An Appraisal of Manufacturing Structures Using Timeliness-Quality Entropy and Order Index Methods

A system’s configuration plays a significant role in promoting its efficient functioning. This article addresses the problem of the deficiency of algorithms that can be employed to appraise the running performance of a system in diverse manufacturing structures. First, a timeliness-quality entropy concept is presented according to the mechanisms of information transmission. Based on the conditional entropy theory, a timeliness-quality entropy approach, jointed a structure order index developed, is then proposed to appraise the order degree of manufacturing structures quantitatively and screen manufacturing structure solutions appropriately. In an empirical study, we target the different facilities layout design of a job shop before and after conducting technological transformation and compute the order index under the different layout types. Eventually, the result obtained illustrates the applicability and effectiveness of the proposed approach. Therefore, this approach provides crucial theoretical support and practical guidance for appraising and screening manufacturing structures.