Creating Commonality Indices to Gain an Understanding of the Product Family for Mass Customization

Abstract

The basic issue with creating a product family is that a business must maximize both internal 
complexity and external variety, even though the logic of doing so as a way to achieve economy 
of scale and production standardization has been widely acknowledged in both industry and 
academia. In light of this perspective, this study acknowledges the need to create commonality 
metrics in order to comprehend the product family. The paper's objective is to provide design and 
process engineers an understanding of product family design and manufacturability. 
The component part commonality and the process commonality are the two sources of similarity 
that are identified in this study. Product volume, quantity per operation, and component part 
price/cost are all taken into consideration while formulating the component part commonality, 
which is based on the idea of calculating the average applications per component part. Process 
flexibility, lot size, and schedule sequencing are all included in the process commonality index as 
a single analytical metric. In response to modifications in their parameters, the impact of these two 
commonality indices on product family design is investigated. The management ramifications are 
so deduced. The viability of assessing the product family by connecting commonality indicators 
to the system's performance is examined in order to aid comprehension of the product family. To 
determine the association between commonality indices and performance metrics, regression 
analysis is recommended. An outline for further study is included in the paper's conclusion.