A hierarchical clustering methodology based on genetic programming for the solution of simple cell-formation problems

The problem of identifying machine cells and corresponding part families in cellular manufacturing has been extensively researched over the last thirty years. However, the complexity of the problem and the considerable number of issues involved in its solution create the need for increasingly efficient algorithms. In this paper the use of genetic programming for the solution of a simple version of the problem is investigated. The methodology is tested on a number of problems taken from the literature and comparative results are presented.