SummaryThe Earned Value Management (EVM) has been extensively employed in the literature for analysing the schedule and cost performance indexes. However, the effects of risk factors on the project success have been previously ignored in the project management conventional context. In this paper, a well-organized project control and monitoring system is developed by incorporating the EVM basic principles, risk analysis, and utility theory for improving the performance of manufacturing systems. Weight values corresponding to the schedule performance index (SPI), the cost performance index (CPI), and the risk performance index (RPI) are calculated based on expert judgments using Z-number and Analytic Hierarchy Process (Z-AHP). Finally, a Multi-Attribute Utility Theory (MAUT) and Multi-Objective Linear Programming (MOLP) under fuzzy condition are utilized to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed approach. Sensitivity analysis indicated the risk performance is the most sensitive when compared with the schedule and the cost index. The approach given in this paper can be further employed by both academicians and managers in heavy intensive manufacturing systems.
Key words: Manufacturing systems, Multi-Objective Linear Programming (MOLP), Earned Value Management (EVM), Risk analysis, Z-Number
IntroductionThe Earned Value Management (EVM) is a famous tool assisting project managers in checking the project schedule and budget to see whether they are on track. The EVM provides an excellent insight into the current trend in the project as well as a study on the planning of the project budget and the time required for the project completion. Traditional EVM-based control systems are used to analyse and detect the current schedule and cost performance indexes. In addition, there are some other models tending to provide a good insight into the cost required for the completion of the project. Thus, the schedule performance index SPI(t) has been presented as a new metric in the EVM context where the schedule performance index has been calculated based on the earned schedule and not based on the conventional earned value.The EVM has rarely been merged with other fields under investigation. The EVM has also been incorporated within financial issues and a new index, entitled financial performance