SURVEY OF SIMILARITY COEFFICIENT BASED METHODS AS APPLIED TO THE GROUP TECHNOLOGY CONFIGURATION PROBLEM

This paper presents a survey of similarity-oriented metrics recently d eveloped for use in addressing the GTCP (group technology configuratio n problem). This survey Seeks to contribute to the theory underlying t he problem by identifying themes in the evolution of these metrics in terms of structural form, and in terms of the form and levels of the i nformation required for computation. We discuss these facets of the me trics in the context of their applications, and develop conjectures co ncerning the 'best' forms. We seek to develop insights into the nature of the GTCP by exploring the intrinsic nature of the metrics, with pa rticular emphasis upon the type of information used in their computati on, and structural similarities and dissimilarities in their functiona l specifications. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.