6. CONCLUSION AND PERSPECTIVES
This paper contributes to the choice of the quantitative and qualitative factors influencing the layout configuration in a manual assembly workshop.
In addition, no research has been found on the application of the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) coupled with Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) to evaluate a set of alternatives and determine the efficient configuration of manufacturing systems. Three layout configurations for the AMECAP Company are defined as alternatives for the case study in response to change in demand. Besides, we consider the current configuration as a third alternative. By applying these two methods, we find that A2 is the most appropriate configuration. We recall that A2 is not the current configuration. So, a reconfiguration process is required for our case.
We did not address the alternative generation problem which is one of the most complex problems to solve. In this paper, we dealt with the alternatives proposed by experts which could be biased. In other research works we do focus on this issue to generate alternative that respects the rules of good design that is based mainly on controlling flows.
