Group Technology and

Facility Layout
Group Technology and
Cellular Manufacturing
Group technology (GT)
A management philosophy that attempts to group
products with similar design or manufacturing
characteristics, or both.
Cellular manufacturing (CM)
An application of GT that involves grouping
machines based on the parts manufactured.

Objective of CM
Identify machine cells and part families
simultaneously
Allocate part families to machine cells in a way
that minimizes the intercellular movement of parts.
CM Concept in Layout
Develop the layout of machines within the cells so
as to minimize inter- and intracellular material-
handling costs.
Benefits of CM application
Set-up time reduction
Work-in-process inventory reduction
Material-handling cost reduction
Direct and indirect labor cost reduction
Improvement in quality
Improvement in material flow
Improvement in machine utilization
Improvement in space utilization
Improvement in employee morale
A GT Cell
Machine 1
Machine 2
Machine 3
Machine 4
Machine 5
Materials in
Finished
goods out
Traditional Job Shop vs CM
Job shop environment
Machines are grouped on the basis of their
functional similarities
CM environment
Machines are grouped into cells, with each cell
dedicated to the manufacture of a specific part
family
Arrangement of Cells in
a Job Shop Environment
TM
TM TM
TM DM
DM DM
DM
VMM VMM
BM BM
BM = broaching machine
DM = drilling machine
TM = turning machine
VMM = vertical milling machine

Routing of parts P
1
, P
3
, P
9
Routing of parts P
2
, P
4
, P
7
, P
8

Routing of parts P
5
, P
6
, P
10
Arrangement of Cells
in a CM System
TM DM
DM
DM
VMM
BM
BM
BM = broaching machine
DM = drilling machine
TM = turning machine
VMM = vertical milling machine
VMM TM
DM
TM TM
Routing of parts P
1
, P
3
, P
9
Routing of parts P
2
, P
4
, P
7
, P
8

Routing of parts P
5
, P
6
, P
10
Sample Part-Machine Processing
Indicator Matrix
M a c h i n e
M
1
M
2
M
3
M
4
M
5
M
6
M
7

P
a
r
t
P
1
1 - - 1 - 1 -
P
2
- 1 1 - 1 - -
P
3
- - - 1 - 1 -
P
4
- 1 1 - - - -
P
5
- - 1 - - - 1
P
6
- 1 - - 1 - 1
] [
ij
a
Rearranged Processing
Indicator Matrix
M a c h i n e
M
1
M
4
M
6
M
2
M
3
M
5
M
7

P
a
r
t
P
1
1 1 1 - - - -
P
3
- 1 1 - - - -
P
2
- - - 1 1 1 -
P
4
- - - 1 1 - -
P
5
- - - - 1 - 1
P
6
- - - 1 - 1 1
] [
ij
a
Case of Exceptional Parts
The rows (parts) corresponding to the 1s that lie
outside the diagonal block.
When exceptional parts are removed, a block
diagonal structure is easily identified.
If it is wanted that cells are completely
independent with no intercellular movement of
material, exceptional parts must be subcontracted
out.


Processing Indicator Matrix
(Case of Exceptional Parts)
M a c h i n e
M
1
M
4
M
6
M
2
M
3
M
5
M
7

P
a
r
t
P
1
1 1 1 - - - -
P
3
- 1 1 - - - -
P
2
1 - - 1 1 1 -
P
4
- - - 1 1 - -
P
5
- - - - 1 - 1
P
6
- - - 1 - 1 1
] [
ij
a
Exceptional part
Case of Bottleneck Machines
Bottleneck Machines
Machines corresponding to the columns that
contain exceptional elements, i.e., elements outside
the block diagonal structure.
Two or more part families share the machines.
If the columns corresponding bottleneck machines
are removed, then mutually separable clusters or
machine cells and part families can be identified.
Additional copies of machines are needed
Processing Indicator Matrix
(Case of Exceptional Parts)
M a c h i n e
M
1
M
4
M
6
M
2
M
3
M
5
M
7

