On Quantifying Manufacturing Flexibility: An Entropy Based Approach

In this research, an entropy based evaluation is adapted for the quantification of manufacturing flexibility. The aim is to evaluate the manufacturing flexibility in scope of a job shop model and to reach a single numeric value that would represent the overall flexibility level of operations performed in that manufacturing unit. The model proposed is applied to a job shop in which manufacturing is characterized by type of machinery, number and type of operations and routing for each product as well as time spend for operations, machine set up activities and material handling. In the paper, the flexibility level of the job shop is found and the association between the total entropy value and flexibility level is discussed.