Cluster analysis in manufacturing cellular formation

Cluster analysis, an analytical method used for classifying objects, has been developed over the last century, and the literature on cluster analysis has exploded during the past two decades. This technique has been broadly used in the fields of biology, social science, and psychology, but only very little in manufacturing. In this paper, we provide a state-of-the-art review on the use of cluster analysis in cellular formation-one of the first and most important issues in designing cellular manufacturing systems. The problems, research directions, and related literature are presented for further studies.