P
a
r
t
P
1
1 1 1 - - - -
P
3
- 1 1 - - - -
P
2
1 - - 1 1 1 -
P
4
- - - 1 1 - -
P
5
- - - - 1 - 1
P
6
- - - 1 - 1 1
] [
ij
a
Bottleneck machine
Using Nonbinary in Part-Machine
Processing Indicator Matrix
Binary matrix representation
Only informs whether or not a part is processed on
a machine
Nonbinary matrix representation
Flexible because it allows to capture other
relationships between each part-machine pair (e.g.,
cost of processing a part on a machine, processing
time)
Modifying Part-Machine Processing
Indicator Matrix
Creating additional columns
Number of parts to be manufactured
Batch size for each part
Sequence of machines visited by a part can be
recorded
Operation sequence for each part is a critical factor
in identification of machine cells

Operation Sequence
Definition of operation sequence



k if part i visits machine j for the kth operation
x
ij
=
0 otherwise
Processing Indicator Matrix showing
Sequence of Operations
M a c h i n e
M
1
M
4
M
6
M
2
M
3
M
5
M
7

P
a
r
t
P
1
2 3 1 - - - -
P
3
- 1 2 - - - -
P
2
3 - - 1 4 2 -
P
4
- - - 2 1 - -
P
5
- - - - - 1 2
P
6
- - - 1 - 2 3
] [
ij
a
Clustering Approach
Attempt to uncover and display similar clusters or
groups in an input object-object or object-attribute
data matrix.
Rearrange rows and column of the input matrix
typically a binary matrix that determines
whether or not a part is processed on a particular
machine (i.e., a block diagonal is identified)
Use process plan or part routing information

Input Matrix
M
1
M
2
M
3
M
4
M
5
M
6
M
7

P
a
r
t
P
1
1 - - 1 - 1 -
P
2
- 1 1 - 1 - -
P
3
- - - 1 - 1 -
P
4
- 1 1 - - - -
P
5
- - 1 - - - 1
P
6
- 1 - - 1 - 1
] [
ij
a
Common Clustering Algorithms
Rank order clustering
Row and column masking
Similarity coefficient


Rank Order Clustering (ROC)
Algorithm
ROC algorithm:
Determine a binary value for each row and column
Rearrange the rows and columns in descending
order of their binary values
Identify clusters.


Steps of ROC Algorithm
Step 1:
Assign binary weight BW
j
= 2
m-j
to each column j of
the part-machine processing indicator matrix.
Step 2:
Determine the decimal equivalent DE of the binary
value of each row i using the formula

m
j
ij
j m
i
a DE
1
2
Steps of ROC Algorithm
Step 3:
Rank the rows in decreasing order of their DE values.
Break ties arbitrarily. Rearrange the rows based on this
ranking. If no rearrangement is necessary, stop;
otherwise go to step 4.
Step 4:
For each rearranged row of the matrix, assign binary
weight BW
i
= 2
n-i
.
Steps of ROC Algorithm
Step 5:
Determine the decimal equivalent DE of the binary
value of each column j using the formula


Step 6:
Rank the columns in decreasing order of their DE
values. Break ties arbitrarily. Rearrange the columns
based on this ranking. If no rearrangement is
necessary, stop; otherwise go to step 1.

n
i
ij
i n
j
a DE
1
2
Example
Part-machine processing indicator matrix
M
1
M
2
M
3
M
4
M
5
M
6
M
7

P
a
r
t
P
1
1 - - 1 - 1 -
P
2
- 1 1 - 1 - -
P
3
- - - 1 - 1 -
P
4
- 1 1 - - - -
P
5
- - 1 - - - 1
P
6
- 1 - - 1 - 1
] [
ij
a
Step 1:
Assign binary weight (BW) to each column j of the part-
machine processing indicator matrix
M
1
M
2
M
3
M
4
M
5
M
6
M
7
64 32 16 8 4 2 1

P
a
r
t
P
1
1 - - 1 - 1 -
P
2
- 1 1 - 1 - -
P
3
- - - 1 - 1 -
P
4
- 1 1 - - - -
P
5
- - 1 - - - 1
P
6
- 1 - - 1 - 1
] [
ij
a
Binary Weight
Step 2:
Determine the decimal equivalent (DE) of the binary
value for each row i
M
1
M
2
M
3
M
4
M
5
M
6
M
7
Binary Value
64 32 16 8 4 2 1

