A fuzzy-based solution methodology has been formulated to address the machi
ne-loading problem in a flexible manufacturing system. The objectives consi
dered are minimization of system unbalance and maximization of throughput,
whereas the systems technological constraints are posed by availability of
machining time and tool slots. The job ordering/job sequence determination
before loading is carried out by evaluating the membership contribution of
each job to its characteristics such as batch size, essential operation pro
cessing time and optional operation processing time. The operation-machine
allocation decisions are made based on the evaluation of membership contrib
ution of operation machine allocation vector. The formulation of membership
function is based on logical derivations and enjoys reasonable analytical
support. The proposed heuristic is tested on 10 problems adopt ed from lite
ratures and the results reveal substantial improvement in solution quality
over, some of existing heuristic-based approaches.