Machine loading problem of flexible manufacturing systems: A fuzzy-based heuristic approach

A fuzzy-based solution methodology has been formulated to address the machine-loading problem in a flexible manufacturing system. The objectives considered are minimization of system unbalance and maximization of throughput, whereas the systems technological constraints are posed by availability of machining time and tool slots. The job ordering/job sequence determination before loading is carried out by evaluating the membership contribution of each job to its characteristics such as batch size, essential operation processing time and optional operation processing time. The operation–machine allocation decisions are made based on the evaluation of membership contribution of operation machine allocation vector. The formulation of membership function is based on logical derivations and enjoys reasonable analytical support. The proposed heuristic is tested on 10 problems adopted from literature and the results reveal substantial improvement in solution quality over some existing heuristic-based approaches.