P
a
r
t
P
1
1 - - 1 - 1 - 74
P
2
- 1 1 - 1 - - 52
P
3
- - - 1 - 1 - 10
P
4
- 1 1 - - - - 48
P
5
- - 1 - - - 1 17
P
6
- 1 - - 1 - 1 37
] [
ij
a
Binary Weight
Step 3:
Rank the row in decreasing order of their DE value and
rearrange them based on this ranking
M
1
M
2
M
3
M
4
M
5
M
6
M
7

P
a
r
t
P
1
1 - - 1 - 1 -
P
2
- 1 1 - 1 - -
P
4
- 1 1 - - - -
P
6
- 1 - - 1 - 1
P
5
- - 1 - - - 1
P
3
- - - 1 - 1 -
] [
ij
a
Step 4:
Assign binary weight (BW) to each row i
M
1
M
2
M
3
M
4
M
5
M
6
M
7

P
a
r
t
P
1
1 - - 1 - 1 - 32
P
2
- 1 1 - 1 - - 16
P
4
- 1 1 - - - - 8
P
6
- 1 - - 1 - 1 4
P
5
- - 1 - - - 1 2
P
3
- - - 1 - 1 - 1
] [
ij
a
Binary Weight
Step 5:
Determine the decimal equivalent (DE) of the binary
value for each column j
M
1
M
2
M
3
M
4
M
5
M
6
M
7
32 28 26 33 20 33 6

P
a
r
t
P
1
1 - - 1 - 1 - 32
P
2
- 1 1 - 1 - - 16
P
4
- 1 1 - - - - 8
P
6
- 1 - - 1 - 1 4
P
5
- - 1 - - - 1 2
P
3
- - - 1 - 1 - 1
] [
ij
a
Binary Value
Binary Weight
Step 6:
Rank the column in decreasing order of their DE value
and rearrange them based on this ranking (Break ties
arbitrarily).
M
4
M
6
M
1
M
2
M
3
M
5
M
7

P
a
r
t
P
1
1 1 1 - - - -
P
2
- - - 1 1 1 -
P
4
- - - 1 1 - -
P
6
- - - 1 - 1 1
P
5
- - - - 1 - 1
P
3
1 1 - - - - -
] [
ij
a
Step 1:
Assign binary weight (BW) to each column j
M
4
M
6
M
1
M
2
M
3
M
5
M
7
64 32 16 8 4 2 1

P
a
r
t
P
1
1 1 1 - - - -
P
2
- - - 1 1 1 -
P
4
- - - 1 1 - -
P
6
- - - 1 - 1 1
P
5
- - - - 1 - 1
P
3
1 1 - - - - -
] [
ij
a
Binary Weight
Step 2:
Determine the decimal equivalent (DE) of the binary
value for each row i
M
4
M
6
M
1
M
2
M
3
M
5
M
7
64 32 16 8 4 2 1

P
a
r
t
P
1
1 1 1 - - - - 112
P
2
- - - 1 1 1 - 14
P
4
- - - 1 1 - - 12
P
6
- - - 1 - 1 1 11
P
5
- - - - 1 - 1 5
P
3
1 1 - - - - - 96
] [
ij
a
Binary Weight
Binary Value
Step 3:
Rank the row in decreasing order of their DE value and
rearrange them based on this ranking
M
4
M
6
M
1
M
2
M
3
M
5
M
7

P
a
r
t
P
1
1 1 1 - - - -
P
3
1 1 - - - - -
P
2
- - - 1 1 1 -
P
4
- - - 1 1 - -
P
6
- - - 1 - 1 1
P
5
- - - - 1 - 1
] [
ij
a
Step 4:
Assign binary weight (BW) to each row i
M
4
M
6
M
1
M
2
M
3
M
5
M
7

P
a
r
t
P
1
1 1 1 - - - - 32
P
3
1 1 - - - - - 16
P
2
- - - 1 1 1 - 8
P
4
- - - 1 1 - - 4
P
6
- - - 1 - 1 1 2
P
5
- - - - 1 - 1 1
] [
ij
a
Binary Weight
Step 5:
Determine the decimal equivalent (DE) of the binary
value for each column j
M
4
M
6
M
1
M
2
M
3
M
5
M
7
48 48 32 14 13 10 3

P
a
r
t
P
1
1 1 1 - - - - 32
P
3
1 1 - - - - - 16
P
2
- - - 1 1 1 - 8
P
4
- - - 1 1 - - 4
P
6
- - - 1 - 1 1 2
P
5
- - - - 1 - 1 1
] [
ij
a
Binary Weight
Binary Value
Row and Column Masking (R&CM)
Algorithm
Step 1:
Draw a horizontal line through the first row. Select
any 1 entry in the matrix through which there is
only one line.
Step 2:
If the entry has a horizontal line, go to step 2a. If
the entry has a vertical line go to step 2b.
Row and Column Masking (R&CM)
Algorithm
Step 2a:
Draw a vertical line through the column in which
this 1 entry appears. Go to step 2.
Step 2b:
Draw a horizontal line through the row in which this
1 entry appears. Go to step 3.

