The first step in the design of a cellular manufacturing (CM) system
is the cell formation (CF) problem. A large number of CF techniques have been
developed through the years. Unfortunately, the majority of these techniques
consider only a single objective in identifying cells which could make the final
configuration unsuitable for implementation. The proposed approach is
designed to be used after the CF process is completed, regardless of the method
taken from literature to create an initial CF solution. It carried out in two
phases. In the first phase, a simulation-based methodology is applied for sizing
each manufacturing cell machines. In the second phase, the same simulation
model is used to deal with each exceptional element (EE) in order to create
better cell configurations. The objective is to analyse and to compare the cost
associated with alternative actions for the removal of the EE. The process is
fully demonstrated thought a numerical example.