Cost estimation in flat plate processing using fuzzy sets

Cost estimation in Flat Plate Processes (FPP's) involves a combination of m an, machine and resources and consequently, a combination of physical proce sses, engineering resources and economic laws as well as actions and behavi our of people should be taken into consideration. Thus, in cost estimation process, apart from physical and engineering variables, there often exist s everal subjective criteria, which need to be described qualitatively and li nguistically. In addition, there are some probabilistic or random variables including labour fatigue, shortage of resources and materials, failure of machines, unavailability of facilities and so on, which can not be accurate ly predicted. Using analytical and mathematical approaches, it is not possi ble to quantify and transform these imprecise and subjective criteria and r andom factors into proper input variable in the cost estimation model. Ther efore, the state of uncertainty should be considered in cost estimation pro blem in some ways. In this paper, fuzzy sets and probability distribution a pproaches are applied to tackle the problem of uncertainty in cost estimati on in order to generate reliable cost estimates in flat plate processing in dustry (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.