Row and Column Masking (R&CM)
Algorithm
Step 3:
If there are any 1 entries with only one line through them, select
any one and go to step 2. Repeat until there are no such entries left.
Identify the corresponding machine cell and part family. Go to step
4.
Step 4:
Select any row through which there is no line. If there are no such
rows, stop. Otherwise, draw a horizontal line through the row,
select any 1 entry in the matrix through which there is only one line,
and go to step 2.

Example
Part-machine processing indicator matrix
M
1
M
2
M
3
M
4
M
5
M
6
M
7

P
a
r
t
P
1
1 - - 1 - 1 -
P
2
- 1 1 - 1 - -
P
3
- - - 1 - 1 -
P
4
- 1 1 - - - -
P
5
- - 1 - - - 1
P
6
- 1 - - 1 - 1
] [
ij
a
Example
M
1
M
2
M
3
M
4
M
5
M
6
M
7

P
a
r
t
P
1
1 - - 1 - 1 -
P
2
- 1 1 - 1 - -
P
3
- - - 1 - 1 -
P
4
- 1 1 - - - -
P
5
- - 1 - - - 1
P
6
- 1 - - 1 - 1
] [
ij
a
Example
M
1
M
2
M
3
M
4
M
5
M
6
M
7

P
a
r
t
P
1
1 - - 1 - 1 -
P
2
- 1 1 - 1 - -
P
3
- - - 1 - 1 -
P
4
- 1 1 - - - -
P
5
- - 1 - - - 1
P
6
- 1 - - 1 - 1
] [
ij
a
Example
M
1
M
2
M
3
M
4
M
5
M
6
M
7

P
a
r
t
P
1
1 - - 1 - 1 -
P
2
- 1 1 - 1 - -
P
3
- - - 1 - 1 -
P
4
- 1 1 - - - -
P
5
- - 1 - - - 1
P
6
- 1 - - 1 - 1
] [
ij
a
Example
M
1
M
2
M
3
M
4
M
5
M
6
M
7

P
a
r
t
P
1
1 - - 1 - 1 -
P
2
- 1 1 - 1 - -
P
3
- - - 1 - 1 -
P
4
- 1 1 - - - -
P
5
- - 1 - - - 1
P
6
- 1 - - 1 - 1
] [
ij
a
M
1
M
2
M
3
M
4
M
5
M
6
M
7

P
a
r
t
P
1
1 - - 1 - 1 -
P
2
- 1 1 - 1 - -
P
3
- - - 1 - 1 -
P
4
- 1 1 - - - -
P
5
- - 1 - - - 1
P
6
- 1 - - 1 - 1
] [
ij
a
M
1
M
2
M
3
M
4
M
5
M
6
M
7

P
a
r
t
P
1
1 - - 1 - 1 -
P
2
- 1 1 - 1 - -
P
3
- - - 1 - 1 -
P
4
- 1 1 - - - -
P
5
- - 1 - - - 1
P
6
- 1 - - 1 - 1
] [
ij
a
Column 1, 4, 6 M
1
, M
4
, M
6
in cell 1
Row 1, 3 P
1
, P
3
in cell 1
M
1
M
2
M
3
M
4
M
5
M
6
M
7

P
a
r
t
P
1
1 - - 1 - 1 -
P
2
- 1 1 - 1 - -
P
3
- - - 1 - 1 -
P
4
- 1 1 - - - -
P
5
- - 1 - - - 1
P
6
- 1 - - 1 - 1
] [
ij
a
M
1
M
2
M
3
M
4
M
5
M
6
M
7

P
a
r
t
P
1
1 - - 1 - 1 -
P
2
- 1 1 - 1 - -
P
3
- - - 1 - 1 -
P
4
- 1 1 - - - -
P
5
- - 1 - - - 1
P
6
- 1 - - 1 - 1
] [
ij
a
M
1
M
2
M
3
M
4
M
5
M
6
M
7

