Optimal location with equitable loads

The problem considered in this paper is to find p locations for p facilities such that the weights attracted to each facility will be as close as possible to one another. We model this problem as minimizing the maximum among all the total weights attracted to the various facilities. We propose solution procedures for the problem on a network, and for the special cases of the problem on a tree or on a path. The complexity of the problem is analyzed, O(n) algorithms and an O(pn ³) dynamic programming algorithm are proposed for the problem on a path respectively for p=2 and p>2 facilities. Heuristic algorithms (two types of a steepest descent approach and tabu search) are proposed for its solution. Extensive computational results are presented.