Evaluation of the reconfigurability of manufacturing systems based on fuzzy logic taking into account the links between the characteristics of the RMS

ABSTRACTToday, faced with the global COVID-19 crisis, manufacturing systems are subject to constraints caused by an uncertain and changing environment dominated by strong international competition. In this context, many indicators have been proposed to evaluate the responsiveness and flexibility of production systems. The literature review shows that some research streams have received positive attention from the research community, these streams include RMS characteristics analysis, RMS performance analysis and applied research and field applications, while other streams such as the reconfigurability level assessment and reconfigurability towards Industry 4.0, still need further research. This paper shows the need for more rigorous analytical measures to assess the level of reconfigurability, as there are still no accurate and quantitative RMS reconfigurability indices. There is a need for successful case studies detailing best practices to effectively guide the transition of modern industrial enterprises towards reconfigurable manufacturing. This paper proposes, a decision support tool to help manufacturers evaluate reconfigurability according to its characteristics (modularity, scalability, integrability, convertibility, diagnosability and customization) using fuzzy logic.KEYWORDS: Reconfigurable manufacturing system (RMS)decision-makingfuzzy logicDEMATELMAUT Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Availability of data and materialThe authors confirm that the data and material supporting the findings of this work are available within the article. The raw data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, upon a reasonable request.Ethical approvalThe authors declare compliance with ethical standards.Additional informationFundingThis research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.