Applying fuzzy rule based to flexible routing problem in a flexible manufacturing system

Due to the fact that production planning in flexible manufacturing systems (FMS) -especially in dynamic environment- is complicated, in today's competitive market, increasing accuracy of planning in such systems is highly desirable. In this paper, a fuzzy rule based approach is presented to investigate flexible routing in FMS as it is previously less focused in the literature. The objective is to find appropriate route due to jobs which should be operated on available machines in production line. The approach is to consider IF- Then rules based on real cases which may be actually occurred on the shop. After running fuzzy rule base system, appropriate route is therefore investigated. The approach is highly reliable for manufacturer who wishes to investigate proper flexible routing due to real situations in FMS environment. A numerical illustration also is given to demonstrate applicability of the proposed approach.