MEASURING THE IMPACT OF LIFE-CYCLE COSTS, TECHNOLOGICAL OBSOLESCENCE,AND FLEXIBILITY IN THE SELECTION OF FMS DESIGN

Selecting an appropriate FMS requires consideration of many factors fo r successful implementation and operation. Primary factors are the sys tem's flexibility, lifecycle cost, and competitive ability over time. This paper proposes a quantitative measure for comparing alternative F MS designs with respect to these three criteria. The model captures th e effect of these three factors in a single measure.