###### Abstract  
Manufacturing industries are in a constant state of competition to attract customers in a variety of methods. Group Technology (GT) is a term used in the field of manufacturing for grouping similar elements based on their similarities in production and design. Cellular manufacturing (CM) is an application of Group Technology (GT) that has gained widespread traction in Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) during the recent years in order to increase the production floor's efficiency and output. A Cell Formation consists of grouping identical machinery and assigning them on similar functions. There are three main decisions involved in designing the Cellular Manufacturing System (CMS): Group Scheduling (GS), Group Layout (GL), and Cell Formation (CF). In this study, the primary challenge associated with the CMS is not only the formation of cells but also the optimal placement of machinery within each cell. This paper's objectives are therefore twofold: the formation of cells and the optimal placement of machinery within cells. For the purpose of Cell Formation and the position of machinery within the cell, a Genetic Algorithm (GA) and Encoding Scheme are employed. In this study, a Genetic Algorithm is used to classify machines and parts, while MATLAB is used for the simulation and encoding scheme. To evaluate the developed objective function and GA, a layout problem of medium size is solved. Results indicate that the proposed strategy is effective for resolving CMS issues and increasing productivity by 8.85%. cellular manufacturing system (CMS); cell formation (CF); optimal machine location; intracell formation; genetic algorithm (GA); encoding scheme +
Footnote †: journal: Applied Sciences  
To prepare for upcoming difficulties and improvements, manufacturing organizations devote a significant portion of their resources--both financial and human--to the design or redesign of their facilities. Manufacturing companies typically invest a significant sum of money in the design of new facilities or the renovation of old ones. One of the key elements that determine an industry's productivity is layout design. Industries have long employed functional layouts, but in an effort to boost production, modern layouts are gradually replacing them [1]. Manufacturers must shrink costs in order to stay alive in the present-day economy. During the last few years, many firms have begun to focus on increasing productivity with optimized utilization of human resources. Due to the optimization in labor resources, investments in equipment costs have increased. Among concerns of these strategies are momentous savings in the direct employment cost, which in effect makes material supervision cost more imperative than before. Material handling cost reductions can be obtained by designing effective layouts [2]. Effective layouts acquired by solving machine and facility layout problems successfully can keep an organization competitive in the global market. Group Technology is applied in Cellular Manufacturing Systems (CMSs), which are used to create production system architectures. A CMS is a system that enables the processing of many parts in cells that share the same geometry, design, or method. A basic stage in Group Technology (GT) and CMS is cell creation. It benefits from both job shop and flow line production. In manufacturing systems, cells are classified as either process or product types. In process layouts, parts with different qualities but the same manufacturing method are made in the same cell, whereas in product layouts, similar products based on their shape, design, and other attributes are processed in the same cell [3] as depicted in Figure 1. The Cellular Manufacturing System is an effective use of Group Technology that can combine flow line and job shop standards, adapt to changing market demands, and overcome some of the limitations of the past. The Cellular Manufacturing System is a good example of a Group Technology application that meets contemporary needs [4].