A flexible approach to (re)configure Flexible Manufacturing Cells

Although considerable research literature exists related to Flexible Manufacturing Systems, the issues pertaining to Flexible Manufacturing Cell (re)configuration have largely been ignored. In the design stage, group technology concepts have been used to select parts and machines. However, in the operational stage, if the group technology concept of routing (a priori fixed) based cell formation is employed, is there a guarantee that the part-machine combination (route) selected would result in the overall optimal utilization of the resources? Is the flexibility of the system (as FMC's contain versatile machines) utilized? In this paper, we develop and elicit a procedure that addresses the above issues while (re)configuring FMCs. It utilizes the flexibility of the system when selecting production routes. The procedure developed includes an optimization model and an algorithm to aid in selecting and grouping 1) parts into families and 2) machines into Flexible Manufacturing Cells. The overall benefit of the procedure is that the loading and subsequent scheduling decisions are made simpler, which will help in increasing productivity.