A look-ahead heuristic algorithm for large-scale part-machine grouping problem

In this paper, we consider a multi-objective machine cell formation problem. This problem is characterized as determining part route families and machine cells such that total sum of inter-cell part movements and maximum machine workload imbalance are simultaneously minimized. Together with the objective function, alternative part routes and the machine sequences of part routes are considered in grouping part route families. Due to the complexity of the problem, a two-phase heuristic algorithm is proposed. And we developed an n-stage look-ahead heuristic algorithm that generalizes the roll-out algorithm. Computational experiments were conducted to verify the performance of the algorithm.