Intelligent decision support system for flexible manufacturing system design

The aim of this paper is to develop a new methodology of analysis and evaluation of Flexible Manufacturing System (FMS) design configurations. It examines the use of an integrated, systemic, global and user oriented approach for the complex problem of selecting among several configuration alternatives the most suitable for a specific case. The methodology is implemented using the Decision Support System framework, offering an objective tool to help managers and engineers during the design stage of the development cycle of these manufacturing systems. A case study illustrates the effectiveness of the developed methodology.