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Statistical analysis of manufacturing system complexity

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Abstract

Given the dynamism of the markets and the economic growth, nowadays companies must look for mechanisms that allow them to develop new strategies and compete successfully. The objective of this work is to develop a statistical analysis of the complexity of a manufacturing system. The methodological approach starts with the analysis of the data obtained through the Likert technique, identifying characteristics associated with high complexity, consequently, an inquiry is made on the factors that influence significantly from an experimental analysis, then a factor analysis is made to determine the correlations between the variables raised, and finally the association between the complexity of the manufacturing characteristics and the complexity of the elements of a system is evaluated. The study is based on a sample of 71 small- and medium-sized companies in the city of Cartagena, Colombia. The results obtained show a dominance of complexity in manufacturing systems, confirming the level of significance between subsectors, type of operation, and type of process; determining that there are high correlations between the variables; and corroborating the relationship between the variables and the characteristics of the manufacturing system.

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Acknowledgements

Thanks are due to the 71 small- and medium-sized enterprises in the manufacturing sector of the city of Cartagena, Colombia, for their access to technical visits, compilation of information, and support for the implementation of the instrument. Likewise to the Fundación Universitaria Tecnológico Comfenalco (FUTC), Investigation Group Ciptec, Universidad de la Costa (CUC)—Colombia and to the Universidad Nacional Lomas de Zamora (UNLZ)—Argentina, for the support of its academic and scientific group.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Industrial Engineering Department, Fundacion Universitaria Tecnológico Comfenalco, Grupo de Investigación Ciptec, Cartagena, Colombia

    Germán Herrera Vidal

  2. Universidad Nacional Lomas de Zamora, Lomas de Zamora, Argentina

    Germán Herrera Vidal

  3. Industrial Engineering Department, Universidad de La Costa, Barranquilla, Colombia

    Jairo R. Coronado Hernández

  4. Faculty of Engineering, Universidad Nacional Lomas de Zamora, Lomas de Zamora, Argentina

    Claudia Minnaard

  5. Faculty of Engineering, Universidad Andres Bello, Santiago, Chile

    Gustavo Gatica & Pablo Schwarzenberg

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  1. Germán Herrera Vidal
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  2. Jairo R. Coronado Hernández
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  3. Claudia Minnaard
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  4. Gustavo Gatica
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  5. Pablo Schwarzenberg
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Correspondence to Germán Herrera Vidal.

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Vidal, G.H., Hernández, J.R.C., Minnaard, C. et al. Statistical analysis of manufacturing system complexity. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 120, 3427–3436 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-022-08981-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-022-08981-z

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