MANUFACTURING SUPPORT/DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM (MD/DSS)

THIS PROPOSAL PRESENTS AN APPROACH FOR ESTABLISHING THE FEASIBILITY OF A MANUFACTURING SUPPORT/DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM. THE TECHNICAL CHALLENGE IS TO DETERMINE IF TYPICAL MANUFACTURING SUPPORT DECISION PROCESSES ARE SEMI-STRUCTURED AND IF THESE PROCESSES CAN BE PARTIALLY AUTOMATED IN THE FORM OF USER-FRIENDLY DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS. EXPERT SYSTEMS WILL ALSO BE EXPLORED AS A MEANS OF EXTENDING THE MORE TRADITIONAL NOTION OF DECISION SUPPORT INTO THE MANUFACTURING SUPPORT ARENA. PHASE I WILL ESTABLISH THE FEASIBILITY OF THE SYSTEM, IDENTIFY A SUBSET OF CANDIDATE DECISION MODULES, DEVELOP A SIMULATION OF THE SYSTEM, AND DEFINE A DESIGN STRATEGY. THE DESIGN STRATEGY WILL SERVE AS A "BLUEPRINT" FOR DEVELOPING A PROOF-OF-CONCEPT SOFTWARE SYSTEM.