An Interval-Valued Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Framework for Flexible Manufacturing System Selection under Uncertainty

Abstract

Choosing a suitable flexible manufacturing system (FMS) is an important multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) problem, which involves uncertain conditions and conflicting criteria. In this paper, we have suggested an interval valued MCDM method to solve FMS selection problem in uncertain environment. Interval valued numbers have been used to capture uncertainty in criteria values and eliminate the limitations associated with precise values. Our suggested method comprises center-, lower-, upper- and radius-based representation of intervals along with interval extensions of some distance-based MCDM methods such as Combinative Distance-Based Assessment (CODAS), Evaluation Based on Distance from Average Solution (EDAS) and Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS). An illustrative FMS selection problem is considered to demonstrate the usefulness of our proposed approach. Results reveal that all the interval valued MCDM methods give similar ranking of alternatives for various representations of intervals, which demonstrates the robustness and applicability of the method. In addition, performance analysis of average ranks and rank stability shows the consistency of the selected best alternative.