Spare parts criticality analysis using a fuzzy ahp approach

A distinctive characteristic of the spare parts inventory system is the need to evaluate or define the criticality of items in the inventory. Therefore, there is a need to consider factors such as cost, failure rate and availability, among others. There are few papers in literature that discuss relevant methods to define a reliable hierarchy of a set of spare parts. Up to now, no article has considered ambiguity and uncertainty factors when performing criticality analysis of spare parts. In addition, criticality analysis involves the simultaneous consideration of multiple criteria, including tangible and intangible factors; prioritizing these factors can be a great challenge and a complex task. Therefore, no attempt has been made to incorporate fuzziness into multicriteria decision-making in the criticality analysis in spare parts management. This work proposes a fuzzy–based methodology for prioritization of spare parts. The proposal is based on a multicriteria decision method called Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) with triangular numbers. An example is given to illustrate the proposed methodology.