CIM flexibility measures: A review and a framework for analysis and applicability assessment

The objective of this study is to assess selected flexibility measures that have been presented in the literature, in an attempt to improve their applicability to support flexibility-related manufacturing decision making, and to identify missing measures. While analysing the existing variety of flexibility measurements, the paper differentiates between the extent to which a certain flexibility type is present in a system, to be measured on a 'range' or 'response' dimension, and its beneficial effect, to be assessed as a system performance. The extent of flexibility is interpreted here as a cause that eventually has a beneficial effect on the system's performance. A framework for matching the applicability of a certain flexibility measure (or assessment) to the given system's needs as encountered at a certain development stage (e.g. off-line, required, 'static' flexibility at the design stage, on-line, potential, 'dynamic' flexibility during scheduling and control), is also provided. An exposition of some engineering flexibility-related decision problems and ways to improve decisions are discussed.