Hybrid simulated annealing algorithm with mutation operator to the cell formation problem with alternative process routings

In this study, a hybrid simulated annealing algorithm with mutation operator is proposed to solve the manufacturing cell formation problem considering multiple process routings for parts, so that either the intercellular movements are minimized or the grouping efficacy is maximized, depending on the definition of the decision objective. The proposed algorithm is designed mainly to explore solution regions efficiently and to expedite the solution search process. The performance of the proposed algorithm is tested by a range of test problems, some of which are from the literature and some of which are generated within this study. The comparative study shows that the proposed algorithm improves the best results found in the literature for 28.6% of the test problems and the percentages of improvement are even higher than 18% in several test instances.