MULTI-COMMODITY NETWORK FLOW BASED APPROACH TO THE DYNAMIC CELL FORMATION PROBLEM: AN EXPLORATION OF DESIGN ROBUSTNESS

Abstract

This thesis deals with robust cell formation and the design of central backup cellular manufacturing systems under uncertainty. Robustness in design is important when designing cellular manufacturing systems because these systems have to perform efficiently over long periods of time and under uncertainty in many, if not most, design parameters. This research has three main objectives: (a) first, the design of cellular manufacturing systems in a dynamic environment (multi-period cell formulation problem or the MPCFP); (b) second, the introduction and analysis of a new cellular manufacturing system called the central backup cellular manufacturing system (CBCMS); and (c) third, the formulation of the cell design problem as a robust optimization problem.