed. The facility layout design research domain is extremely vast which covers other areas such as cellular layouts, pick and drop points and aisle structure design. This research review on FLPs did not consider the papers published on cellular layouts, pick and drop points and aisle structure design. Despite the possibility of not being all-inclusive, the authors firmly believe that most of the papers published on FLPs are covered and the general picture presented on various approaches and parameters of FLPs in this paper are precise and trustworthy.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper reviews and classifies the literature on FLPs for the first time under the broader headings of discrete space and continuous space representations. Many important formulations of FLPs under static and dynamic environments represented in the discrete and continuous space are presented. This paper also provides the observations from the literature review and identifies the prospective future directions.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a mathematical model for the design of robust layout for unequal area-dynamic facility layout problem with flexible bay structure (UA-DFLP with FBS) and test the suitability of generated robust layout in a dynamic environment.

This research adopts formulation of a mathematical model for generating a single layout for unequal area facility layout problems with flexible bay structure under dynamic environment. The formulated model for the robust layout formation is solved by developing a simulated annealing algorithm. The proposed robust approach model for UA-DFLP with FBS is validated by conducting numerical experiments on standard UA-DFLPs reported in the literature. The suitability of the generated robust layout in a dynamic environment is tested with total penalty cost criteria.

The proposed model has given a better solution for some UA-DFLPs with FBS in comparison with the adaptive approach’s solution reported in the literature. The total penalty cost is within the specified limit given in the literature, for most of the layouts generated for UA-DFLPs with FBS. In the proposed model, there is no rearrangement of facilities in various periods of planning horizon and thus no disruptions in operations.

The present work has limitations that when the area and aspect ratio of the facilities are required to change from one period to another, then it is not possible to make application of the robust approach-based formulation to the dynamic environment facility layout problems.

Rearrangement of facilities in adaptive approach disrupts the operations whereas in the proposed approach no disruption of production. The FBS approach is more suitable for layout planning where proper aisle structure is required. The solution of the proposed approach helps to create a proper aisle structure in the detailed layout plan. Thus, easy interaction of the material handling equipment, men and materials is possible.

This paper proposes a mathematical formulation for the design of robust layout for UA-FLPs with FBS in a dynamic environment and an efficient simulated annealing algorithm as its solution procedure. The proposed robust approach generates a single layout for the entire planning horizon. This approach is more useful for facilities which are difficult/sensitive to relocate in various periods of the planning horizon.

As far as the authors know, no research has already been carried out on the multi-floor dynamic facility layout problem (MF-DFLP) in the continuous form regarding the flexible bay structure, the number and the variable location of the elevator. Therefore, the present paper models the given problem and attempts to find a sub-optimal solution for it using a meta-heuristic simulated annealing (SA) algorithm.

The efficient use of resources has always been a prominent matter for decision-makers. Many reasons including land use, construction considerations and proximity of departments have led to the design of multi-floor facilities. On the other hand, their fast-evolving environment calls for dynamic planning. Therefore, in this paper, a model and the SA algorithm for MF-DFLP are presented.

After presenting a mathematical model, the problem was solved precisely in a small size using the GAMS software. Also, a near-optimal solution method using a SA meta-heuristic algorithm is suggested and the proposed algorithm was run in the MATLAB software. To evaluate the presented model and the proposed solution, some test cases were considered in two aspects. The first aspect was the test cases that are newly generated in small, medium and large sizes to compare the exact optimal solution with the results of the meta-heuristic algorithm. Eight test cases with small sizes were solved using the GAMS software, the optimum solutions were obtained in a reasonable time, and the cost of their solutions was equal to that of the SA algorithm. Eight test cases with medium sizes were run in the GAMS software with the time limit of 80,000 s, and the SA algorithm had performed better for these test cases. Two test cases were also considered in large size that GAMS could not solve them, whereas the SA algorithm successfully found a proper solution for each. The second aspect included the test cases from the literature. The result showed that suggested algorithm is more capable of finding best solutions than compared algorithms.

In this paper, an unequal area MF-DFLP was studied in a continuous layout form in which the location and number of the elevators were considered to be variable, and the layouts were considered with flexible bay structure. These conditions were investigated for the first time.

Responses to open‐ended questions concerning sources of work satisfaction among social workers indicate that instruments and methodology which have been devised in industrial settings may create distortions when applied to human services. The most important sources of satisfaction and dissatisfaction differ from those elicited in industry, a fact which points out the need to begin detailed research in the service sector using workers' own conceptions of their situation rather than preconceptions drawn from other areas of work.

Selection of standardized modular containers (SSMC) is counted as one of the most important driving factors that ensure the Physical Internet (PI) to realize the varieties of goals of sustainability simultaneously, thus overcoming the great challenge of modern logistics in nowadays global supply chain. However, previous research studies on SSMC seldom paid attention to freight behavior and shippers’ segment, which are described in several fundamental conceptual works as the most essential factors that should be taken into account when doing SSMC.

This paper defines two preference matrices to characterize the freight behavior and shippers’ segment, and then integrates these two matrices into a centralized multi-criteria method to determine the optimal SSMC.

