A genetic algorithm for solving a maintenance model in a flexible manufacturing system

Maintenance float problems in a flexible manufacturing system structure are intractable. Therefore, there is a need for an enumerative search method to solve such problems. This study presents a novel genetic algorithm to search for the optimal float and capacity of repair stations for FMS maintenance float systems. The proposed algorithm is operated under a feasible set of failure rates to investigate how its performance dominates the enumerative search algorithm. Experimental results indicate that the genetic algorithm is more promising than the enumerative search algorithm in searching for the best approximate solution and in minimizing the execution time.