Quarterly Publication

Application of Cell Formation Problem for Optimal Job Grouping in Oil & Gas Megaprojects, using a Harmony Search Algorithm

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Petroleum University of Technology

2 M.Sc. in industrial engineering (project management) from Petroleum University of Technology.Tehran.Iran

Abstract
Cell Formation Problem (CFP) is a famous issues in group technology, where an analyst aims at forming groups of machines/parts (so-called cells), in such a way that machines in every cell process as much as possible parts from this cell and as less as possible parts from other cells. In this article, a Harmony Search Algorithm (HSA) is designed to solve the CFP. In order to evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithm, 35 sample classical problems are examined. The experimental results indicate desirable performance of the proposed algorithm. In addition, applicability of the proposed algorithm is demonstrated by a real-world case in project human resource management. Since the megaprojects in oil industry require a wide range of jobs, thus grouping of individuals with considering their skills is an important challenge. The paper defines the job grouping problem as a CFP, and solve a real-world problem using the proposed HSA.

Keywords

Subjects

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  • Receive Date 21 January 2024
  • Revise Date 12 February 2024
  • Accept Date 11 March 2024