An algorithm for the cell formation and the machine selection problems in the design of a cellular manufacturing system

In this paper, we consider the cell formation and the machine selection problems for the design of a new cellular manufacturing system. The objective is to solve these problems in an acceptable time while considering machine capacity, alternative routeing and constraints on cell size. We propose a heuristic algorithm which consists of two main resolution phases. The first phase forms a configuration of independent cells using a cell aggregation procedure. The second phase considers the introduction of intercell flow to eliminate the machines that are under-utilized. An illustrative numerical example and computational experience are conducted.