Grouping part/product variants based on networked operations sequence

• A new method is proposed for grouping variants with networked operations sequences.
• Two other important criteria for measuring similarity are considered and combined.
• A sequencing application of the combined similarity coefficients is demonstrated.
• A case study is provided for demonstration.

Operations flow based similarity is an important criterion for grouping variants. Similarity coefficient for product variants with networked sequence of operations has not been considered in the literature. Previously proposed similarity coefficients, which are based on operation/assembly sequence, focused on variants with serial operations sequences where the order of processing operations is fixed; while in practice, there are many part/product variants with flexible operations sequence options. A novel similarity coefficient for part/product variants is proposed based on the networked operations sequence similarity inspired by the analysis used in the field of biology (e.g. enzymes structures comparison). An extension of the proposed coefficient is also presented with an example for illustration. A more comprehensive similarity coefficient is developed by including operations similarity and production volume criteria. The popular operations similarity coefficient, called Jaccard's similarity, is applied and extended. A new coefficient using volume similarity criterion is also developed. Part/product variants are then clustered and grouped based on the combined similarity coefficient using the average linkage clustering (ALC) algorithm. The main applications of the proposed similarity coefficient are addressed. The grouped variants are sequenced as a secondary application of the proposed similarity coefficient. The sequence obtained from the proposed approach is compared with that obtained from a developed mathematical model. The result shows the accuracy of the proposed sequencing approach and can serve as a good preliminary sequence. A case study is also provided for demonstration.