International Journal of Modern Studies in Mechanical Engineering (IJMSME) Volume 3, Issue 1, 2017, PP 15-22 ISSN 2454-9711 (Online) DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.20431/2454-9711.0301003 www.arcjournals.org ©ARC Page | 15 Development of a Model for Computing Similarity Indices for the Application in Group Technology Godwin Oghenewiroro Odu Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Delta State University, Abraka, Oleh Campus, Nigeria Abstract: In this research, a model for computing the group similarity indices was developed. The grouping objective functions and parameters were formulated and can be used for grouping parts into part families and at the same time for computing similarity indices. This module introduces the technique of group technology, discusses its general application in batch manufacturing. Keywords: Group Technology, Parts similarities, Parts classification and coding, manufacturing system 1. INTRODUCTION Ever since the industrial revolution, manufacturing and engineering personnel have been searching for ways to optimize manufacturing processes. The mass production industries are characterized by the manufacture of large numbers for parts/components of the same size and configuration and high productivity is attained by the extensive use of automation, special purpose machinery and flow line production methods. Such production equipment needs high capital investment and is inherently inflexible in operation (Gallagher & Knight, 1973). The major part of industry is however concerned with production in medium and small batches, where individual elaboration of a method for each new component needs an enormous amount of time and resources. There is a growing need to make batch manufacturing more efficient and productive. Also, there is an increasing trend to achieve a higher level of integration of the design and manufacturing functions in a firm. As such, technical development today calls for the introduction of scientific principles in solving many of the problems associated with this type of manufacturing (Gallagher & Knight, 1973; Funchs, 1988).For instance, a particular company makes thousands of different parts, in many different batch sizes, using a variety of different manufacturing operations, processes and technologies. It is beyond the capability of human mind to comprehend and manipulate such vast amounts of detailed data. Though, people still need to make decisions regarding how to run a manufacturing company and succeed in today„s competitive environment on local and foreign markets. The pressures on management continue to escalate as global competition drives the need for producing a greater variety of high quality products, in smaller lot sizes and at lower costs. These ongoing demands continuously increase the level of complexity present in a manufacturing environment (Lenka, Krchova, & Kuric, 2014). One of the approaches that are directed at both of these objectives is Group Technology (GT). Research has it that GT is regarded as the backbone for designing various types of manufacturing systems (Kamal, Gazal, & Rakesh, 2014). The development of manufacturing systems and changes and variety of customers' interests, push companies to produce various products with high capacities. Therefore, manufacturing systems must be changed from job shop and mass production systems to new systems. In this respect, many manufacturing companies have noticed the effectiveness of 'Group Technology (Arash & Nassibeh, 2010). It is the best production system to produce various products in large amounts with high productivity. A broad definition as given by Professor V. B. Solaja of the Institute of Machine Tools, Belgrade, Yugoslava is (Gallagher & Knight, 1973). “Group Technology is the realization that many problems are similar and that by grouping similar problems, a single solution can be found to a set of problems, this saving time and efforts”. More precisely, as applied to