SELECTION OF DATABASE MODELS FOR COMPUTER-INTEGRATED MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS USING THE ANALYTIC HIERARCHY PROCESS

The database is the heart of integration in a computer integrated manu facturing (CIM) system. Therefore the selection of database model is a vital issue in system design. There is no concrete evidence that a si ngle database model satisfies all the requirements of a complex manufa cturing system. Different database models satisfy different manufactur ing requirements in varying degrees depending on the desired applicati on. This paper addresses the selection of an appropriate database mode l for a CIM system using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). Due to the conflicting nature of the criteria, the AHP technique appears to b e one of the most effective tools for determining the most appropriate database for a CIM system.