Sequencing of operations and repeatable machines in smart manufacturing

• Published in: Computers & industrial engineering Vol. 182; p. 109335
• Main Author: Li, Ming-Liang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.08.2023
• Subjects: Group technology efficiency; Machine movement; Part movement; Repeatable machine; Sequencing of operations; Group technology efficiency; Repeatable machine; Part movement; Machine movement; Sequencing of operations
• ISSN: 0360-8352; 1879-0550
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cie.2023.109335

•Group technology can be more than a “1” or “0” in an incidence matrix.•The proposed algorithm considers volume, sequencing of operations and repeatable machines.•The proposed GT efficiency measurement includes volume and the movements of parts and machines.•Group size can potentially lower GT efficiency. In traditional manufacturing, a machine is treated as having one operation function, but in smart manufacturing, each machine can have more than one operation function. Traditional group technology (GT) focuses on whether a part has been operated on by a machine, but this study focuses on the sequencing of operations for a part, the volume (batch) of a part, and repeatable machines. This study proposes two algorithms based on the close-neighbor concept and takes into account these three factors. One of the algorithms considers volume (batch); the other does not. A GT efficiency measurement is proposed that considers part movement, machine movement, part volume, and group size, the last three being factors commonly excluded from the literature on GT efficiency calculations and operation sequence. Six numerical examples, which demonstrate the algorithm’s implementation, are compared with solutions generated by other algorithms from the literature, and the proposed algorithm is shown to have superior GT efficiency. Although increasing the number of groups can increase the GT efficiency, it can also, due to the effect of group size, increase the movements of the parts and/or the machines. All the resolutions can be used by managers making plant layout decisions.