Knowledge-based decision support systems for manufacturing decision-making. The Pirelli experience

Managers make decisions on the basis of models of the real world. Models provide synthetic views of problems, in terms of what information managers require, according to their management level, responsibilities and decision-making goals. In manufacturing environments, the process of translating data coming from the lower level of production systems into meaningful information, while crucial for the success of the decision-making process, is both data and knowledge intensive. As a consequence, manufacturing top managers need suitable computer-based support tools. This paper describes the experience of Pirelli in developing and in putting into operation two KBDSSs (Knowledge Based Decision Support Systems) to support manufacturing top managers in the analysis phase of their decision-making process. The two KBDSSs have been used by Pirelli Tyre Sector managers and their staff since April 1991. The paper is organized as follows. After defining the overall context of the project, i.e. what is intended by ‘manufacturing decision-making’, Section 2 defines the type of support tools mostly required by managers. Section 3 introduces the research effort of Pirelli in this field, defining the context and the scope of the two systems. Section 4 introduces the specific problems that motivate the development of one of them and will justify the main project choices.