Evaluating the transparency capability of smart manufacturing systems

Abstract Transparency encompasses the potential to monitor operations instantaneously so that required corrective actions can be taken as needed. Transparency entails the ability to track processes in real-time, enhance the visibility of the operations, and require a seamless network for improved communication for smart manufacturing systems. However, there is a lack of proper metrics to assess the transparency of smart manufacturing environments. This paper contributes to the assessment of transparency by proposing a metric for its evaluation. In doing so, we found that the assessment of transparency takes the quantification of traceability into account. Hence, a step-in assessment is conducted by initially developing a mathematical model for traceability, followed by a model for transparency. The model is validated by analysing the sensitivity and applicability through simulation-based experimentation. The results demonstrate the level of traceability followed by transparency with the implementation of smart manufacturing systems. A point of inflexion that determines the variability in the offerings of traceability at a given set of inputs was found. This is one of the few works that focus on the development of a metric for quantifying transparency through the traceability of smart manufacturing systems. Furthermore, it investigates the behaviour by analyzing the sensitivity of the model through simulation-based approaches, which is a unique addition to the realm of the smart manufacturing literature. Managers can refer to this study's findings to design the deployment of smart manufacturing systems with informative trade-offs to maintain their required traceability and transparency capabilities.