The SSMC derived by the proposed methodology is found to be Pareto-optimal. A managerial implication for shippers to further improve efficiency is summarized as well.

First, the authors characterized the freight behavior and shippers’ segment by two preference matrices and then integrated them into a centralized multi-criteria method. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first SSMC-related paper that takes shippers' behaviors and preferences into consideration when making the selection. The authors’ attempt is expected to fill in the research gap that has existed until now. Second, the SSMC derived by the proposed methodology is found to be Pareto-optimal, ensuring the required sustainability. Finally, the authors summarized a managerial implication for shippers to further improve the efficiency from the aspects of production and design.

The author argues that we must stop and take a look at what our insistence on human labour as the basis of our society is doing to us, and begin to search for possible alternatives. We need the vision and the courage to aim for the highest level of technology attainable for the widest possible use in both industry and services. We need financial arrangements that will encourage people to invent themselves out of work. Our goal, the article argues, must be the reduction of human labour to the greatest extent possible, to free people for more enjoyable, creative, human activities.

The physical internet (PI) is an emerging logistics and supply chain management (SCM) concept that draws on different technologies and areas of research, such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and key performance indicators, with the purpose of revolutionizing existing logistics and SCM practices. The growing literature on the PI and its noteworthy potential to be a disruptive innovation in the logistics industry call for a systematic literature review (SLR), which we conducted that defines the current state of the literature and outlines future research directions and approaches.

The SLR that was undertaken included journal publications, conference papers and proceedings, book excerpts, industry reports and white papers. We conducted descriptive, citation, thematic and methodological analyses to understand the evolution of PI literature.

Based on the literature review and analyses, we proposed a comprehensive framework that structures the PI domain and outlines future directions for logistics and SCM researchers.

Our research findings are limited by the relatively low number of journal publications, as the PI is a new field of inquiry that is composed primarily of conference papers and proceedings.

The proposed PI-based framework identifies seven PI themes, including the respective facilitators and barriers, which can inform researchers and practitioners on future potentially disruptive SC strategies.

The Physical Internet (PI) is an emerging concept that applies the Digital Internet as a design metaphor for the development of sustainable, interoperable and collaborative freight transport. With the aim of aiding researchers and policy makers in their future efforts to develop efficient logistics systems, the purpose of this paper is to present a review of the existing literature on the PI, to critically discuss the concept and to outline a research agenda.

The literature review investigates scientific papers, project reports, specifications and other publications related to PI. In total, 46 publications were finally analyzed. The approach used in this paper is technology adoption by firms. The authors examine the PI based on four factors: organizational readiness (technological blueprints), external pressure (promised effects), perceived benefits (business model) and adoption.

A growing number of strategies, blueprints and specifications have been developed for PI, yet there are no currently developed models that illustrate how the move from the entrenched logistics business models to the PI could ensue. There is a lack of understanding of the business models needed that can involve critical actors and promote the adoption of the PI concept.

While using the internet as a metaphor for reimagining physical transports is certainly exciting, this review and analysis suggest that several research questions need to be addressed before further PI blueprint work is carried out.

The “grand challenge” of sustainability in logistics needs to be addressed and improved, but the authors’ analysis suggests that, to some extent, it is uncertain how the PI will contribute to improving sustainability, and why logistics service providers should engage in PI. Policy makers and practitioners are provided with critical issues to consider in the practical development and adoption of the concept.

This paper provides an outsider and technology-adoption perspective of PI research, as well as important implications for policy makers and researchers.

This study examines the impact of bureaucratic structure on morale among hospital staff. Hypotheses are drawn from Hage's axiomatic theory of organizations, including the predicted negative impact on morale of formalization, centralization and stratification, and the positive impact on morale of task complexity. Contingency hypotheses involving structure and task complexity are also examined. Results indicate morale is either positively affected or unaffected by structure, and negatively affected by process. Some evidence of contingent effects are found. The findings are discussed within the broader context of Weber's theory of bureaucracy. This paper addresses the relationship between several structural features of bureaucracy and workers' morale in a hospital setting. It examines these relationships from broadly defined theoretical perspectives. In this connection, Weber's theory of bureaucracy is treated, as was the case in his original, as part of his general theory of rationalization in modern western society. The study considers the relationship between: 1) Formalization and morale, 2) Centralization and morale, 3) Stratification and morale, 4) Complexity and morale. These structural features of bureaucracy—formalization, centralization, stratification and complexity‐are treated as the means at the command of management for attaining organizational objectives. Worker morale is often referred to as the “level of feeling” about themselves among workers or about the work they perform (Revans, 1964; Veninga, 1982; Simendinger and Moore, 1985; Zucker, 1988). In effect, the term is used in stating that morale is high or low to suggest that something is right or wrong about the organization. Surprisingly, many of these studies do not explain why they are suggesting a particular state of morale, but only that the state of morale is crucial to the performance of the organization. In essence, morale is the level of confidence of the employees. It can vary from one department to the other due to specific or overall structural conditions of the organizations; without giving it routine consideration, performance will degenerate (Nelson, 1989).