Towards an integrated model of operation allocation and material handling selection in cellular manufacturing systems

An integrated approach to operation allocation (OA) and material handling systems selection (MHSS) in cellular manufacturing systems is presented. The OA model assigns the operations of a set of part types to a group of machines, and provides this information as input to the MHSS model. The MHSS model allocates equipment for handling the parts between machines as well as at a machine. This information is then fed back as an input to the OA model. An iterative algorithm is developed to solve the two models sequentially, and a numerical example is provided to demonstrate the applicability of the models. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.