A machine cell formation algorithm for simultaneously minimising machine workload imbalances and inter-cell part movements
This paper considers a multi-objective machine cell problem, in which part types have several alternative part routings and the expected annual demand of each part type is known. This problem is characterised as optimally determining part type (routing) sets and corresponding machine cells such that total inter-cell part movements and total machine workload imbalances are simultaneously minimised. Due to the complexity of the problem, a two-stage heuristic algorithm is proposed, and computational experiments were conducted to verify the performance of the algorithm.
machine workload imbalances inter-cell part movements alternative part routings two-stage heuristic algorithm machine cell formation problem multi-objective function