Designing Cellular Manufacturing System in Presence of Alternative Process Plans

TL;DR

This paper presents four integer programming models for designing cellular manufacturing systems with multiple process plans, focusing on grouping parts and machines to minimize movements and improve efficiency.

Contribution

It introduces novel formulations for the generalized grouping problem in CMS, considering multiple process plans and operational levels.

Findings

Formulations effectively minimize inter-cell and intra-cell movements.

Numerical examples demonstrate the models' applicability.

Discussion on objective suitability compared to cost minimization.

Abstract

In the design of cellular manufacturing systems (CMS), numerous technological and managerial decisions must be made at both the design and operational stages. The first step in designing a CMS involves grouping parts and machines. In this paper, four integer programming formulations are presented for grouping parts and machines in a CMS at both the design and operational levels for a generalized grouping problem, where each part has more than one process plan, and each operation of a process plan can be performed on more than one machine. The minimization of inter-cell and intra-cell movements is achieved by assigning the maximum possible number of consecutive operations of a part type to the same cell and to the same machine, respectively. The suitability of minimizing inter-cell and intra-cell movements as an objective, compared to other objectives such as minimizing investment costs on machines, operating costs, etc., is discussed. Numerical examples are included to illustrate the workings of the formulations.