IMPROVE: A Developed Approach for Solving the Machine Part Cell Formation Problem

Grouping of machines into cells and parts into families by using incidence matrix formation is equivalent to block diagonalization of the matrix so as to minimize exceptional elements or maximize cell independency. The IMPROVE algorithm tries to make block diagonalization of matrix to minimize exceptional and void elements in an existing initial solution by reassigning machines and parts from cell to another. This paper is an extension for the IMPROVE algorithm in order to solve problems instead of just improving existing solutions. The IMPROVE algorithm can solve problems by using random initial solutions. This study presents many cases for (a 16x43) problem with a comparison with previous approaches for solution. The results showed the superiority of IMPROVE algorithm over other approaches in all test cases.