Application of fuzzy AHP for setup reduction in manufacturing industry

Abstract

Traditionally, setup time is regarded as one of the most expensive costs that manufacturing firms and organizations had to face including for the optimizations of the setup processes and for the huge production lots. Faster setups ensure numerous benefits beyond smaller lot sizes, including lower labor costs, higher effective capacity and more flexibility, all of which are critical for response to market forces such as rising product variety and customization. Many methods and concepts are being implemented as a medium for setup time reduction including Multiple Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) techniques. One of the famous technique that are being applied is Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (Fuzzy- AHP). This paper presents a comprehensive application of Fuzzy-AHP in a setup time reduction problem. For the sake of implementation, a case study of selecting the best improvement strategy for reducing time in cleaning Drilling Router Jig (DRJ) and composite panel in a setup process for 5-axis composite material’s trimming machine in a composite manufacturing company was presented. Data analysis was presented to show the final results. The highest score of alternatives with respect to all criteria indicates the best option.