Integrated cell formation and layout design for multiple-cell manufacturing systems with flexible processing and routing

This research investigates cell formation and layout design problems of manufacturing systems having two key characteristics: flexible processing/routing and multiple cells. Recent studies have shown that systems with these flexibilities yield better performance than systems with fixed processes and routes. Cellular manufacturing is proving to be very effective and many companies currently have multiple-cell systems. In spite of these findings, many of the current design techniques continue to be developed for single cell and/or fixed processing and routing systems. Many of the challenges of this study result from allowing choices in processes and routes. When more than one process plan is considered for each part, standard cell formation techniques cannot be applied. Likewise, when multiple routings are considered, techniques that rely on knowing the exact flow between facilities cannot be used. In this paper, we will propose an integrated cell formation and layout design model for the aforementioned flexible manufacturing systems.