A NEW MULTI-OBJECTIVE MODEL FOR A CELL FORMATION PROBLEM CONSIDERING MACHINE UTILIZATION AND ALTERNATIVE PROCESS ROUTES

This paper presents a novel, multi-objective mixed-integer nonlinear programming (minlp) model for a cell formation problem (cfp) with alternative means. due to existing contradiction among objectives, three are considered: 1) minimizing the total cost consisting of; intercellular movements, purchasing, operation, and maintenance; 2) maximizing the utilization of machines in the system; 3) minimizing the deviation levels between the cell utilization (i.e., balancing the workload between cells). furthermore, alternative process for each part, which is a key characteristic for flexible manufacturing systems, is considered in this paper. the main goals of our proposed model are to; 1) select a process plan for each part with minimum cost, simultaneous machine grouping and complete series of all parts; 2) identify the appropriate level of overall utilization of machines; 3) balancing the workload among the cells in the production system