Evolutionary Search Techniques to Solve Set Covering Problems

Set covering problem is a classical problem in computer science and complexity theory. It has many applications, such as airline crew scheduling problem, facilities location problem, vehicle routing, assignment problem, etc. In this paper, three different techniques are applied to solve set covering problem. Firstly, a mathematical model of set covering problem is introduced and solved by using optimization solver, LINGO. Secondly, the Genetic Algorithm Toolbox available in MATLAB is used to solve set covering problem. And lastly, an ant colony optimization method is programmed in MATLAB programming language. Results obtained from these methods are presented in tables. In order to assess the performance of the techniques used in this project, the benchmark problems available in open literature are used.

Considering Assembly Operations and Product Structure for Manufacturing Cell Formation

This paper considers the integration of assembly operations and product structure to Cellular Manufacturing System (CMS) design so that to correct the drawbacks of previous researches in the literature. For this purpose, a new mathematical model is developed which dedicates machining and assembly operations to manufacturing cells while the objective function is to minimize the intercellular movements resulting due to both of them. A linearization method is applied to achieve optimum solution through solving aforementioned nonlinear model by common programming language such as Lingo. Then, using different examples and comparing the results, the importance of integrating assembly considerations is demonstrated.