Cell formation with multiple process plans and manufacturing attributes

Abstract

In the past decade, substantial research was focused on the development of new cell formation procedures. Group formation of machines and parts in cellular manufacturing systems is often achieved by using the similarity of part operations. However during cell formation, factors that relate to manufacturing attributes are often ignored. This paper presents an approach to the cell formation problem that simultaneously uses multiple process plans, cost requirements and manufacturing attributes. In addition, it addresses the objective of minimising total costs, by considering parameters such as operation sequence, machine capacity, demand, various costs, etc. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is demonstrated with two problems derived from the literature. The results are compared and discussed with respect to the solutions reported in the literature. The results indicate that the proposed method provides a solution that has the least total cost compared to the other solutions reported in the literature. Copyright © 2006 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.