A multiple-objective decision model for the evaluation of advanced manufacturing system technologies

Abstract

Ordinary financial measures oversimplify the evaluation of advanced manufacturing system technologies (AMSTs). In this paper, a multiple-objective decision model is developed that avoids the shortcomings of traditional evaluation methods. The model is comprised of three objectives—pecuniary, strategic, and tactical. The pecuniary objective is based upon traditional discounted cash flow (DCF) techniques, with the results normalized to a [−1, +1] (worst-best) scale. The strategic and tactical objectives are based upon the concept of qualitative flows, and a qualitative discounting method is employed to discount the qualitative costs and benefits to a present value. The three objectives are traded off using the composite programming technique, resulting in a rank ordering of the alternatives under consideration. The three objectives of the model are broken down into attributes that define the objective. These attributes are mapped into the organization of a manufacturing environment. It is shown that the model covers the entire manufacturing organization in accounting for the costs and benefits of the proposed AMST alternatives. In addition to providing a ranking among alternative AMST projects, the influence of the three objectives on the final score can be analyzed using a mixture experiment. The mixture experiment provides insight into the effect of varying the importance of each objective and its effect on the final rankings. This provides the analyst a method to determine which attributes and objectives are critical for the AMST alternative being investigated.