Using BWM and ELECTRE III to aid manufacturing unit process optimization in Healthcare Technology industry

Abstract

The current trend of technology being increasingly integrated into the healthcare industry is heavily influencing the supply chains of companies involved. Thus, companies need to find ways to remain competitive, one of which is introducing process optimization in (parts of) their supply chains. In large organizations whose portfolios involve a variety of products and processes, the problem of choosing a focus area for implementing process optimization arises. Due to its complexity and various influencing factors and decision-makers, this issue can be regarded as a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) problem. This thesis presents a novel framework for finding a solution by means of combining two MCDM methods, Linear Best-Worst Method (BWM) for determining the weights of the relevant criteria, and ELECTRE III for ranking the chosen alternatives. The framework was applied to a real case within a manufacturing unit of Philips in The Netherlands, where a focus area is chosen among 8 alternative process steps in the assembly of an Image-Guided Therapy Medical System. Six decision-makers within Philips were chosen and interviewed in order to collect the necessary data, and they chose a set of 7 relevant criteria based on which the alternative process steps would be ranked. The results obtained from the analysis ranked the Cabling 2 step of the assembly process as the first one, so it was recommended that process optimization is implemented in this step. This framework contributes to existing research by addressing the research gap in choosing a focus area for process optimization, as well as by presenting a new MCDM method. Furthermore, it offers an easy-to-use, stepwise procedure for solving this issue for companies in the industry.