You are asked to determine a location for a distribution centre serving three urban centres. They are: 20 marks 1. Guelph, population 1,200, at grid location (8.8, 2.8); 2. Cambridge, population 1,400, at grid location (3.5, 8.1); and 3. Kitchener, population 900, at grid location (7.8, 6.2).

a) Determine the centre of gravity of the three locations.

b) It is determined that planners would prefer to have the depot in either Cambridge or Kitchener (although it will serve all three centres). Using metropolitan distances, determine the load-distance scores for both Cambridge and Kitchener and make a recommendation as to which town should have the depot.

c) You are asked to provide input on a layout for a new office. The old layout is thought of as being inefficient. You are asked to redesign the layout and evaluate your redesign using load distance scores. The current layout is shown below. The overall shape cannot change; you can merely move the individual departments around.

E D C B A