Time variability management and trade-off analysis of quality, productivity, and maintenance efficiency

Goal: This research aims to examine the trade-off behaviour between productivity, quality and maintenance performance and evaluate the efficiency of the framework integrated to a time variability in operational management.  Design / Methodology / Approach: The proposed framework integrates a stochastic analysis of process and TVM to manage process variability and analyse the trade-off behaviour between quality, productivity, and maintenance efficiency. The framework generates a control chart for each workstation and analyses the operator's time to execute an assembly process for six workstations. The processes are characterised and evaluated via stochastic simulation, resulting in a trade-off analysis with a multicriteria approach. Results: A relational graphic of performance dimensions shows that productivity and maintenance performance have a high dependency on time variability management, whereas quality has a minor impact over trade-off decisions. The proposed framework has a huge significance to operational management which allow to apply complex models to time variability analysis and organisation performance. Limitations of the investigation: The trade-off analysis in this study is limited to a constant trade-off model to validate the framework. Practical implications: This framework, used in association with traditional management philosophies, is a powerful tool that permits managers to develop a trade-off analysis and make decisions on workstations. Thus, a research field that correlates time variability with performance dimensions may be validated by this framework.  Originality / Value: A framework that allows the use of MCDM to analyse the trade-off behaviour on organization performance and a trade-off analysis between performance dimensions and time variability management in operational performance.