A paradigm for Group Technology cellular layout planning in JIT facility

A commonly examined domain associated with Just-In-Time (JIT) manufacturing is the implementation of Group Technology (GT), which requires identification of part families and machine groups in order to exploit similarities and achieve economies in manufacturing. One of the issues is how to design an effective layout which promotes the benefits of JIT cells. We present a procedure to design the layout of manufacturing cells operating within a GT environment. The approach, which can be easily adopted by practitioners, translates information such as processing requirement of parts, demand volume, and machine capacity into a material flow matrix. With an initial layout plan generated by assigning machines on a space filling curve, the cellular layout problem is solved by CRAFT. Using this procedure, we can recursively create a number of layout designs. A ¿gauge¿ measure indicating the intensity of material flows is also provided to assist managers in selecting desirable floor plan.