Cell formation with reduction in setup times

Cell manufacturing (CM) is a well-known strategy for reducing lead times in batch production systems. In essence, the basic information required to solve a CM problem is the machine-part incidence matrix. Most of the methods of cell formation are based on machine-part incidence matrix alone. However, other factors such as production sequence and production volumes, if incorporated, can enhance the quality of the solutions. Recently, Nair and Narendran (1998) [Int. J. Prod. Res. 36 (1) (1998) 157] presented the algorithm which clusters machines and parts on the basis of sequence data. It is, however, required to consider the setup in the case of cell formation with sequence data. This paper proposes a new cell formation with reduction in setup times between machines in the same cell. Through the computational experiment, performance of the proposed method is also investigated.