A hybrid methodology for restructuring decision of a manufacturing system: A case study

The output performance of a manufacturing system depends on its operational continuity. However, a manufacturing system can stop for a short time or it can be out of service for a long time due to crucial problems such as poor performance of old machines, unexpected breakdowns or faulty plant and system design. Many firms try to restructure their manufacturing systems to avoid these crucial problems and to be more efficient, profitable and better organized. However, the decision to begin the process of restructuring is a difficult and critical choice for most decision makers due to the fact that the decision threshold of the process is ambiguous. This paper proposes a hybrid methodology for the decision makers who will decide on restructuring a manufacturing system. The proposed methodology provides crucial information for the decision makers combining fuzzy logic approach and reliability analysis.