P
a
r
t
P
1
1 - - 1 - 1 -
P
2
- 1 1 - 1 - -
P
3
- - - 1 - 1 -
P
4
- 1 1 - - - -
P
5
- - 1 - - - 1
P
6
- 1 - - 1 - 1
] [
ij
a
M
1
M
2
M
3
M
4
M
5
M
6
M
7

P
a
r
t
P
1
1 - - 1 - 1 -
P
2
- 1 1 - 1 - -
P
3
- - - 1 - 1 -
P
4
- 1 1 - - - -
P
5
- - 1 - - - 1
P
6
- 1 - - 1 - 1
] [
ij
a
M
1
M
2
M
3
M
4
M
5
M
6
M
7

P
a
r
t
P
1
1 - - 1 - 1 -
P
2
- 1 1 - 1 - -
P
3
- - - 1 - 1 -
P
4
- 1 1 - - - -
P
5
- - 1 - - - 1
P
6
- 1 - - 1 - 1
] [
ij
a
M
1
M
2
M
3
M
4
M
5
M
6
M
7

P
a
r
t
P
1
1 - - 1 - 1 -
P
2
- 1 1 - 1 - -
P
3
- - - 1 - 1 -
P
4
- 1 1 - - - -
P
5
- - 1 - - - 1
P
6
- 1 - - 1 - 1
] [
ij
a
M
1
M
2
M
3
M
4
M
5
M
6
M
7

P
a
r
t
P
1
1 - - 1 - 1 -
P
2
- 1 1 - 1 - -
P
3
- - - 1 - 1 -
P
4
- 1 1 - - - -
P
5
- - 1 - - - 1
P
6
- 1 - - 1 - 1
] [
ij
a
M
1
M
2
M
3
M
4
M
5
M
6
M
7

P
a
r
t
P
1
1 - - 1 - 1 -
P
2
- 1 1 - 1 - -
P
3
- - - 1 - 1 -
P
4
- 1 1 - - - -
P
5
- - 1 - - - 1
P
6
- 1 - - 1 - 1
] [
ij
a
Part Family
M a c h i n e
M
1
M
4
M
6
M
2
M
3
M
5
M
7

P
a
r
t
P
1
1 1 1 - - - -
P
3
- 1 1 - - - -
P
2
- - - 1 1 1 -
P
4
- - - 1 1 - -
P
5
- - - - 1 - 1
P
6
- - - 1 - 1 1
] [
ij
a
Similarity Coefficient (SC) Algorithm
SC algorithms are derived from numeric
taxonomy and attempt to measure the similarity
coefficient (SC) between pair of machines or
parts.
Most of SC algorithms use the Jaccard similarity
coefficient.
For a pair of machines, the Jaccard coefficient is
defined as the number of parts that visit both
machines divided by the number of parts that visit
at least one machines
Similarity Coefficient
The Jaccard coefficient:




where a
ij
= 1 if part k requires processing on
machine i, a
ij
= 0 otherwise.

n
k
kj ki kj ki
n
k
kj ki
ij
a a a a
a a
s
1
1
Example
Part-machine processing indicator matrix
M
1
M
2
M
3
M
4
M
5
M
6
M
7

P
a
r
t
P
1
1 - - 1 - 1 -
P
2
- 1 1 - 1 - -
P
3
- - - 1 - 1 -
P
4
- 1 1 - - - -
P
5
- - 1 - - - 1
P
6
- 1 - - 1 - 1
] [
ij
a
SC values for machine
pairs
Using a threshold value
of 0.66, combine machines
{2, 5} and {4, 6} into
separate cells.
SC values in the second iteration

) 3 , 5 ( ) 3 , 2 (
, max SC SC
Using a threshold value
of 0.5, combine machines
{1, 4, 6} and {2, 3, 5} into
two cells, respectively
SC values in the third iteration
Using a threshold value
of 0.33, combine machines
{2, 3, 5, 7} into one cell
SC values in the fourth iteration
Using a threshold value
of 0.01, no further combining of cells is posible

A solution with two cells is obtained;
cell 1 consists of machines 1, 4 and 6.
cell 2 consists of machines 2, 3, 5 and 7
Dendogram