Cellular design to minimise investment costs by using evolutionary programming

Gursel A. Suer, Yolanda Pena, Ramon Vazquez

International Journal of Manufacturing Technology and Management, 2003, vol. 5, issue 1/2, 118-132

Abstract: In this paper, cellular manufacturing is briefly introduced and its advantages over traditional manufacturing systems are mentioned. Later, the methodology followed for designing independent cells is discussed. The objective of the cellular design considered in this paper is to determine the number of families and the products in each family such that the total machine investment is minimised. This complex task is performed in an iterative manner: 1) assign products to families by using evolutionary programming for a given number of families, 2) repeat step 1 for alternative number of families, 3) select the configuration that results in the minimum investment. The proposed evolutionary programming scheme is discussed and an example is given. Next, three different problems are tested with seven different cost schemes. It has been observed that if the machines with higher usage are more expensive, then the lower number of families gives better results. On the contrary, if the machines with higher usage are inexpensive, then the higher number of families tends to produce better results.

Keywords: evolutionary programming; cellular design; investment costs; cellular manufacturing; manufacturing cells; cell design. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2003
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