A case study of machine loading in flexible manufacturing systems: a modified binary bat algorithm for minimizing the system unbalance

A case study of machine loading in flexible manufacturing systems: a modified binary bat algorithm for minimizing the system unbalance | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article A case study of machine loading in flexible manufacturing systems: a modified binary bat algorithm for minimizing the system unbalance Giorgia Casella, Teresa Murino, Eleonora Bottani This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-1953049/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The machine loading (ML) problem of flexible manufacturing systems (FMS) has been recognized as one of the most important planning problems in industry. This study aims to minimize the system unbalance developing a modified binary bat algorithm (MBBA), satisfying the technological constraints such as the availability of machine time and tool slots. The proposed algorithm was implemented in Matlab ® , and to show its application, a case study was conducted on a major Italian company, which manufactures equipment and plants for the food industry. Two scenarios are evaluated to this end: an “AS IS” scenario, reflecting the current configuration of the production system, and a “TO BE” one, in which the MMBA is implemented for improving the system’s performance. For the TO BE scenario, a new sequence of jobs, able to minimise the variance of the total processing time, was determined. The application of the MMBA reveals significant improvements in processing time compared to the current approach used by the company. The results of the TO BE scenario can be used to provide effective indications to operations managers, helping them to identify an alternative strategy to enhance the efficiency of the targeted production system. machine loading problem flexible manufacturing systems modified binary bat algorithm system unbalance case study Full Text Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-1953049","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":131989684,"identity":"b645278c-e96e-4eca-86c8-2dbee1e609cb","order_by":0,"name":"Giorgia Casella","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"","correspondingAuthor":false,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Giorgia","middleName":"","lastName":"Casella","suffix":""},{"id":131989685,"identity":"7b49fca2-e7d9-4538-9931-fb4a2c964377","order_by":1,"name":"Teresa Murino","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"","correspondingAuthor":false,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Teresa","middleName":"","lastName":"Murino","suffix":""},{"id":131989686,"identity":"8a1432be-9b3c-45d0-91df-e6b4aedc3562","order_by":2,"name":"Eleonora Bottani","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABAklEQVRIiWNgGAWjYDACdhhDAkLx8AOJAyAGTi3MCC2MDUClPJINUC049aBrYTA4ABXApYWfmfng44KKe/IM0s3HH3+ouSNjfCP34OHCPQwy9ji0SDazJRvPOFNs2CBzLLHhwLFnPGY38hIOz3iG22EGh3nMpHnbEhgbJHIMGw6wAbk3coCCB3BrsT/M/w2kxR6i5d9hHuMZBLQYMPOwgbQkgrUcbDvMYyBBQIvEYTZjY54zCcltQL/MONt3mEfizBuDwzMOSPAAtWEPsfbmh495KhJs+6WbD3yo+HbYnr89x/hzwQEbe/YGHNbAABsyhxmeGIgGzISVjIJRMApGwQgCAC/5VQSheP8mAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"Universita degli Studi di Parma","correspondingAuthor":true,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Eleonora","middleName":"","lastName":"Bottani","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2022-08-11 13:45:32","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-1953049/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-1953049/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":28871368,"identity":"ad21f836-5f93-48a3-aeeb-8db369d7a209","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2022-11-09 19:31:39","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":687972,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"FULLPAPER20220816.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-1953049/v1_covered.pdf"},{"id":25853850,"identity":"b35d1e2e-8006-4812-ae36-c800aa774560","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2022-08-30 16:51:22","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":688080,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"FULLPAPER20220816.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-1953049/v1_covered.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003eA case study of machine loading in flexible manufacturing systems: a modified binary bat algorithm for minimizing the system unbalance\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[{"header":"Full Text","content":"This preprint is available for \u003ca href='/article/rs-1953049/latest.pdf' target='_blank'\u003edownload as a PDF\u003c/a\u003e."}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"machine loading problem, flexible manufacturing systems, modified binary bat algorithm, system unbalance, case study","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-1953049/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-1953049/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"The machine loading (ML) problem of flexible manufacturing systems (FMS) has been recognized as one of the most important planning problems in industry. 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