How can we ascertain, understand and interpret the performance level of a production system? A visual method: 'The plan of preferences'

Abstract

The general context of this study is the parameterizing of the production system. The aim is to regulate the physical flow according to objectives, usually expressed in terms of performance indicator values. Performance control requires mastery of the consequences of the choices made. It then becomes essential to be able to articulate the potential effects of the various decisions. The existing approaches to solving this problem all imply the use of means of simulation capable of assessing the value of the performance indicators for each configuration of the action parameters. Taking this assumption as a basis, and focusing on the user, a multiple criteria approach is developed towards the understanding and schematization of the behaviour of a given system. The particularity of this approach lies in combining both data analysis and user expertise. The instrumentation approach uses tools for data analysis and assistance in decision making to achieve an original visualization of the structure of performance levels in a plan, called the plan of preferences.

Multi-criteria evaluation model: an application of MRP parameterization

“…To facilitate multicriteria evaluation and comparison of AP-PI relationships in a specific environment, the paper titled "How Can We Ascertain, Understand and Interpret the Performance Level of A Production System? A Visual Method: The Plan of Preferences" [2] propose a way of considering support for the evaluation from a set of AP-PI relations thanks to the description of the properties related to ranking (rank of a AP-PI relationship) and sorting (class of a AP-PI relationship). The issues pertaining to ranking and sorting are complementary.…”

“…This involves dialogue with the representation to extract properties. In [2], the authors suggest beginning the dialogue between the decision-planner and the plan of preferences with the following intuitive question: "How does the initial solution fit in with the new situation?" Subsequent questions are formed and linked together according to the interpretations of the properties extracted from the plan of preferences.…”

“…The properties are inferred from an interaction between the planner's assessment questions and his representation of the overall structure of a set of solutions. In the performance space achieved, example generic evaluation questions include [2,6,8,15]: -What is the effect of APs on PIs? -Which performance areas are attainable?…”

“…In this case, the methods must, first, include the decider's preferences and second, propose an intelligible global representation depending on the issues under consideration. In the context of the parameterization of the MRP method, in [2], the authors put forward a model called the plan of preferences, which combines both the sorting and the ranking issues. As a research perspective, the authors motivate a performance exploration problem in the plan of preferences.…”

“…A simulated solution is characterized by a pair (parameters, performance indicators). In the context of the evaluation of solutions, the work of Barth, Damand et al (2003) propose a heuristic approach to extracting knowledge from a solution set. The approach is based on the definition of a multi-criteria solution comparison function.…”