The facets of group technology and their impacts on implementation—A state-of-the-art survey

The recent use of the Group Technology concept of grouping parts into ‘families’ has received much notice due to the integration of this technique with the varied technologies of computer integrated manufacturing. This is but one of the facets of Group Technology, which is essentially a set of techniques and operating policies designed to improve the operational efficiency of manufacturing. With the exception of the parts grouping concept, the many facets of Group Technology have been largely neglected. This paper presents a survey of the literature on the concepts of Group Technology, attempts to categorize these topics in a natural manner, and link the processes, technology and experiences together. This paper reviews the problems addressed and the optimal and heuristic solution methodologies suggested in the literature. The conclusion indicate various areas and topics for future research/implementation activities.