The aim of the present study is to make a comparison of the different layout design methods for low‐volume batch fashion manufacturing lines. In particular, a case study was investigated analysing a manufacturing line of felt hats. The results show that the best approach to be
adopted – i.e., to gain an appropriate layout arrangement
‐ is the facility layout coming from a wider “lean production” analysis and reengineering process. This result was achieved through a discrete events simulation analysis, which permitted us to compare the costs and productivity performance of each solution investigated.
The remainder of the present paper is organized as follows: in section 2 the principal layout design methods are presented; section 3 gives the case study analysis and the description of its manufacturing process; the results of the analysis are explained in section 4, while the fifth section provides a discussion of the results and presents some conclusions..