EVALUATING FLEXIBLE MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS ALTERNATIVES USING DATA ENVELOPMENT ANALYSIS

The decision to invest in flexible manufacturing systems (FMS) and other advanced manufacturing technologies has been an issue in the practitioner and academic literature for over two decades. To this end, a number of models have been proposed to help decision makers evaluate FMS. Many of these models realize that the justification and investment process will require the consideration of multiple criteria that are capable of incorporating both traditional and non-traditional factors. In this paper data envelopment analysis (DEA) modeling is introduced as a technique to aid in the evaluation of FMS. A number of DEA models and some extensions are presented to aid in the investment and adoption decision process. Managerial and research implications for the use of these models are also presented.